The Helsinki food scene is no different - it is rooted firmly in the country’s history and on four extreme seasons. Still, as a capital city of trade and travel, the city has also been open to influences from abroad for hundreds of years, brought over by immigrants, foreign chefs, the Swedish and the Russian rulers and many other factors.
During the brief, intense summer, farming and foraging offers a rich and flavoursome harvest, while the long, harsh winter needs some clever and creative preservation techniques. This cycle is not just a matter of necessity but a way of life following the seasons, leading to a diverse array of preserved foods—from sweet berries and jams, pickled vegetables and savoury mushrooms to fragrant plants and herbs. Still today, a popular bread staple in supermarkets is dried rye bread, Näkkileipä, and porridges of all kinds of domestic grains is an everyday breakfast and snack dish for Finns.
Central to this culture is the concept of "Everyone’s Rights", the legal right for all people residing in Finland or visiting having the right to enjoy nature anywhere in the Finnish countryside regardless of land ownership. The law is based on respect for the land and the freedom to forage, fish, and hunt, allowing Finns to sustainably utilise their natural resources. This has given rise to a cuisine rich in game, local fish varieties like Baltic herring and vendace, and plenty of mushrooms and berries, used both fresh, pickled and dried. Even in the parks of central Helsinki, wild berries, mushrooms and herbs are free to pick for anyone. Local chefs forage for wild herbs in the spring and hunt for mushrooms in the autumn. All four seasons have something to offer to the nature-oriented Helsinkians.
Finnish ingenuity also extends to plant-based offerings, with oat and other grains playing a significant role. This is complemented by an emerging scene of Helsinki’s own berry wines, local beer breweries, and distilleries, each adding a unique Finnish twist to their products.
