I don't own the video in question. The credits go to Yle production, 1977
Cooks: Jaakko Kolmonen & Veijo Vanamo.
Tune: Roger Whittaker - ”Finnish Whistler”
“Patakakkonen” is a legendary finnish cooking show from the 1970’s. This video shows the traditional ways to prepare a Yule feast. You don’t need that many incredients, not that much skill, not a fine kitchen. Just some know-how and a lot of time and heart!
What I wish to deliver to you here, are the recipes portrayed in the video, the traditions involved, and the wonderful mood and atmosphere of the season’s preparations, in olde finnish style.
Recipes and their time stamp on the video:
Kalja (Ale) 3:21
Prepare the Ale on Anna’s day, December 9th, so it is good for Yule/Christmas.
800g malts
2-3 tbls hops
200g sugar
10 l boiling water
generous 1 tbl of yeast
Mix all but yeast together and let the mix sit and cool down to hand temperature. Take a bit of the mix into another dish and stir the yeast into it - Then add the liquid yeast to the main mixture. Cover the mix and keep in a warm place overnight. Next day, sift the mixture, or just pour it carefully from the top of the malt mix to another pot, so that you have only liquid in your final pot. Seal it tightly (or bottle it), and keep it in a cool place until Yule.
Lipeäkala (Lye Fish) 6:50
Lots of water
Lots of whitefish
filtrated birch-ash or hydrated lime (Ca(OH)
Crystallized soda 100g/ 1kg of fish
Clean some type of whitefish into fillets. Soak in water for 6 days, changing the water every day. Wash the fish well in the end.
Take a large dish. Take some filtrated birch-ash or hydrated lime, - or both, and toss some on the bottom of the dish, add fish, then lime, into layers. Mix the soda with boiling water until dissolved. Then add enough cold water to cool it down and to have enough mixture, to cover all the fishes with the liquid. Let sit for 5-6 days.
TIP: You can test when the fish is ready by taking a little bit and boiling it. If it’s raw, it turns into jelly, if it’s too done, it turns hard.
Lipeäkalan kastike (Lye Fish’s sauce) 39:15
Milk 1 litre
Butter 4 tbls
Wheat flour 4 tbls
salt
Melt the butter in a pan on gentle heat. Add flour and cook until the flour swells up (don’t brown). Add milk in small quantities and stir to form an even sauce. Leave to thicken in a warm place.
Joulupiparit (Yule cookies) 8:28
75g of fat or oil
1½ dl milk
2dl barley flour
2dl rye flour
sugar to taste
pinch of salt
Mix everything, kneed and roll out and cut into shapes. Bake in a wildly hot oven for just a little while.
Perunalaatikko ja Lanttulaatikko (Potato bake & Turnip bake) 17:51 & 29:08
Wash the potatos and turnips and peel them both. Then proceed as below.
Perunalaatikko (Potato bake)
1,5kg potatos
4rkl wheat flour
milk
salt
butter to taste & tray
Boil the potatos well and mash them while hot. Stir flour into the hot mix. Cover, and leave the mix in a warm place (50C-75C) for 3 hours to overnight. The mix turns loose and sweet to taste. Then add melted butter, milk and salt.
Butter the edges of a baking dish and pour the mix in, only to half the dish, because the mix boils over easily. Bake 150-175C for 2-3 hours. It’ll firm up in the oven, to about mashed potato texture, and get a nice tan on top.
Lanttulaatikko (Turnip bake)
2kg turnips
1 dl wheat flour
2 eggs
white pepper
nutmeg
salt
butter to taste & tray
Cut turnips into small pieces and boil well. Push through a filter of sift to make paste (or use blender). Add eggs and spices. Butter a baking dish and pour the mixture in. Bake 150C – 175 for 1-2 hours. It gets a rustic look and a nice smell.
Kinkku (The Ham) 16:58, 20:15, 24:08
Water
Salt
Gloves
Bay leaves
Whole white&black peppers
Onions(optional)
Rye flour
16:58 Make saltwater mix 1dl salt/1litre of water. Dry the ham well, then sink it fully into saltwater. Let soak for 2 weeks. Then wash the ham with clear water.
20:15 Put the ham in a cauldron with the spices so that it is fully covered. Cook on very gentle boil for 1 hour/1 kg of ham weight. (or use a thermometer in the thickest part of ham up until 75C)
Let the ham cool and sit overnight. Make sure the ham is dry on the surface before you proceed.
24:08 Make a dough of rye flour and water (~0,5 l water / 1,25l flour ) Wrap the ham snugly inside the dough blanket. Bake on 100-125C for a couple of hours, or until the crust is firm and lovely brown. The ham inside is already cooked, you just want a nice crust, - but fear not the over-cooking, the rye crust will keep all the juices in!
Luumukiisseli (Plum kissel 37:52)
0,5 kg dried plums
1,2 l water
200g raisins
1,5 tbls potato flour
cinnamon
sugar
Put everything in a pot and boil gently until the plums are suitably soft. Move the kettle aside from full heat. Mix the potato flour with a bit of cold water and stir the mix into the pot. Bring the pot back on gentle heat and stir a little and wait, until you see the first boiling bubbles surface. Then remove the pot from heat immediately. Let cool.
Rosolli (herring salad) 33:09
Beetroots
Carrots
Potatos
Onions
Herrings (Pre-salted)
Apples
vinegar
Sour cream and/or thick cream for topping.
Herrings are pre-salted on the fishing boat, right after they are caught. Their heads and tails are taken off and they are wrapped in salt with their guts still intact, and sealed into barrels. Sometimes a bit of sugar is also included, to soften the taste. It takes at least 2 weeks for the herring to be “done”, but because it is very salty at this point, it is good to soak it in cold water before using it in a salad.
34: 01 Soak the herrings in cold water – renew the water until it doesn’t turn so damn salty anymore. Gut the herrings and cut them into skinless fillets, then to thin slices fit for a salad.
Peel the carrots and potatos and boil until done, then piece them into small cubes.
Boil the beetroots as whole, then rub off the peel and cube them small.
Same for apples, cube them small.
Chop the onion into small bits, raw.
Mix all the incredients within one bowl and add a bit of vinegar. Serve with thick cream and/or Sour cream topping.
Rosolli preserves well for a few days, and gets even better with a little sit. If it is too salty or vinegary for you, add a pinch of sugar. It’ll make a big difference! Same with all these Christmas dishes, free feel to make your own adjustments!
There are variations to the traditional feast. For example, in Karelia the Karelian stew and the Karelian pasties are a must in the festive table, and the ham comes without a crust. Each house may also have their own variations and favorites.
Remember to feed the birds and other animals, as well as the Elf!
Happy Yule!
