Finland

Finland a country of enormous extent, with a population of only just over 5 million, and two languages (Finnish and Swedish). The Finnish language is of special interest because it, together with Estonian and Hungarian, is one of the few surviving examples of the Finno-Ugric linguistic family. About 6 per cent of the population speak Swedish as their native tongue, whereas for all the rest it is Finnish; but just about everyone speaks both.

Of the many vigorous culinary traditions, some are focused on hunting, some on fish, others on gathering wild fungi, and several on particular enthusiasms which are shared with other Nordic countries, for example rye bread (also barley breads), the smörgåsbord (voileipäpöytä in Finnish), crayfish feasts, pickles of many kinds, and the golden cloudberry, which is found especially in the far north, within the Arctic Circle.