Being vegetarian in Finland

[scoobymcdoo]

Hi
How easy is it to continue being veggie in Finland... do they have a range of food such as Quorn or Linda McCartney? I dont eat fish either which may be a problem.
Many thanks
Scooby

[deojuvame]

I know a few people here in Helsinki who are non-fish eating vegetarians, and it doesn't seem to difficult to do.

There a couple brands of vegetarian products in the frozen foods section of larger supermarkets (although no Quorn that I can recall off the top of my head and definitely no Linda McCartney), and finding TVP is pretty easy, these should be available even in the mid sized to smaller markets.

And eating out there's usually quite a few veggie options in the restaurants.

[alloydog]

Sarioinen do a Kasvihampurlainen - i.e. vegeburger - but it tastes like cardboard gone stale...
Vegetarianism is still on the 'fringes' of society here, mainly art students & ecowarriors. But at least here, when you tell people you're a veggie, they don't look at you as if you a 'care in the community' outpatient

[Caroline]

If by "Finland" you mean Helsinki, you can survive there as a vegetarian, but many of the products mentioned are prepared or fast foods; I haven't been food shopping in HKI in years so I can't say..I guess there are plenty of exotic food shops and more emphasis on international cuisine.

Oulu is a lousy place for vegetarians- I am one myself (no fish either), and I suffer here a lot due to lack of choices and the high prices of tempting products that are available.

But everything is relative. Finland is said to be one of the most vegetarian-friendly countries in the EU (I would say it is compared to Spain, Italy, and Germany), but it is much harder to be veggie here than in the USA and probably moreso than in Canada.

So it depends on where you're coming from and to which city you're moving.

[Rosamunda]

If you like swede and parsnips you'll be OK.... lots of soja products in the stores too and Espoo seems to have new supermarkets opening up everyday. There are good ranges of organic products, fresh organic eggs and milk are available daily in nearly all the major supermarket chains. Do you eat any dairy? Cheese is boring, and imported (French etc) cheeses are expensive and there is no authentic English cheese on the market (and I have never seen veggie cheese here). There are Asian stores in Helsinki that stock excellent ranges of pulses at good prices. Let me know when you get here and I'll give you some addresses and answer your questions (I live in southern Espoo too, am definitely not a veggie but one of my boys has major food allergy problems so I know my way around the food stores in the area).

Not eating fish is not a problem as, contrary to expectations, there is a pathetic selection of fish in the shops here and I wouldn't want to eat anything caught in the Baltic anyway.

Fresh fruit and veg is VERY expensive in the winter (except the swedes and potatoes) but of course there are good selections of frozen and canned stuff. I recommend the local pea soup (eaten on Thursdays up here) and oat porridge.

[scoobymcdoo]

Thanks for all your answers and replies.
We will be moving out in November to Espoo (to start with).
Scooby

[simakun]

Being vegetarian is quite simple and easy really if you're not too attached to green leafy stuff and you're happy consuming dairy products. everything you need to make a great tasty meal is available in any decent supermarket in finland. what do you need anyway? they stock grains, pulses, affordable fresh root vegetables and frozen vegetables. fruit? overrated i reckon. i haven't had one of those in over 3 weeks and i'm pretty healthy. i rememeber i was up in oulu last winter for 4 days and lived quite happily on stockmann's mozzarella cheese sandwiches. i must say they were excellent.

[managesoft]

Hi
How easy is it to continue being veggie in Finland... do they have a range of food such as Quorn or Linda McCartney? I dont eat fish either which may be a problem.
Many thanks
Scooby

No Quorn in Finland, according to Stockmans there is no demand for it! Not sure if it's availiable in Estonia, We bring some back from Sweden every couple of months.

[PeterF]

Mushrooms...I picked enough Canterelle last week end to make a supper meal..I aint a veggie but I likes my sienestää..and Finland is the mecca of all things sienestää.
Mixed with some low fat cream into the fry pan...onto a chunk of new baked bread...


http://www.main.nc.us/naturenotebook/fu ... elles.html

[Majava]

I am not a vegetarian myself, but my girlfriend is and therefore my meat consumption is also down quite a lot. I also try to find meat replacers, like these quorn and soja products, but in Finland they can hardly be found. Only recently I found some products from "Tivall". They are really good quality, excellent taste, but pricy. They are the real meat replacers and should not be cofused with all the other products a vegetarian can buy and prepare something with, since they are plentyful of course. Something in between is the Finnish veggie burger. The ones sold at Hesburger,all katugillis, but also in supermarkets; a pressed disk of vegetable chunks without taste. Sorry, with disgusting taste!

Restaurants and canteens often have a problem being creative with vegetarian dishes. The thought is that a salad or pasta should do! Exceptions are there, but that's what they are; exceptions. My girlfriend thinks that this topic should be in T&S...

Oh and Peter, she doesn't like mushrooms so much, but I do and have more that way

[happeningfish]

I hate being a vegetarian here, really. I had a much easier time in Germany (tofu products are better quality and cheaper, and in general produce is better). Your choices for vegetarian protein are nice and exotic for about 2 months, and then you start wishing they would import something, anything. The other problem is produce. It really isn't of the highest quality in finnish supermarkets (especially in the winter), so vegetarian cooking seems a little less inspiring. Also, I usually live on nuts (brazils, almonds, hazels) and I cannot get fresh brazil nuts here. Even the almonds taste a bit dusty and old.

If you look at most of the veggie products here, like the infamous veggie makkara, they're about 90% fat (not that this differs from your normal makkara). There's one product line I really love, the Hans Kok line of soy "meatballs" and such. Very tasty, VERY expensive.

Tofu is dreadfully expensive. TVP is very easy to find in "ground" size and in larger chunks, but you can't live on that alone. There are a few very bland soy milks around, but I really like the brand alpro. White wave (the people who make Silk) also have a soy milk here that's a bit more scarce but tasty.

And the eggs! Vapaa (free-range) eggs are certainly free-range, and Luomu (organic) eggs are certainly organic, but nowhere on the organic packaging does it specify that those chickens roamed free! Nowhere on the free-range packaging does it specify that the chickens ate organic food! What on EARTH are they thinking, that I'll buy twice as many eggs?!?

Basically I've gone back to eating fish for protein that isn't dairy -- and let me say, if there's one country in the world where the fish is really damn good, it's Finland. Mushrooms are fabulous here, and many Thai restaurants know how to serve tofu dishes right, but that's about it for the happy surprises.

[Hank W.]

I don't understand why everyone who claims to be eco-friendly then immediately complains speciality foods cost extra. The greens that grow naturally in Finland are plenty, one can grow on an allotment to last for the year. Anyone seen me with the giant marrows knows I do not joke about gardening. I admit a diet of rutabaga, turnips and potatoes might be a bit bland, but I see no use being an ecohippie in the tundra and having exotic foods flown over with jets. Vegetables in winter are expensive as either they need to be grown in hothouses powered by oil heating or then flown in. If you wish to eat jungle food, move to the jungle, don't pollute the planet because you can't eat local stuff. And yes, maize doesn't grow here either - or it grows, but doesn't ripen. Thats why corn cobs cost 3 euros for 2, flown in from Israel - its a speciality dish. A bit like a banana was for a kid in the 1960's. I dodn't plant anything this year as I've a lot of other stuff to take care about, so no giant marrows this year, sorry guys.

[PeterF]

. I dodn't plant anything this year as I've a lot of other stuff to take care about, so no giant marrows this year, sorry guys.

Plenty of food though..
http://data.pg2k.hd.org/_tn/std/texture ... all-JT.jpg

If you like..
nokkoskeitto (stinging nettle soup)
http://www.nicehouse.fi/cgi-bin/keittio ... .pl?ID=558

[Hank W.]

Daaah. My dad ate stinging nettle soup, had pancakes made out of it as well as dandelion soup. I think I have a recipe book from the 1970's he used as a bible, some Dr. Rautavaara on herbs and such. I never much got into that, though I've been on a salt-free diet now for a while. Or call it low salt, I never add salt to foods, which causes a lot of 'aargh' sounds and shuffling when I cook.

[PeterF]

Or call it low salt, I never add salt to foods, which causes a lot of 'aargh' sounds and shuffling when I cook.

Pour half a pint of Beamish onto her plate of pork ribs and say it Irish Stew