FinnTouch tests: Kotikalja and malt bread
Typical Finnish specialties such as salmon or Karelian pierogi are familiar to most. But have you ever heard of Kotikalja or Finnish malt bread? If not, then you should read on here carefully. Because I have tested all these exciting products for you!
KOTIKALJA BY LAIHIAN MALLAS – HERE YOU BECOME A BREWMASTER
If you go to restaurants or gas stations for lunch in Finland, you can enjoy a rich buffet at fair prices. “Lounas” is a kind of lunch table, which always includes drinks in addition to a wide selection of dishes. Besides the obligatory water, there is one thing you can’t miss here: Kotikalja, a dark brown drink that you may have noticed before. Possibly you even dared to try a sip?
Kotikalja is a kind of “home-brewed beer”, but without alcohol. It is similar to German malt beer, but tastes much less sweet. Now you are surely curious? Thanks to a practical set from Laihian Mallas, you can become a brewmaster yourself at home. All you need besides the brew kit is a pot, some sugar, water and a few empty bottles. Once you have everything ready, you are ready to go. Just follow these simple steps:
– Heat 2.5 to 3 liters of water in a pot to about 40 to 42 degrees, add a bag of the malt extract and stir this in. To get the extract out of the bag better, you can hold it under warm water beforehand. If you want stronger kotikalja, add two bags of extract to the water.
– Depending on how sweet you like it, add 90 to 180 grams of sugar and stir it in.
– Sprinkle a packet of dry yeast into the pot.
– Cover the pot and let it sit at room temperature for about 24 hours.
– Fill the kotikalja into bottles, seal them and put them in a cool place for another 24 hours.
– Your kotikalja is now ready – kippis and enjoy!
It’s really mega simple and the individual steps only take a few minutes each. In any case, it was great fun for me and something “homemade” tastes so much better!
MALT BREAD BY LAIHIAN MALLAS – AND ANYONE CAN BAKE IT
Also from the West Finnish manufacturer Laihian Mallas comes a baking mix for delicious malt bread. Of course, you can also bake such a bread completely yourself, but with this mixture it goes particularly fast and is also for baking laymen – like me – without problems. Because in addition to the flour mixture, you also get dry yeast and even the matching baking pan included. Now you just need a few kitchen utensils like a bowl and a whisk, as well as some shortening or butter and water. It’s ready to go and faster than you can look, it’s ready to go!
The malt bread tastes a little sweet. You can enjoy it plain and spread with a little butter or margarine. But it can also be combined with fish, cheese or soups. And if you want, the fiber-rich Finnish malt bread is also great to freeze and eat later.
Text: René Schwarz
About the Author:
René Schwarz is half Finnish and grew up bilingual. The self-employed copywriter and author travels regularly in his second home country and loves to share his passion for Suomi with others. Since the beginning of 2016, he has also been doing this on his blog FinnTouch, where you can expect, among other things, more Finland travel tips, interviews with Finnish artists and also very personal stories. Take a look!
