Finland 100: 53 – Many Ways to Smoke a Fish

If you go into a supermarket in Finland and head for the fresh produce counter, you’ll always come across a large display of fish cooked round a fire in all kinds of ways, hot smoked, cold smoked, ‘grilled’ on a plank… It is such a common sight that Finns take it very much for granted, whereas I still find myself stopping and staring. A good rye bread, slices of cucumber and some smoked fish on top – it doesn’t get much better. I still remember a little caravan we used to stop off at on the way down to visit family in Turku, just to pick up the only thing they sold, smoked salmon. I’m feeling hungry just thinking about it.