Páscoa na Finlândia: 3 tradições

Thanks Timo and Susanne for sharing with us all these finnish easter traditions. Timo: your 1st Pasha was just DELICIOUS :-). And we will be part of the people that love mämmi. 1. Mämmi: it tastes better than it looks. Oven-baked Malt Porridge a Finnish Easter Treat The oldest and no doubt the most unusual traditional Finnish dish is mämmi, a dark brown porridge made of water and sweetened rye malt. It is baked in a slow oven in cardboard boxes made to look like birchbark baskets. Nowadays mämmi is a dessert served with cream and sugar, but originally it used to be a Lenten provision, eaten cold as such or spread on top of a slice of bread. For a long time, Easter mämmi remained a special delicacy of southwestern Finns, until early this century the art of making mämmi spread nationwide, thanks to rural homemaking schools, agricultural societies and cookery books. Finland's independence in 1917 inspired a vigorous search for typically Finnish symbols. Mämmi, an age-old, genuine Finnish folk dish, was accepted as one. Nowadays it is a seasonal product for the bakeries. Rows of boxes resembling birchbark baskets and filled with mämmi appear in the food stores almost as soon as Christmas is over. Mämmi and the Foreign Relief Worker Just after the Second World War a foreign relief worker was checking how Finns were getting along for food and so on. During Easter this foreigner ended up staying with a family on a small farm in the middle of nowhere ('the middle of nowhere' being a very common place in Finland during those days). The family had just finished the main course of their Easter meal, and there was only mämmi left on the table when the relief worker stepped in. He took a look around, saw the mämmi and rushed to his car and told the driver to drive to the nearest city as soon as possible. There he went straight to the telegraph office and send the following message to his headquarters. Immediate food aid needed, people up here are eating something that has all ready been eaten once! Lovers of mämmi naturally claim this story to be just a mämmi-haters' conspiracy which mocks a perfectly good Easter tradition, while the not so mämmi-friendly Finns are ready to swear with their hand on a Bible that this story is true.

2. Pasha: The picture is not from Timo's pasha but I bet that is not so delicious!

Finnish Easter Pasha Paasispasha Karelians, of eastern Finland, claim pasha as their Easter dessert. Pasha is a traditional Easter dessert that arrived in Finland about the same time as the Orthodox religion. This is a culinary tradition that originated in ancient Karelia, between the White Sea and the Gulf of Finland, which was then part of Russia. It is a mixture of dairy products that are flavored with almonds and raisins, and it is usually served with cloudberry preserves from the Arctic. In Finland, pasha is usually made with a fresh cheese called rahka. This recipe calls for ricotta.Pasha is traditionally baked in a special wooden mold that has the orthodox Easter symbols carved into the sides so that they are impressed on the dessert when it is unmolded. For the clearest impression of the designs when using a pasha mold, use no more than two layers of cheesecloth. If you don't have a pasha mold, a clean five to six inch clay or plastic flower pot with drain holes on the bottom makes a rather pretty substitute.The hole in the bottom of the pot is very important because it allows the mixture to drain. Recipe 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup sugar 4 eggs 3 pints ricotta cheese 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup minced almonds 1/2 cup raisins Fresh fruit, berries or preserves In a large metal bowl, combine the cream, butter, sugar, and eggs. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat until light and fluffy. Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and continue beating the cream mixture until it is thick and light. Remove the bowl from the heat and add the ricotta cheese and sour cream, beating until thick. blend in the almonds and raisins.Line a pasha mold (or a clean 5 to 6 inch flower pot with holes on the bottom)with dampened cheesecloth. Turn the pasha mixture into the lined mold and fold the cheesecloth over the top. Place a 1-pound weight (such as a pound of butter or a can of vegetables or fruit) on top. Place in a large pan (to catch the drippings) and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, draining off the liquids several times, until the pasha is firm. Before serving, unmold the pasha onto a serving plate. Serve with fresh fruit, berries, or preserves.

3. Witches wishing You Good Luck blend the eastern and western traditions

Isto é uma mistura de dia das bruxas com dia do bolinho com domingo de ramos. Os miúdos vestem-se de bruxas e vão às casas dos vizinhos recitar um poema de boa sorte. Entregam estes pauzinhos de salgueiro decorados com penas coloridas e em troca recebem doces. Tradição no domingo de ramos.

At Easter you may well see quaint little characters walking around Finnish villages and suburbs. Children with sooty faces and scarves tied round their heads go begging, carrying broomsticks, coffee pots and bunches of decorated virpovitsa willow twigs. Little girls and sometimes even boys dressed as witches go from door to door, reciting good luck poems in return for money and sweets.