Mmmmmm mämmi. For any Finns out there, I’d like to say straight away that I love mämmi. Loooove it! Yummy! Mämmi gets such a bad rap around here, and I can’t understand why. I came to Finland for the first time in 2000, heard of mämmi pretty much immediately (Finns seem very fond of asking “Have you tried mämmi? Do you know it looks like….” Wait, we’ll get to that part later.), but didn’t try it until 2006. For crying out loud. In Finland there is a lot of talk of mämmi, but as far as I can tell there’s not a whole lot of actual mämmi making the rounds. And that’s a shame.
Mämmi is a traditional Easter pudding made of rye flour, malt, and dark syrup. The rye flour and malt are mixed with warm water in several increments. Between each addition of flour, malt and water, the mixture sits in a warm place for about an hour. During this time, enzymatic activity causes the starch to start breaking down into maltose, which naturally sweetens the pudding. Sugar was an expensive luxury in the old days, and this process reduced the amount needed. Finally, the whole mixture is baked, cooled, and served with cream and a sprinkling of sugar. If you like the flavor of malt, you will like mämmi. It’s healthy, very cheap, and seasonal too—a wonderfully quintessential Finnish dish.
People here say that you either love mämmi or you hate it, which implies that it has the strength and peculiarity of flavor of, say, marmite or pickled herring. It’s actually quite a mild, sweet flavor that I wouldn’t even imagine is an acquired taste. I suspect the mämmi smear campaign started long ago when someone, somewhere came up with the idea that it looks like poo. I can’t remember having heard a single mention of the dish that didn’t include this disclaimer. Mämmi looks about as much like poo as chocolate mousse, but this description has managed to malign the dessert to a remarkable extent. Poor mämmi!
Mämmi whipped with vanilla ice cream
One of the things I love about Finland is the strict seasonality of its many holiday treats. Around May Day, and only around May Day, you can stop by any café for funnel cake and mead, at Christmas there’s gingerbread and mulled wine, and Shrove Tuesday is time for my favorite, laskiaispulla. But where’s the mämmi on Easter? I managed to avoid eating mämmi for all those years not because I was trying to, but because I just didn’t see it anywhere. People don’t seem to make it much at home and they’re certainly not selling it in cafes. The mämmi that I finally did taste was a processed version from the grocery store. I’m convinced the real problem with mämmi is its humbleness. Mämmi harks back to a time when people made do with little, and that’s just not necessary now.
Well, maybe it is. There’s a recession going on! Time to sharpen our mämmi-making skills. Trust me, don’t listen to the naysayers, I’m serious about food and I say it’s delicious. Wow, I had a lot to get off my chest about mämmi.
Here’s an adapted mämmi recipe for you:
Mämmi
Serves A LOT
3 quart/3 liter warm water
Approximately 3 1/3 cups/ 750 grams rye flour (coarser is better)
2 cups/500 grams rye malt
½ cup/ 100 ml dark syrup (I think treacle, light molasses, or maple syrup would be interesting substitutes)
¼ tsp salt
finely grated zest of 1 orange
Mix together 2/3 cup of the malt, 1 cup of the flour, and 1 quart of the water in a pot (if you’re using the metric measurements, use 1/3 of each ingredient, separating approximately a handful of the flour for sprinkling). Sprinkle a bit of rye flour on top, cover, and let sit in a warm place for about an hour. Repeat. Heat the oven to 250F/125C. Now add the rest of the rye, flour, and water to the pot along with the remaining ingredients. Mix together vigorously for a few minutes over a low heat, taking care that the bottom doesn’t burn and breaking up any lumps.
Pour the mämmi mixture into a large, oiled baking dish. Make sure there's quite a lot of room at the top—the mämmi will bubble and rise as it bakes. Bake for 4 hours. Serve mämmi chilled (you can put it in the freezer or the fridge) with a bit of sugar and some cream. Its flavor will improve over the next few days, making this a great dish to prepare in advance. Mämmi is also delicious with dried fruit and/or nuts on top or mixed into vanilla ice cream. Rumor has it that caramel and chocolate sauce are very agreeable toppings too.
Hyvää pääsiästä! Happy Easter!
