Above almost every Finnish sink there's a cupboard with no bottom. It's the astiankuivauskaappi, the dish-drying cabinet: you wash a plate, put it straight in dripping wet, and the water falls through the racks into the sink while you close the door on it. No tea towel, no rack on the counter.
It was designed in 1944–45 by Maiju Gebhard at the Finnish Work Efficiency Institute, and it's now standard in virtually every Finnish home. The rest of the kitchen vocabulary is less famous, but just as everyday.
On the Table
plate
lautanen
soup plate
syvä lautanen
saucer
aluslautanen
bowl
kulho
cup
kuppi
mug
muki
glass
lasi
jug
kannu
cutlery
aterimet
knife
veitsi
fork
haarukka
spoon
lusikka
teaspoon
teelusikka
napkin
lautasliina
tray
tarjotin
thermos
termospullo
Practice these words
lautanen
A "deep plate": a soup plate is just syvä lautanen, a deep plate, and a saucer is an aluslautanen, an "under-plate." Finnish names tableware by its shape or position, which makes the table easy once you know lautanen. In speech you'll also hear kahvivati or teevati for a saucer.
Pots, Pans and Tools
saucepan, pot
kattila
frying pan
paistinpannu
lid
kansi
chopping board
leikkuulauta
ladle
kauha
whisk
vispilä
spatula
paistinlasta
sieve
siivilä
grater
raastin
peeler
perunankuorija
tin opener
purkinavaaja
bottle opener
pullonavaaja
corkscrew
korkkiruuvi
oven dish
uunivuoka
baking paper
leivinpaperi
washing-up brush
tiskiharja
tea towel
keittiöpyyhe / astiapyyhe
Practice these words
kattila
It all goes in the vuoka: a great deal of Finnish home cooking happens in the oven, in an uunivuoka — salmon, potato bakes and the casseroles Finns call laatikko — usually lined with leivinpaperi. The Christmas casseroles in Finnish Christmas words are the best-known example.
Small Appliances and the Sink
microwave
mikroaaltouuni
kettle
vedenkeitin
coffee maker
kahvinkeitin
toaster
leivänpaahdin
hand blender
sauvasekoitin
extractor hood
liesituuletin
sink
tiskiallas
tap
hana
dish-drying cabinet
astiankuivauskaappi
bin
roska-astia
Practice these words
mikroaaltouuni
Spoken shortcuts: nobody says mikroaaltouuni — it's mikro. The bin is roskis. The fridge, cooker, oven and dishwasher — jääkaappi, liesi, uuni, astianpesukone — are in house, rooms and furniture.
The kahvinkeitin works hard: in many Finnish kitchens the filter coffee maker goes on several times a day, for reasons explained in Finnish coffee culture.
Cooking Verbs
to boil, to cook, to make (coffee)
keittää
to fry, to bake, to roast
paistaa
to bake (bread, cakes)
leipoa
to peel
kuoria
to chop
pilkkoa
to grate
raastaa
to stir, to mix
sekoittaa
to season
maustaa
to heat up
lämmittää
to lay the table
kattaa pöytä
to do the dishes
tiskata
to dry
kuivata
Practice these words
keittää
Keittää does coffee and potatoes: keitän kahvia, "I'm making coffee," and keitän perunat, "I'll boil the potatoes" — same verb. Paistaa covers frying, roasting and some baking, and it's also what the sun does: aurinko paistaa, "the sun is shining." Leipoa is the baking of bread, buns and cakes specifically.
Decilitres, Not Cups
Finnish recipes measure in decilitres. A desilitra is 100 ml, and every Finnish kitchen has a desilitramitta, a decilitre measure.
| In the recipe | Full form | What it means |
|---|---|---|
dl | desilitra | decilitre, 100 ml |
rkl | ruokalusikallinen | tablespoon |
tl | teelusikallinen | teaspoon |
mm | maustemitta | spice measure, 1 ml |
ripaus | — | a pinch |
kuumenna uuni 200 asteeseen | — | preheat the oven to 200 °C |
kiertoilma | — | fan oven |
ylä- ja alalämpö | — | top and bottom heat |
uunin keskitaso | — | the middle shelf of the oven |
kypsennä | — | cook until done |
anna jäähtyä | — | leave to cool |
Spoons by the spoonful: ruokalusikallinen is literally "a food-spoonful" and teelusikallinen "a tea-spoonful" — the -llinen ending means "the amount that fits." Finnish loves abbreviations in general — more in Finnish abbreviations.
In the Kitchen
Come and sit down at the table, everyone!
Olkaa hyvä, käykää pöytään!
Food's ready!
Ruoka on valmista!
Help yourself to more!
Ota lisää!
Could you pass the salt?
Voisitko ojentaa suolan?
Could you lay the table?
Voisitko kattaa pöydän?
Who's doing the dishes?
Kuka tiskaa?
I'll empty the dishwasher.
Tyhjennän astianpesukoneen.
Practice these words
Olkaa hyvä, käykää pöytään!
The host's line: olkaa hyvä, käykää pöytään is what a Finnish host says when the meal is served — "please, go to the table." Guests usually wait for it before sitting down; with family it's often just ruoka on valmista, tulkaa syömään! What guests say afterwards, kiitos ruoasta, is in compliments in Finnish.
What You'll Notice in a Finnish Kitchen
The kitchen in a Finnish flat is usually small and very well organised, and three things in it are worth noticing. The astiankuivauskaappi is the first, and once you've used one, a drying rack on the counter looks like a design failure. The second is the coffee maker, which in many homes is rarely cold. The third is a cupboard of white or patterned Finnish tableware — Arabia and Iittala are household names, and plenty of homes have a shelf of Arabia's Moomin mugs, the older or rarer ones washed carefully by hand.
Shoes come off at the door, and so does most of the formality. Kitchen tables are where guests are actually entertained, and coffee and pulla in the kitchen is as normal as dinner in the dining room. The food that goes on those plates is in food and drink and, for the specialities, in Finnish foods and what they are.