From Saimaa to Your Plate

Experience the taste of Lake Saimaa region at its best, where nature’s finest ingredients are brought fresh to the table.

Enjoy crispy fried vendace (paistetut muikut) straight from the morning catch, sip market coffee with a warm lörtsy or karjalanpiirakka, and end your day with a memorable dinner where incredients from the forests and gardens, local fish, and game are crafted into delicious dishes by our skilled chefs.

Finnish Food – Pure and Authentic

Finnish food is based on the rich, wholesome ingredients of Finland’s beautiful natural landscape. Pure, sparkling freshwater lakes teem with fish while the verdant forests are full of wild-grown juicy berries, plump mushrooms and wild game. Fresh fruit and vegetables grow in fields edged by woodland and local livestock graze in sunny meadows as you stroll through the area. With such a bounty on offer, eating in Finland is a pleasure!

Food in Finland reflects its Nordic heritage as well as influences from Russia to the east. This is particularly true in the south-easterly region of Lake Saimaa where you’ll find traditional Karelian dishes like karjalanpiirakka alongside Savonian dishes such as the kalakukko pie and lörtsy pastry.

Purest natural flavours from the lakes, forests and gardens

Lake Saimaa region is a land of forests and lakes, and it shows in the local food. Lake Saimaa is a tremendous lake system with thousands of islands and lakes where you can just as easily go fishing for yourself or find locally-caught freshwater fish such as vendace. Known as muikku in Finnish, fried vendace is a popular meal served both in restaurants along the shoreline and as street food in the marketplace. The forests too are full of Finnish berries, mushrooms and other edibles which grow naturally at their own pace, wild. As a result, they’re a little bit smaller than the farmed equivalents but contain much more flavor and nutrition, authentic Finnish superfoods.

Local produce

In the Lake Saimaa region, you’ll find many wonderful small producers, each with their own specialty. Whether its berry wines from traditional Finnish berries, fresh herbs and plants harvested straight from the own garden or locally sourced ingredients used year-round, the focus is always on quality and authenticity.

Centuries-old recipes and traditional preservation methods are still embraced in restaurants and cafes, offering some of the best food experiences in the region. Saimaa’s food culture is a blend of Savonian and Karelian heritage and innovation  – honouring traditions while evolving with new influences. But at its heart, it always comes back to the lakes and forests, and the pure flavors of nature.

One of the best experiences in Finland and Saimaa is to visit the local market. Each region has its own specialties, and at the market you can find them at their freshest directly from the producers. Buy the tastiest strawberries, peas an other tastes from the vendors. I can ensure that Finnish strawberries are the best that you have ever tasted. At the market, you can experience and see the local lifestyle at its most authentic way and get the best local tips for your perfect holiday experience in Finland and in Lake Saimaa region.

Bucket list for the best tastes of Saimaa

Food in Lake Saimaa region

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