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Whenever I return to Finland, whatever the season, something new is waiting to be discovered.  Okay, the staple treat, herring in any form is always fun to taste whether pickled, smoked or sautéed. But on a recent trip, I was whisked along the “King’s Highway” east of Helsinki to a manor-farm near Porvoo.  I was told a little about the farm’s organic products as we wound along the curving drive to Malmgaard, parked next to 19th century brick stables, and rang the bell at the farm shop.  Wheat, oats and rye grown at Malmgaard using organic/biologique methods are ground in small quantities here, so you know the flour is fresh.  In spite of the weight I knew would be mine to carry home in a suitcase, I was like a kid in a candy store, imagining savory oat-flour biscuits with fresh chèvre and sweet rye bread for an Easter Monday magret de canard salad lunch. Surprised to find spelt, the ancient Mediterranean grain known as épautre, another kilo sack was added to my load. Then I spotted the jams: oh, my….red and black berries of all sorts, Finnish flavors of summer – captured in a jar.  As we drove away, I dreamed of returning on a summer day for a walk around the farm, where the grounds are open – though the manor house/kartano is closed to the public. This summer they are planning to open a brewery in one of the brick outbuildings, and will sell their own brewmaster’s best. Malmgaard is but one of many large farms across southern Finland now opening shops or their gardens to visitors during long summer days. The Porvoo region is dotted with such farms, each a day’s excursion from this historic town on the “King’s Highway”.  And if you go, do stop at the Porvoo marketplace  for pulla and coffee.

For more details, see: www.finland.com/southern_finland  or http://maitkalu.porvoo.fi