Filter coffee

One of the first things I discovered in Helsinki was the dominance of filtered coffee over barista type of coffee. This was also the case in the Hakaniemen market hall (Hakaniemen kauppahalli) where I had my breakfast filtered coffee with a Karjalanpiiratat (Karelian pasty) and a cabbage puff pastry. A good entry into the Finnish cuisine.

It was my first time to be in the Nordics and I was looking forward to get to now the local cuisine. My expectations were partly set by the Helsinki edition of the Fare magazine which covers cities from a culinary perspective. It certainly was different to the hype around Copenhagen. Nordic means also some kind of cool and calm to me. I found this cliché kind of true for Helsinki but without the hipster stuff. And this means focus on good, old filtered coffee.

The Hakaniemen market hall

The Hakaniemen or Hakaniemi market hall was my entry point to the Helsinki cuisine. The red brick building dates from 1914. The two floors had just been renovated and everything was white and clean. Very white and clean, a contrast to its brick shell outside. The whiteness promoted a minimalist, concentrated ambiance which helped to bring more light into the hall and let the produce shine.

The ground floor had all the produce and streetfood, whereas the top floor all sorts of hardware and souvenirs in stock.

Difference

Discovering the unfamiliar in a market is what gets my attention. That meant that I had to calibrate my eyes to the merchandise. At first sight I saw only seemingly familiar meat, fish, vegetables, flowers and delicacies. Then I dug deeper and discovered the unfamiliar.

It started with the small breakfast where the bakery was not overloaded with croissants and sweet baked goods, but served a lot of rustic ones filled with meat, cabbage, egg and similar. I had never seen Karelian pasty before, so I took one. It is a rye based oval shaped pasty of roughly 12 cm open at the top and often filled with some sort of rice pudding. A classic topping is a mixture of butter and hard boiled egg called “munavoi“. I liked it, even though I would not call it a breath taking experience. The filtered coffee was filtered coffee.

Walking through the aisles it seemed that the market hall was mainly about meat and fish, not surprisingly when you consider that Helsinki is close to the sea, has thousands of lakes and quite a lot of surface for so little people in a rather colder climate. How did I get this wrong impression? Probably because I saw only one vegetable and fruit vendor amongst the 25 or so food stalls. At second sight I found also a few bakeries, spices, delicacies from Italy etc.

In contrast to the market halls I know in Germany, I did not see traders with a Turkish, Arabic, Persian etc. family history, something I surely missed. But it is hard to tell just looking at people. Having traders with such cultural heritage creates a different layer of ambiance, style of displays and conversations, meaning more variety in the market, something I appreciate.

What caught my attention?

Sandwiches

I like bread. A lot. I love baking bread as well. And I love open-faced sandwiches. Helsinki is a feast for those, especially in the Hakaniemen market hall. I am used to little variety in Germany: mozarella with tomato, gouda cheese, Gouda with ham or salami or similar. Sometimes there are a few more “Italian” looking ones. Here the variety was large variety based on Finnish (?) ingredients. Different spreads, fish, seafood, meat and more garnished with dill or other herbs. Not so much cheese.All very nicely placed on a slice of rye or wheat bread or half a roll. Different style and different tastes to what I am used to. I liked it.

Bread

Did I mention that I love bread?

I was aware that rye is often used in Finnish breads, but I was surprised that it did not really dominate. And I did not find a lot of sourdough based rye bread. I learned from a waitress that quick breads are more common. I looked at three bakeries in the market hall, but was not really observant enough to dig deeper into the existing variety. I bought a flat rye bread wheel wrapped in plastic which was more satisfying and with a longer shelf life than I expected. It was even appreciated at home. So i had to correct a little bit my assumptions.

In sourdough oriented bakeries outside the market hall, I also could not find the dense type of rye breads I am used to in Germany.

Game meat

Bear & reindeer!

I had never seen it before. And I had never tasted it before. And it was easy to buy both in the Hakaniemen market hall. Not only at one stall. It was mostly cured or smoked and not cheap. I shared a small piece of smoked reindeer with my Croatian friend at home. We both liked it. It had a smooth, almost elegant game taste, was salty in a pleasant way and lean. Good for visitors: it is vacuumed packed.

I had tried bear on 10€ slice of bread a couple days earlier in the Vanha Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall), but was not overwhelmed. The very lean meat had the taste of a slightly gamy beef tartar. I did not see the need to bring it back home. Probably a mistake not giving it a second chance.

Fish

When a city faces the sea and has plenty of lakes in the “backyard”, fish should be common place. It was. And in a nice variety. A lot of it was smoked, cured or graved. I could not resist to sample a little and eat it in the hotel to get first hand experience. The choice was overwhelming and my stomach finite. I still have good memories of what I bought.

Of course herring, a common fish in the Baltic region was abundant in the market hall, but also salmon in a large variety of preparations. A small sweet water fish maybe twice as big as anchovies seemed to be a staple food which I also saw at the Kauppatori streetfood market. As I am not a fish expert and reading Finnish labels proved difficult to me – too lazy for a digital translator, I could not identify all of them, but I was impressed.

Else

Other stalls had also a very nice display of their goods, the owners put a lot of effort in pleasing the eyes of customers by displaying what I would call an orderly abundance. Abundance because the stalls were full of produce, no empty spaces, every square centimeter used, always the signal: there is plenty. Orderly because nothing got in the way on providing focus on the goods. No scale, other equipment or empty boxes were visible.

In Hakaniemen market hall meat, fish and bread were in focus meaning represented by more than one stall. Other produce categories were represented by single stalls only, thus clearly showing the focus here. Fruit, Mediterranean specialties, pasta, cheese, coffee, tea, flowers etc. ensured that pantries could be sufficiently filled.

All in all

I went a few days in a row to experience the Hakaniemen market hall. The hall is new and has a touch of class but somehow grounded, offering tourists a nice spot to enjoy Finnish food culture without being a souvenir place. With its produce it has a distinct character, I would not find something similar in Germany or France. I did not see extravagant offerings, but an own good quality which may represent the country pretty well. I had more fun with this market hall than with the more tourist oriented Vanha Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall).

When in Helsinki, it is definitely worth making a detour and visiting it.

A little link list

• Hakaniemi market hall on Wikipedia
• The official website and on Instagram
• A blog post from travel and lifestyle diaries
• An old post from eat-drink-man-woman-blog

The post White & bright – Hakaniemen Market Hall, Helsinki / Finland appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

I love lists, all sorts of lists, no idea why. And I like good blog posts on food & farmers’ markets. An ideal combination to publish a list of the European capitals and their markets. Why European capitals? Well, I live on this continent and this way I get to know it a bit better.

This list will grow and get better over time. I am happy about any suggestion or hint – contact me on Twitter: @askans

Enjoy!

The European countries, their capitals & markets

Albania – Tirana

• I did not find a lot, therefore I have to promote my own post: the new Bazaar in Tirana – I was impressed that they were selling open tobacco just like any veggie

Andorra – Andorra la Vella

• Not yet

Austria – Vienna

• The Naschmarkt on this site during daytime & nighttime – during the day for shopping at night for entertainment and dining – a cool combination
• The Naschmarkt by epicures with lots of pictures- a little bit of history and a wide choice of produce and artisan products – from exotic to local
• The official English website
• The Rochus Market which has a great wine pub at night

Belarus – Minsk

• The Komarovski – market hall seems to be the place of attraction. The post from food.artkopilka.ru is in Cyrillic but has many good pictures. Like in many Eastern European countries there is clear structure and order in this market hall.

Belgium – Brussels

• Why waste annual leave, the blog with an overview on the Brussels weekend markets
• ottsworld.com gives a portrait of the Midi market, which has lots of Arabic influences – incl. a video

Bosnia & Herzegovina – Sarajevo

• From adventures in Bosnia an overview on food & markets in Sarajevo
• And here a short post on the Markale market & market hall from greengopost.com

Bulgaria – Sofia

• A panaroma picture from 360cities.net
• The Women’s market (Jenski Pazar) by Sofia Travel Guide

Croatia – Zagreb

• The markets of Zagreb are very well organized and have almost a “branded” appearance as they all use standardized umbrellas etc. The Dolac market is the most known one and has also a great fish market.
• Dolac market, the Dolac fish market, Kvatric market and the Trešnjevka one on this site
• Dutched Pinay travels a lot and takes nice pictures from markets – in this case Dolac market
• tatjanapasalic.com is a well known personality in Croatia: model, TV presenter & more – here she blogged on Kvatric market

Cyprus – Nicosia

• An overview with nice pictures on farmers’ markets in Cyprus incl. Nicosia by Afrodites kitchen

Czech Republic – Prague

• In the the touristic city of Prague farmers’ markets are supposed to be on the rise.
• An overview of the markets from prague.tv
• Past, present & future of the big Holešovice market from expats.cz
• My own post

Denmark – Copenhagen

• From eatyourcity.ca an introduction & pictures on the Torvehallerne & Israels Plads markets
• An introduction for tourists to the Torvehallerne food market by a food awakening
• The official site of the Tervehallerne market

Estonia – Talinn

• A list of the markets in the city from @VisitTallinn

Finland – Helsinki

• Pearlspotting describes the Market Square by the sea and the old Market Hall
• Dutched Pinay is always a good source – Kauppatori Market Square – Hietalahti Market Square – Hakaniemi Market Square

France – Paris

• There is one favourite source for me: Marjorie R. Williams, who wrote a book on the Paris markets and blogs about them
• A nice post on the famous wholesale market Rungis International Market by Cody C. Delistraty

Germany – Berlin

• The past, current status and future of the Berlin Market Halls by @slowberlin. They also posted on the very popular Markthalle IX
• A listing of the Berlin markets by angloinfo.com

Greece – Athens

• As an introduction my post on the Central Market – A must see for meat & fish lovers
• Matt Barrett has written several picture intense posts – The Central Market – an overview on some markets

Hungary – Budapest

• My post on the Central Market Hall, which has a splendid architecture
• A post on the Central Market Hall with many pictures from alwaystravelicious.com

Iceland – Reykjavík

• Not yet

Ireland – Dublin

• The Dublin Diary has a post on the Honest 2 Goodness Farmers Market
• And here my post on the Moore Street Market

Italy – Rome

• A blog specialized on the markets of Rome alone: marketsofrome.com
• The post yourguidetoitaly.com gives an overview in pictures of the markets in Rome
• Forbestravelguide.com is more decriptive

Kosovo – Pristina

• Not yet

Latvia – Riga

•  From Paris Paysanne a nice little post on the Riga Central Market
• And here a big fan of the Riga central market on Pinterest

Lichtenstein – Vaduz

• Not yet

Lithuania – Vilnius

• A little post with pictures on the Kalvarijų turgus market from Ravinder Sehgal

Luxembourg – Luxembourg

• My post
• A list of farmers’ markets

Macedonia – Skopje

• From Macedonia in 91 days a post with tons of pictures and a video giving great insights on the Bit Pazar

Malta – Valletta

•  The Ta’ Qali farmer’s market by Kristin Winet

Moldova – Chișinău

• Moldovan Life describes the Piata Centrala – the main market
• Foodperestroika, a great blog with focus on Central and Eastern European food & cuisine is highly recommended – also the post on Moldovan food

Monaco – Monaco

• Not yet

Montenegro – Podgorica

• A tiny friendly post on Podgorica’s Green Market from Wandering Educators

Netherlands – The Hague

• My own post on the Haagse Markt
• It is supposed to be the largest outdoor market in Europe with 500 stalls: the Haagse Markt as per Theleidener.com
• Local Heart, Global Soul finds the Haagse Markt impressive as well

Norway – Oslo

• From Nordic Nibbler a friendly introduction into the Bondens Marked
• And Oslo has also a market hall – Mathallen – the post from soldrom.com

Poland – Warsaw

• Warsaw’s Saturday Market in Zoliborz by My Travelling Joys
• A short overview on the Hale Mirowskie – the central market hall – from polandculinaryvacations.com

Portugal – Lisbon

• travel.sketch.write posts about the Mercado da Ribeira, which seems to be the most famous market in Lisbon
• The Mercado de Campo de Ourique is described by Portugal confidential as hip and urban

Romania – Bucharest

• My post on the Piata Domenii market
• Beautiful pictures from Oana Hogrefe on a unknown market

Russia – Moscow

• A nice introduction into the Moscow markets by The Moscovore
• A photo essay in Russian on Preobrazhensky Rynok farmers market by DaryaDarya – courtesy of where.cheap-moscow.com

San Marino – San Marino

• Not yet

Serbia – Belgrade

• A small post with nice pictures on a farmer’s market from Stellar Perspectives
• The Belgrade Green Market by Serbian Culture Shock
• Nataša von Wunderland made an extensive photo tour of the markets in Belgrade

Slovakia – Bratislava

• I had the chance to visit 2 markets: the Trhovisko Miletičova central market & the Nová Tržnica market hall
• Basic information about the markets in Bratislava from bratislava.info
• A post from daytripper.sk which characterizes the market hall very well
• A post with many pictures from 52 weeks in Slovakia
• Different: a fashion shooting at the market from Donna Iveh Fashion Blog

Slovenia – Ljubljana

• The Farmers Market on the Vodnik Square by photojoseph.com
• Meet the Ljubljana market enthusiast on Twitter: @JanaSvenska

Spain – Madrid

• Mercamadrid is the second largest fish market in the world and the largest and the biggest perishable foods market in Europe according to spanishsabores.com She writes also on the Cámera Agraria farmer’s market
• From Citylife Madrid a quick overview on the markets in Madrid
• Wanderwings has some nice pictures on the known Mercado de San Miguel

Sweden – Stockholm

• An overview on the market halls in Stockholm by Real Scandinavia
• A small post on a farmer’s market by Bunny in Stockholm

Switzerland – Bern

• The markets and their opening times by the City of Bern
• From Swiss Mirabelle an overview and some pictures

UK – London

• Of course: Borough market is leading the pack and there is a fairly large number of posts on this market. My current favourite is kind of a love letter to the market from Eat Out of the Box
• A good overview on the London farmers’ markets from the organization called London farmers’ markets
• An overview on the markets in general by the Londonist
• From WhatAWonderfulWorld a nice one on a small market: Maltby Street Market
• Westminster News Online promotes the Food Market at Southbank

Ukraine – Kiev

• From Life in Kiev a nice post on the Besarabsky Market Hall
• From akihart an extensive photo post on Besarabsky market hall
• An extensive overview on the markets by BestOfUkraine

That should be it Europe!?

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