Karelian pasties

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A Karelian pasty, store bought

A Karelian pasty, made by a machine

Karelian pasties or Karelian pies (South Karelian dialect of Finnish: karjalanpiirakat, singular karjalanpiirakka; North Karelian dialect of Finnish: karjalanpiiraat, singular karjalanpiiras; Karelian: kalitt, singular kalittoa; Olonets Karelian: šipainiekku) are traditional pasties from the region of Karelia. Today they are eaten throughout Finland. They are a Finnish variant of pirozhki.

The oldest traditional pasties usually had a rye crust, but the North Karelian and Ladoga Karelian variants also had wheat alongside of rye to improve the baking characteristics of the available rye breads. The common fillings of this era were barley and talkkuna. The 19th century first introduced potato and buckwheat as new fillings, and later due to trade, also rice and millet.

Nowadays in the most familiar and common recipe the pasties are made from a thin rye crust with a filling of rice. Butter, often mixed with boiled egg (eggbutter or munavoi), is spread over the hot pasties before eating.

Karjalanpiirakka have TSG status in Europe^[1].

See also

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Karjalanpiirakat

• Karelian pasties recipe at Wikibooks Cookbook
• Karelian pasties recipe and more
• Finnish cuisine
• Karelian Hot Pot
• Kalakukko
• Mämmi

References

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