Traditional Finnish Homemade Drinks

MEAD (Sima)

Sparkling Finnish May Day drink

Mead made according to this recipe is virtually alcohol-free *) and is suitable for children to drink. Mead is a popular drink in Finland during the May Day celebration. Note: sterilize all the equipment you will use — jars, lids, cheesecloth, saucepans, spoons, funnels, bottles, caps, etc — with boiling water.
If the brown sugar you are using is very dark and/or strong in flavour, and if you want the mead to be lighter in colour and taste, replace some more of the brown sugar with white sugar. This mead should be light and fresh, with a clean, balanced flavour of lemon and the sugars and not of stuffy molasses.

Pour the sugars in a clean, heatproof large glass jar rinsed with boiling water. Wash and brush the lemons under hot running water. In thin strips, peel out their yellow zest, place in a strainer and rinse with boiling water. Halve the peeled lemons and squeeze out their juice.
Bring the water to the boil and pour about half of it on the sugars in the jar. After the sugar has dissolved, add the lemon juice and zest. Let the mixture stand until it is lukewarm. Also let the other half of water cool until lukewarm (about 37 °C ).

Dissolve the yeast in a small amount of the water and add to the lukewarm sugar mixture along with the rest of the lukewarm water. Stir thoroughly, cover with a loose lid or cloth and let stand overnight at room temperature. The mixture should begin to ferment within a day, ie carbon dioxide is released, making the mixture slightly fizzy.

Strain the mixture through a sieve lined with a clean, fine cheesecloth and pour in sterilized bottles. Add about 1 teaspoon sugar and 5 - 10 raisins in every bottle. Raisins can be omitted. Close the bottles with tight-fitting caps.


Let the mead bottles stand at room temperature for about 3 hours before transferring them in cold storage, like a cold cellar or refrigerator. The fermentation will continue in the bottles so it is advisable to store them in cold, or else the pressure building inside the bottles may break them. This is why it is also important not to exceed the amount of yeast given in the recipe.
The mead will be ready to drink after about one week or two. It will be drinkable as soon as the raisins in the bottles have risen on the surface of mead, but its taste will improve if it is stored for a bit longer.

Makes about 4 - 4½ litres of mead.

Note: At the summer it is popular to add also blackcurrant leaves (1 liter/4 liter water).

*) In Finland, commercially sold beverages containing alcohol less than 2,8 % by volume are classified non-alcoholic. Store-bought meads typically have an alcohol content ranging between 0,5 and 2,8 %. Homemade mead may contain a very low amount of alcohol, but when made following this recipe, it is still suitable for children to drink.

Recipe source: traditional Finnish recipe.

GLÖGG

Glögg, or glögi, is a widely popular winter and Christmas time drink in Finland. for serving: With a vegetable peeler, peel a few thin slices of the zest of a thoroughly washed and brushed orange — preferably use organically grown fruit. Scald and peel the almonds.

Pour the juice(s) in a small saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom seeds, allspice berries, ginger and the orange peel strips. Bring the mixture just to the boil and turn off the heat. To enhance the flavour, allow the spices to steep in the hot juice for a few minutes. Reheat before serving, if necessary.

Drop some almonds and raisins in a serving mug or a tea-glass with a spoon in it and strain the hot glögg over. Serve immediately.

Serves 1.

Recipe source: family recipe/traditional Nordic recipe.

CHRISTMAS BEER

Traditional Finnish beer
This drink is supposed to taste slightly sweet. Increase or reduce the amount of sugar according to your taste. Note that because of the extremely simple preparation method, this "beer" has a rather bland flavour, not resembling true beer. Pour the malt, flour and sugar in a large and clean heatproof glass jar. Bring the water to the boil and pour over the flours and sugar. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely and let cool until the temperature has lowered to 37 °C.

Take a small amount of the mixture and dissolve the tiny piece of yeast in it. Pour this mixture in the jar and mix thoroughly. Cover the jar loosely with a lid and let stand overnight in a warm place. Stir the mixture every now and then. The mixture should begin to ferment within a day.
Strain the mixture through a sieve lined with clean, fine cheesecloth and pour in sterilized bottles. Seal the bottles with tight-fitting caps. Let the beer bottles stand in room temperature for about 3 hours before transferring in cold storage, a cold cellar or a very cold refrigerator.

The fermentation will continue in the bottles so it is advisable to store them in a cold place or else the pressure building inside the bottles may break them. If you suspect there might be too much pressure, it is advisable to open the bottles in a bathtub or some other protected area, loosely covered with a towel to prevent the beer from gushing out and spilling all over the walls and ceiling.

The beer will be ready to drink after about one week or two.

Note: In Finland, commercially sold beverages containing alcohol less than 2,8 % by volume are classified non-alcoholic. Store-bought beers suitable for all the family to drink typically have an alcohol content of about 2,2 % or less. Also homemade beer may contain a very low amount of alcohol, but when made following this recipe, it is still suitable for children to drink.

Recipe source: adapted from traditional Finnish recipes.

RED (WINE) CHRISTMAS GLÖGG




Glögg (or glögi in Finnish) is a Scandinavian mulled wine made with red wine or red fruit juices, heated up along with sugar and spices — cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, orange peel, allspice, mace, nutmeg, etc — and served mixed with raisins and almonds.

At Christmas time ready-made, non-alcoholic glögg is sold in every store and alcoholic glögg in liquor stores here in Finland.

"White" glöggs made with white wine, cider, white grape, apple, pear, or other light fruit juices are also popular nowadays. for serving: Scald the almonds and peel them. If you cannot find dried Seville orange peel, substitute it with a couple of thin strips of the zest of a fresh regular orange — preferably use organically grown fruit.

Pour the wine and the juice(s) in a saucepan and heat the mixture up. Do not let it boil. Add some sugar and the spices, mix thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved and let steep on a low heat for 5 - 10 minutes (or longer) without boiling. Strain the glögg and spike it up with a dash of vodka, if you like. Reheat the mixture, if necessary.

Drop a few blanched almonds and raisins in serving mugs or tea-glasses with a spoon in them and pour the hot glögg over. Serve immediately.


Recipe source: family recipe/traditional Nordic recipe.

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WHITE CHRISTMAS GLÖGG



White glögg can be made of light grape juice, apple juice, white wine or apple or pear cider (perry), or a mixture of them. If you are using dry white wine, add some more sugar.

Glögg can be served before a meal or after a meal with some Christmas desserts or just as a warm-up on a frosty winter day. for serving: If the apple is not an organically grown one, peel it. (None of the Finnish apple varieties (grown in Finland) have to be peeled, since they are not waxed or sprayed with insecticides.) Core and thinly slice the apple half.
Pour the cider in a saucepan and heat it up. Do not let it boil. Add the sugar, spices and apple slices. Let stand for 10 minutes on low heat without boiling. Spike up the glögg with a dash of punch, Calvados or vodka, if you like. Reheat the mixture, if necessary.

Strain the hot glögg in serving mugs or tea-glasses with a spoon in them. Garnish with a couple of apple slices or omit the apple and drop a few golden raisins and blanched almonds or pine kernels in the glasses instead. Serve immediately.

Recipe source: adapted from "Mulled cider with calvados", www.epicurious.com/Gourmet, February/1993.