Rub the shank with the salt and sugar. Bring to boil the water, salt and sugar. Skim off foam and let cool. Place the shank in the brine and leave to marinate for 2 weeks.

When the ham is to be cooked, cover it with paste made of water and rye flour. Place in a shallow baking dish with water on the bottom so that the bottom of the ham will not burn. Bake in a hot oven, 250°C (450°F), for 3 hours. Remove the rye crust. Baste the ham with mustard/breadcrumb/sugar mixture and quickly brown. Store the ham under the rye crust.

The ham can also be baked covered with foil, but the rye paste adds a very special flavor and "maturity" to the taste.

Photo Source:  Kotiruoka, Ragni Tennberg and Rauno Rautiainen, eds., p. 267. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 1968.

1-2 large rutabagas
water, salt
2 Tbs butter or margarine
1 Tbs flour
milk
salt, white pepper
sugar
1 egg
bread crumbs

Peal the rutabagas, cut into small cubes and cook in small amount of water seasoned with salt until tender. Mash well. Whip butter or margarine and flour into the rutabagas, add the milk gradually, whipping continuously. Add the egg and season to taste. Place in a greased casserole dish, cover with bread crumbs and bake in a 200°C (400°F) oven for 40 mins. Goes great with ham and pork.

Photo Source:  Kotiliesi, December 1970.

Porkkanalaatikko (Carrot Casserole)

1.5 dl (3/4 c) rice
1/2 l (1 pt) water
1/2 l (1 pt) milk
1/2 kg (1 lb) carrots
1/2 Tbs salt
1 Tbs brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
bread crumbs
butter or margarine

Cook the rice first in water, then add the milk. Let simmer till soft and sticky. Cool. Rinse, peal and grate the carrots. Add to the carrots the seasonings and the beaten eggs. Add this mixture to the rice. Pour onto a greased baking dish, sprinkle bread brumbs on top and garnish with dots of butter or margarine. Bake in a 200°C (400°F) oven for 40 mins. Serve with ham at Christmas meal.

Mix the soda into the milk. Combine the remaining ingredients, including the milk-soda mixture. Mix well, adding flour if the dough seems to stick. Form a ball and place in a plastic bag or a covered bowl and let stand overnight.

Cut into three or four sections. One at a time, roll out into a fairly thin round with a rolling pin, using extra flour if the dough sticks. With cookie cutters, such as star, crescent moon, Santa, angel, etc., cut shapes and bake in a 200°C (400°F) oven for about 7-10 mins, or until golden brown on the bottom. Cool flat.

Decorate with frosting, such as comes in CakeMate tubes, or make your own favorite frosting. Let dry overnight. Store in an airtight container.

Photo Source:  Kotiruoka, Ragni Tennberg and Rauno Rautiainen, eds., p. 401. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 1968.

ready-to-use pastry dough*
1 lb prunes
water
1/2 c sugar
1 egg, beaten (for basting)

*This is a shortcut, but it is possible, and done in Finland, to prepare the pastry crust from scratch. It needs to be extra flaky.

Soak the prunes in water with sugar for a few hours, and then cook them till soft. Remove the pits and chop the prunes into jam-like consistency.

Roll out the crust to about 1/4" thickness and cut into desired shapes: they can be round to which a spoonful of prunes is placed, the edge turned over to form a semiround, and the edges are pinched closed tight; or square where the corners are cut in half towards the center and a small amount of the filling in placed in the center. To form pinwheels, turn every other peak to the center. The square shape can also be formed so that all peaks are turned to the center. Before baking, are basted with the beaten egg. Bake in a hot oven (425°F) for about 10 mins.

Place the rice in hot water, bring to boil and let simmer. Add milk and bring to boil, then let simmer till very soft and sticky, at least 40 mins. Stir often to avoid scorching. Add salt. Serve either with luumukiisseli or sugar, cinnamon and milk.

In Finland, we put a blanched almod in the pot before serving, and the one who has it in his or her bowl, will get married the following year, or will have other extraordinary good fortune . . . This is especially fun with a crowd.

Let the prunes soak in water sweetened with sugar till they are plump. Simmer, covered, over low heat slowly, with the stick of cinnamon, till the prunes are soft. Remove the prunes and place in a glass bowl. Season the broth with the juice of 1/2 lemon and add sugar to taste. Dissolve the starch in a small amount of cold water and pour into the broth. Mix well and bring to a quick boil. Pour into the bowl with prunes and sprinkle with sugar. (IMPORTANT: The sugar will prevent undue thickening of the surface.) Serve cold with riisipuuro or with whipped cream.

Rinse the prunes in warm water and cook them in water sweetened with 2 Tbs of the sugar. Remove the pits, chop the prunes finely, and add the cooking water. Whip the egg whites till stiff and add the remainder of the sugar, little at a time, whipping well after each addition. Combine about 3/4 of the whipped egg whites with the prunes and pour unto a greased baking dish. Garnish the soufflé with the remainder of the egg whites and bake in a water bath in mild oven (150°C) (300°F) for about 50 mins. Serve immediately with cream or vanilla sauce.

Quickly boil the malt and the water. Let cool down covered. Add sugar and yeast dissolved in small amount of water and let stand overnight. Kalja will be ready the next day. Keep refrigerated. Will not keep very long.

This is one of those suspicious-looking Finnish kansanomaisia jälkiruokia that have to be taken trustingly. It's really good once you get over the appearance. (Truuust me!)

6 quarts water
1 lb. malt
3 lbs. rye flour
molasses to taste
1-2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. chopped orange rind

Mix the malt and flour. In a large cooking pan (with a heavy bottom if available), heat about 2 quarts of the water and add enough of the flour/malt mix to form a thin mixture (like velli). Sprinkle with a layer of malt and flour. Cover the pan and place in a warm place to sweeten, about one hour. Now mix the sprinkled flour and malt into the mixture. Add more hot water and again a layer of flour and malt. Leave to sweeten. Repeat as often as needed to include all remaining water, flour and malt. With the last addition, season the mämmi to taste with molasses and orange rind. Cook for about 10 mins., stirring constantly. Whip till cooled. Place in low pans (ah, to have those birch bark mämmituokkoset available). Do not fill too full, because mämmi will rise in the oven. Bake in moderate oven for about 1-2 hours. Temperatures that are too low during cooking and baking tend to make the mämmi bitter. Baked mämmi will be cooled quickly and served with cold cream and sugar. Hyvää ruokahalua!

***To bring Finnish pääsiäinen (Easter) to your table, grow some rye grass in a large pan (start about 2-3 weeks before Easter, inside, of course) and place feathery little toy chickies in it. Don't forget to look for pussy willows to include in your arrangements of tulips, narcissi, crocuses and lilies, or let them go solo! Yellow is the color for pääsiäinen, so go for it!***

1 lemon's outer rind ("zest")
1 lb. sugar
1 gallon boiling water
1 env. dried yeast
juice from the lemon
raisins, sugar to add into the bottles

Rinse and dry lemon, grate its outer yellow peal. Place in the container. Add the sugar and water. Cover the container and let the mixture cool. When lukewarm, add yeast and juice. Let stand for two days. Sima is then poured into bottles through a sieve. Add 1 tsp. sugar and a couple of raisins in each bottle. Cap each bottle tightly and place in a cool place. After about a week or two, the raisins will have floated to the top, which is a good indication that sima is ready for your enjoyment. So—enjoy! (Be careful not to let it ferment too long, or you might enjoy it too much!)

Dissolve yeast in the milk. Mix the eggs and sugar well, but do not beat. Add the milk and flour, mixing well. Let rise till about double in volume. Heat the oil in a large pan, and sink place a ladel in it so that it fills with oil about half way. Using a paper funnel, squeeze about 2 Tbs batter into the ladel, forming a criss-cross on top of the oil. Cook till browned, turn over and cook the other side. Drain on a paper towel. When the tippaleivät are cool, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Serve with sima.

Layer on to a well-greased casserole dish:
potatoes
herring
chopped onion
Finish off with a layer of potatoes.

Mix egg, milk, pepper and flour. Pour on top of potatoes. Bake in moderate oven (380F) for about two hours, until well done.

Layer on to a well-grease casserole dish:
potatoes, anjovice and onion
Pour half of the cream on top.

Bake in moderate oven (375F) for about an hour. Add the rest of the cream, or as much as seems to be needed to keep the potatoes moist. Finish baking till well done.

Karjalan piirakat

Anyone who has spent any time in Finland has undoubtedly encountered one of her favorite foods: Karjalan piirakat. As the name obviously suggests, these goodies are from the historic region called Karjala. Making the piirakat ("pies") is a big job, but the results are worth every effort. Ask ANYONE!

Piirakat 2dl water 1tl salt 2 1/2dl flour 2 1/2dl rye flour

Filling rice pudding (not sweetened at all) or mashed potatoes (warm or cold)

Basting 2dl boiling water 50g butter

Piirakat ingredients are mixed well into a soft, firm dough that is not sticky. (Add flour if it sticks.) Divide the dough into small equal portions, about the size of a golf ball. (I usually divide the dow into two portions, then roll out each into a long wand and cut into equal pieces.) Each piece is rolled out into a paperthin round (like tortillas, but as thin as possible. See photo, left.) Place filling in the center of each round, spreading it towards the edges. Turn the edges over the filling, forming an oblong, and crimp the edges very closely with fingers, leaving some of the filling showing. (See photo, center .) (They end up looking a little like boats; in fact, that’s what my kids used to call them—”Mom, will you make some of those Finnish boats?”) Bake in hot oven (450F) for about 10 minutes, till they start to brown on the bottom. Immediately, brush each piece with basting liquid, top and bottom (see photo, right), stack in a pan or bowl, cover and let stand till they are soft. Best eaten when they are still warm. Very good with munavoi (“eggbutter”; recipe below), lunch meats, or just lots of butter. YUMMMM!!

Pat the meat dry. Rub with lemon and break into suitable portion-sized pieces. Arrange in a casserole dish, with meaty side up, sprinkle with the spices and bake in a hot oven. After a short time, add boiling water and sliced prunes and apples. Turn ribs over after they have browned. Baste often with the liquid in the pan. Drain the liquid into a saucepan. Let it come to a boil and stir in the flour and mustard, adding more water if needed, to make the gravy. Pour over the meat and serve.

Other illustrations from old posters and postcards with no copyright information available or from copyright-free sources.