• Dasus@lemmy.world
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    15 hours ago

    Finland not included?

    Let me tell you the recipe for the Finnish national dish: Karelian stew.

    Cubes of meat. Beef, pork, lamb. Put them in water. Add salt, (but like less than you’d actually need.)

    Chuck it in the oven for hours.

    Done.

    No pepper. No vegetables. Nothing. Cubes of meat and salt.

    God I hate Finland. There’s great parts and definitely easymode compared to a lot of places, but there’s problems as well. A lot, actually. Just very different.

    • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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      8 hours ago

      Karelian stew is simple peasant food, easy to make but fulfilling. It’s that but also delicious. It’s not supposed to go toe-to-toe with the whole culinary world.

      • Dasus@lemmy.world
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        8 hours ago

        “Delicious”?

        My fucking god.

        I’d like to see Gordon Ramsay reacting to people saying that cubes of meat in lightly salted water are “delicious.”

        The self-deluding is insane.

        I mean, there are modern versions which actually add spices and vegetables, and then it is good, but that isn’t “traditional” per se.

          • Dasus@lemmy.world
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            8 hours ago

            Just… plain, unpeppered meat?

            Whatever floats your goat, man.

            • Comment105@lemm.ee
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              3 hours ago

              What makes you feel like pepper is such an incredible and necessary ingredient?

              • Dasus@lemmy.world
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                2 hours ago

                It’s no the lack of pepper. It’s the lack of everything.

                What makes you think boiled undersalted meat cubes are a meal?

              • Comment105@lemm.ee
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                3 hours ago

                If the meat is good, it’ll be good with or without pepper.

                Overall I feel like boiling is in general ignorantly ridiculed far too much by modern cooking culture, especially famous restaurant chefs. Stews are usually easily better than the average “home chef’s” steak attempt #62.

            • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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              8 hours ago

              Good meat doesn’t need anything else than salt imo. But usually Karelian stew has pepper and other stuff in it too.

              • Dasus@lemmy.world
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                8 hours ago

                Traditional Karelian Stew only says salt in the recipe, though.

                • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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                  8 hours ago

                  Some do, some don’t. It’s not a set in stone thing afaik. Some old recipes are simpler than others. These days mostly always it’s more than just meat(s), water, salt.

                  • Dasus@lemmy.world
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                    7 hours ago

                    But like… you definitely see my point here.

                    Our national dish is boiled, lightly salted meat.

                    That’s shit.

                    When have you ever heard of anyone discussing “Finnish cuisine”? When have you ever heard of there being a Finnish restaurant somewhere outside of Finland? I’m sure a couple exist, but most are probably “Nordic” and I’ll genuinely be surprised if you find one that’s a “traditional Finnish food” restaurant in another country.

      • Dasus@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        There are good things, yeah.

        But lately, for me, the problems have become too much to bear living here.

        The emotional coldness is not exaggerated.