Today 20.10. it’s pie day.
The pies from the bakeries in the shops are popular. Karoliina Vuorenmäki
Today we celebrate rice pies and Karelian pies, because we are celebrating the country’s first Pie Day.
– Different types of pies are a strong part of Finnish food culture and for this reason we wanted to launch their own name day, says the executive director of Leipätieðutus Kaisa Mensonen in the bulletin.
Our most popular pies are various rice-filled pies, such as Karelian pies and rice pies. The largest number are rice pies and a small part are baked according to the Karelian pie recipe according to the name protection.
We often talk about rice pies by the wrong name, because many mistakenly call them Karelian pies.
The release states that the baking of pie-type traditional pastries made of crust and filling was first part of the Eastern Finnish food tradition. Nowadays, Karelian pies and other pies are well-known and popular all over Finland. Pie culture has changed over the years in Finland.
– In the past, a lot of Karelian pies were baked at home to serve on holidays, Mensonen says in the press release.
Did you know?
Karelian pie was granted EU name protection in 2002. Name protection means that Karelian pie must be made in accordance with the registered manufacturing method and ingredient list.
The name protection of Karelian pie protects small producers and helps preserve traditional manufacturing methods. If the product does not meet the criteria set in the Karelian pie’s name protection, it can be sold as a rice pie.
In 2019, the EU Commission approved a change to the original name-protected Karelian pie recipe, which means that lactose-free milk drink and milk powder can be used in the preparation of the rice porridge contained in Karelian pie.
The purpose of EU name protection is to protect local traditional dishes. Karelian pie is defined as a so-called authentic traditional product (APT) in the EU.
In Finland, the name protection is also on sahti (2001) and kalakukko (2001).