Rice in Finland

Rice in Finland

Finnish people like rice

Rice is pretty popular in Finland. It is many times served with some meaty sauce but in other ways also. For example, during Christmas a dish called rice porridge, riisipuuro, is traditionally made. Rice porridge is topped with seasonings like cinnamon, sugar or sweet fruit or berry soups. I’ve also found out that these little pies called karjalanpiirakka are very popular all year around. Maybe even the most famous pie in Finland? They are filled with thick rice porridge. Finnish rice consumption differs a little from the way rice is consumed in Asia.

Easy to buy anywhere

Puuroriisi, it means rice for porridge, can be bought for approximately 1e/kg, it is produced by many companies. For food purposes long grain rices are typically used.

Types of rice used in Finland

The rice for porridge is a short grain rice, similar to Japanese rice. Of course, the sweetness and stickiness are different from Japanese rice. The most popular rice strains are long grain rices like jasmin and basmatin rice. Full grain rice is also quite popular

When you want to eat Japanese rice

Where to buy?

We can purchase Japanese rice in Asian markets or supermarkets, and it costs about 10e/kg. Japanese rice is also grown in other countries, and those kinds are cheaper than imported rice from Japan, and the taste is between Finnish rice and Japanese rice.
In supermarkets, we can find products called “sushi rice”. They are more expensive than Finnish porridge rice. Here is a tip, my friend mixed some “sushi rice” with porridge rice and he said the taste became better. I tried it myself, it’s true.

Which rice do you use?

We eat Japanese rice, porridge rice and coloured rice bought from a mid-eastern market. During weekdays we mostly eat porridge rice and also a combination of porridge rice and coloured rice cooked in a pressure pot. In my opinion porridge rice sold in Finnish markets is good enough to eat with thick taste food like curry or don. We cook top quality imported Japanese rice, “the good stuff”, when we invite friends, have a special occasion or just want to treat ourselves with some quality rice.