Midsummer, also known as "Juhannus" in Finland, falls around the summer solstice, which is typically around June 21st. It marks the longest day of the year and is a time of celebration of the sun, light, and the coming of summer.
Midsummer is most often celebrated at a summer cottage with family or friends. The air is filled with aroma of barbecue, and you are greeted with a toast of sparkling wine or beer with a delicate small rye snack made from archipelago bread and salmon.
Food and drink are essential, I want to give you all my tips and ideas on different foods you can serve.
Jump to:
- Planning the menu
- Traditional menu for Midsummer day
- Potato tips
- Maybe some pizza?
- Must have recipes at Finnish Midsummer
- Midsummer menu example
- Affordable Midsummer menu
- Simple cottage menu without barbecue
- Menu as camping
- Some traditional foods in history
- Midsummer traditions
- Sauna
- Floral and birchwood decorations
- Maypole
- Important practical facts
Planning the menu
At a Summer cottage: First of all, the midsummer celebration is usually not just for one night. When you get invited to someone's cottage, you usually arrive on Thursday evening or Friday. The menu needs to be planned for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Think about how you can batch cook and use the same ingredients for different recipes.
Cottage conditions are often quite special, many cottages here are quite simple. Some have running water, others don't. On most cottages the fridge space is limited, so you need to plan a menu that does not need that much cold storage.
Since drinks are great to enjoy chilled, and there might be limited space for them in the fridge, my best investment recommendation is to have an ice maker machine.
Midsummer dinner at home: Hosting a Midsummer feast at home for your friends is simpler, and you only need to think about one menu.
Remember to ask if any of your guests have allergies or special diets. Make a plan for how you can prep things in advance, and plan to have the drinks chilled.
Plan your decorations, such as floral centerpieces, string lights, and a music list. You can, for example, use Spotify playlists that people have made for Juhannus.
Traditional menu for Midsummer day
Midsummer is all about barbecue, and also fresh produce; lots of fresh vegetables and also berries. In season are, for example; salads, carrots, onions, peas, small cauliflowers, radishes, and new potatoes.
Pickled Herring is also essential. You can eat the flavored herring as it is with potatoes and hard boiled eggs, sauce and side salad. Herring is also infused in many recipes, we love to make different herring dips, and also a herring sandwich cake is quite festive.
Since people arrive at the cottage at different times it might be a nice idea to have a savory pie slice at first arrival, or a soup and then some barbecue later in the evening. The savory pie can have some herring and dill in it if you are not serving herring in any other dish.
The midsummer day usually starts with a traditional Finnish breakfast, maybe at 9/10 in the morning. Lunch is around 14 and quite light and can be some boiled potatoes, herring, salmon as lox or smoked, alternatively some other fish or several smoked fish types, sauces, fresh salads with fresh produce. The lunch can also be a soup with dessert.
After lunch, it is traditional to enjoy coffee with some dessert. Some examples on things to serve with coffee mentioned below.
Later in the evening time for barbecue, below, some ideas for a Midsummer barbecue gathering:
Starters:
- Smoked salmon dip with rye crackers
- Roe dip with potato chips
- Toast skagen, but made with rye bread.
- Smoked fish like siika, lahna, ahven
- Smoked salmon mousse
- Savory small waffles with herring filling
- Herring cake
- Salmon sandwich cake
Sides with barbecue
- Tomato and onion salad, tomaattisipulisalaatti. This side salad is served in many Finnish homes and it is simply made from thinly sliced tomatoes and onion slices topped with some salt and black pepper.
- Dill-pickled cucumber slices, hölskykurkut, are simple to make. Slice the cucumber thinly and let it sit for some hours in a pickling solution.
- Potato salad, perunasalaatti. Serve as a creamy version or one with a lighter vinaigrette version.
- Barbecued potato skewers
- Grilled new cabbage slices
- Cheese salad with arugula and strawberries
- Grilled asparagus/bell pepper/zucchini/aubergine
- Coleslaw
- Fennel salad
- Hölskypotut: After boiling potatoes add in the pot sour cream, chopped spring onion, chopped dill, pepper, and salt. Then you shake the pot with the lid on.
Sauces
- Remoulade sauce, this sauce goes with everything and is made from mayonnaise, onion, pickles, capers, chives, mustard, and pepper.
- Mustard dill sauce. This is a must with fish, this Swedish sauce is even enjoyed here in Finland and called hovimestarinkastike.
- Finnish mustard is a must with sausages or meatballs.
- Yogurt cucumber garlic sauce.
Main grills
- Grilled pork fillet
- Barbecued ribs
- Beef tenderloin
- Grillimakkara: there are a variety of barbecue sausages in Finnish stores, choose one with high meat content for best quality.
- Salmon on the grill. Wrap salmon in foil with spices and serve as a whole or make small salmon foil packages.
- Bacon-wrapped portobello mushrooms filled with blue cheese.
- Grilled chicken skewers with veggies
Dessert alternatives
- Strawberry soup with whipped cream
- Rhubarb soup.
- Barbecued fruits like peaches with ice cream
With coffee
- Brita cake. Meringue and sponge cake base with whipped cream and berries.
- Strawberry layer cake: A fluffy sugar sponge cake filled with whipped cream, strawberry jam, and fresh strawberries. Some people like to add banana slices in the middle.
- Pavlova. A meringue base layer or 2 layers decorated with whipped cream and berries of the season.
- Strawberry no-bake cheesecake
- Rhubarb and strawberry crumble with vanilla ice cream
- Köyhät ritarit. French toast on the barbecue with grilled strawberries and cream
- Pancakes or oven pancake
- Kääretorttu, Finnish swiss roll filled with jam, like rhubarb, strawberry or apple.
- Finnish blueberry pie-perfect to use leftover berries from fridge before the next season.
Potato tips
As potatoes are nowadays essential at Midsummer, here are some tips of mine:
- Buy lots of them: Boil a big batch at once.
- Boil the new potatoes with the skin on
- There are not Finnish potatoes available always, but the Swedish new potatoes are equally good.
- Siikli is the best variety of potatoes for summer.
- Remember, when boiling potatoes, salt the water generously to get the flavor.
- Add the hard dill stems in the boiling water to give flavor.
- After you have poured the water add a knob of butter and chopped dill.
- Use leftover boiled potatoes to make grilled potato skewers or lyttypottu.
Maybe some pizza?
Since the small pizza oven ooni (invented by a Finn) is a found in most cottages and self-made pizza has grown its popularity. Here is my recommendations for a Juhannuspizza:
White pizza with sour cream or creme fraiche, flavored with a hint of horseradish. Top with thinly sliced boiled potato and mozzarella. Fry in the ooni oven, and then add some smoked salmon on top and chopped chives and fresh arugula.
Must have recipes at Finnish Midsummer
Midsummer menu example
Starter
- Store bought arhipelago bread with cream cheese and lox. Decorate with a lemon wedge and fresh dill.
- Sparkling wine
Main course
- Entrecote beef steak on barbecue
- Hölskypotut
Dessert
- Pavlova (meringue cake) filled with rhubarb jam, whipped cream and strawberry slices.
Affordable Midsummer menu
Starter:
- Small rye bread crackers filled with herring mixture
- Rhubarb mead
Herring mixture is made from 2 hard boiled eggs, 4 chopped matjes herring fillets, 1 red onion, 1 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon black pepper and 1 tablespoon chopped dill.
Main course
- Grilled lamb sausage
- Lyttypotut (boiled potatoes that are then flattened and grilled in foil)
- Mint chimichurri
- Fresh salad
Boil waxy potatoes, mash them flatter with a fork. Lay them on a foil tray or other grill tray. Spray some olive oil on top and some finger salt. Grill so they get a bit browned. Even some sprinkled feta cheese or other cheese is great on top of the potatoes. Add some chimichurri on top before serving
Mint chimichurri: 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 bunch chopped fresh mint, 2 tablespoon vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon chili flakes, ¼ cup olive oil. Mix everything together in a mortar and pestle.
Dessert
- Rhubarb cake with vanilla ice cream
Simple cottage menu without barbecue
Lunch: Salmon soup with store-bought archipelago bread and butter. Alternatively kesäkeitto, a summer soup in milk with seasonal vegetables.
Dinner: Boiled new potatoes in dill, hard-boiled eggs, 2-3 ready bought herring types. Creme fraiche sauce with dill. Hölskykurkut(marinated cucumber slices). Store-bought smoked salmon elevates the dinner if you have place in the fridge.
Dessert: Pancakes with whipped cream and fresh strawberries/strawberry jam.
Menu as camping
If you celebrate juhannus outdoors camping in a tent, it is a different story to plan the food so it stores well. Pack along things that have room in a cooler bag, but avoid things that has a high risk food poisoning like seafood (prawns and mussels).
Simple foods to make in a trangia are different soups and stews, pasta or risotto. A kertakäyytögrilli, one time small grill is handy to have along. With that you can grill almost anything.
My camping recommendations food foods:
- Potatoes: Have your potatoes ready-washed as you pack them along. They are easy to boil or fry.
- Fresh dill.
- Sour cream or jogurt.
- Grated cabbage salad. This salad stores well, since it does not have mayonnaise. You can make this at home and pack along.
- Vacuum-packed corn. Perfect for grilling.
- Grillimakkara, sausages: Sausage stores better than raw meat.
- Caviart. Plant-based seaweed pearls are nice to use in a dip.
- A pancake mix bag: Just add some water and fry pancakes with you trangia. Have along strawberry jam.
- Squeaky cheese: Boil some salted caramel (kinuski) with the cheese and serve with lingonberries or cloudberry jam.
- Cucumber, tomatoes, leek; these make a nice salad.
Some traditional foods in history
There are many midsummer foods that are not that popular nowadays anymore, but what would a food article be, if I did not mention these. You might want to try out some.
In agricultural parts, it was out of the question to butcher animals in early summer since they had just survived the winter months, and the cows were thin and had to be fattened up. The Finns lived off meat until the autumn slaughtering season was reached. The popularity of sausage as a year-round food is quite new.
Also, potatoes were sown in early June, so they were not ready for midsummer. Popular foods at midsummer was anything made from milk products.
In Northern Finland one popularity is juhannusjuusto, also called red cheese or cheese soup that is popular in Oulu regions. It is made by boiling heavy-fat milk so that it caramelizes slightly and gets a reddish color. It looks very disgusting, but the taste is quite divine.
Other milk-based foods were viilipiimä, a traditional food in Kainuu (Cajania), in northeast of Finland. Maitovelli, munamaito and leipäjuusto or squeaky cheese are also regional foods.
One food that has been made in all parts of Finland is of course pancakes in various forms. As muurinpohjalettu fried outside or as an oven pancake.
In Eastern Finland Karelian pies and vatruska are popular even at Midsummer, serve these at the breakfast table or as a side with salmon soup.
Midsummer traditions
Bonfires (Kokko)
Lighting bonfires is an essential part of Midsummer celebrations in Finland. People gather around the bonfires, especially near lakesides or seaside locations. If it is very warm and dry weather, there might be a forest fire warning, and at this time, bonfires are not lit.
Bonfires are lit in private Summer cottages, but often cities organize a bonfire where people can gather around to watch it. In Helsinki bonfires can usually be found at Kaivopuisto beach, Lauttasaari kokkokallio, Seurasaari and Karjalaisten kesäkoti. Seurasaari, an outdoor historical museum, has a program all over Juhannus.
Pagan origins: In ancient traditions, bonfires were lit to ward off evil spirits and ensure a good harvest. The fires were believed to provide protection against malevolent forces and to purify the land. Nowadays bonfires serve as a social gathering and community event.
Sauna
A relaxing Sauna session is enjoyed with friends, naked of course. Usually, Sauna is enjoyed at the summer cottage, but there are also public saunas. In Helsinki you might want to try out a public sauna. There is also the possibility to rent a sauna for private use in Helsinki. This might be fun with some friends. Read more about Midsummer Sauna traditions in the worldofsauna blog.
A saunavihta is essential to make at Midsummer. You collect birch tree branches that you tie together. Dip it in hot water and smash your back with it. This increases the blood circularity. Birch leaves contain saponins, which act as a kind of mild soap and help gently wash away grease and dirt from the skin.
The best vihta, or vasta, as it is also called, is made from rauduskoivu, which has the sturdiest leaves. You can only pick tree branches from your own property, not from a living tree in a park, forest, or someone's yard.
Floral and birchwood decorations
Birch trees are an important part of Juhannus. They decorate door frames and are bought all the way inside; You can place birch branches in a vase or decorate the dining table. In the sauna, they are used as a vihta, and also you can decorate the sauna with them.
Natural flowers have been used to predict a future spouse. Depending on the location, seven or nine wildflowers have been collected and put under the pillow at night. According to belief, this is how you can see your future spouse in a dream.
Nowadays, flowers, especially wildflowers, decorate the midsummer table and sauna. They are often gathered from the surrounding countryside or gardens.
Garlands: Garlands have their roots in ancient pagan customs, where they were worn to ward off evil spirits, promote fertility, and bring good luck. Nowadays not many people think this is the meaning, but just as a nice crafting moment and to take beautiful selfies.
Maypole
Rising up a maypole (in Finnish, "juhannussalko") is a common tradition among the Swedish speaking Finns, especially at the Åland island (Ahvenanmaa) and on the western coastal areas. This tradition is from Sweden. The Maypole is typically adorned with flowers and leaves and raised in the center of a celebration site. People participate in traditional dances around the maypole.
Open-air dances: Juhannustanssit. These are organized in many cities. If you want to find out where and when google juhannustanssit and the city you are in or visiting.
Important practical facts
- Traffic jams: On Midsummer, our roads have the worst traffic jams of the year. The roads are twice as crowded as at Christmas. The worst rush is on Thursday afternoon and on Friday.
- Open hours: Alko is open on Thursday evening at least until 18. On Friday, only 9-12, and the weekend closed. Smaller food stores in small towns might close on Friday at 12 and be closed the weekend. Many large stores like Prisma and Citymarket are open and many of them have 24h open stores. If you are lacking something from a grocery store, you might try out the ABC gas station food stores.
- Juhannustori: There are many local open-air square markets on Thursday and Friday selling fresh local produce.
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