“Jos ei viina, terva ja sauna auta, nib tauti on kuolemaksi” — If alcohol, tar, and sauna can’t help, the disease is fatal. So says an old Finnish proverb about alternative medical treatments.
While sauna and alcohol are nothing new, tar sounds interesting.
Considered a sweat from an epic Kalevala character, an old wise man with a magical voice, tar or terva is a sap extracted from the burning wood. It adds a smoky piney flavor to food.
Lihapyörykäta, or Lihapullat, or Finnish meatballs is one example.
Although a child of Ottoman Turkish cuisine, meatballs became a staple food in Scandinavian countries shorty upon their arrival in the 18th century.
Tar is not the only ingredient that sets Finnish meatballs apart. Unlike their Swedish neighbors, Finns go triple dairy. They soak bread in milk, add grated cheese, and base the sauce on heavy cream. Also the onions are not sautéed like in other cultures but minced extra fine or even grated to exude the juice adding more moisture while smokiness and umami come from the said tar. Allspice heavy, they also contain a serious amount of parsley.
Another interesting thing about modern Finnish meatballs. Commercial producers are now refer to them as balls dropping the LIHA part in their name which stands for meat in Finnish. Even though they are more than 50% meat, according to strict Finnish food regulations, meat mechanically separated from bone — with a knife or machinery — can no longer be defined as meat.
Anyway, whatever the regulations say, these babies are delicious!
Serving them with a Finnish cucumber sour cream salad and not traditional roasted potatoes. Per my beef stroganoff experience, roasted potatoes sop up the creamy sauce better than noodles — slide off effect, or mash — already creamy.
WHAT WENT IN
— 1 cup whole milk
— 3 slices white bread, crusts removed
— 1 medium onion very finely minced or grated
— 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
— 2 tsp salt
— 1 tsp ground white pepper
— 1 tsp ground black pepper
— 1 Tbsp ground allspice
— a few drops of tar or pine bud cone syrup tastes similar
— 1 1/2 cups parsley leaves, finely minced
— 8 oz Gouda, grated
— 3/4 lb lean ground beef
— 3/4 lb ground pork
— 3/4 lb ground veal
— 1 cup flour
— 1 cup chicken or beef broth
— vegetable oil, or as needed
— 3/4-1 cup heavy cream
THE PROCESS
1. Soak up the bread in a warmed up milk turning it into a uniform paste.
2. Mix onion and bread together
3. Add and incorporate eggs.
4. Flavor this liquid mix with spices until they are equally distributed.
5. Mix in parsley, then, cheese until incorporated
6. Add and incorporate meats, one at a time.
7. Shape meatballs making each one about 50 g, roll each one in flour.
8. In vegetable oil, brown the meatballs on all sides, adding oil as necessary.
9. In a wide shallow pot like a braiser, warm up the broth and add meatballs possibly in a sigle layer. Cover and braise for about 30 minutes.
10. Add cream, shake the pan to incorporate it, and heat it until everything is evenly warm.