On a quest to try as many authentic Finnish foods as we possibly can, we ended up visiting an outdoor terrace which served Reindeer meat and samplers of Finnish beers in Helsinki, Finland. I have to admit, sinking my teeth into Reindeer cold cuts felt terribly wrong. Growing up, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was one of my childhood heroes. How could I possibly eat Santa's Little Helper? As I've traveled around the world, I've decided I'm willing to try anything once. As a culture vulture I want to experience as much authentic local cuisine as possible. And when in Finland you eat Reindeer. What does Reindeer taste like? It's has a very rich gamey taste that is quite pleasing to the palette. If I had to compare it to something else it's similar to Elk venison or a cured / sour roast beef. For some this would certainly be an acquired taste; however, since I'm used to eating exotic kinds of meat, I enjoyed it immediately. It was vastly better than the Reindeer meatballs we tried at the main market, which had a more generic unidentifiable taste. Served with tart lingonberries and mashed potatoes it reminded me of a Thanksgiving dinner. The outdoor terrace was actually part of the Jail House Hotel (Katajanokka) we stayed at in Helsinki. A middle aged American man, wearing hippie attire, entertained the crowd in an intimate environment. As he belted out classic rock, blues and folk songs from the 70's we sipped on complimentary Finnish beer: regular draft, red ale and lager. I'd literary make the worst beer critic considering I more or less enjoy anything that touches my taste-buds. My good blogging friends, Cam and Nicole over, at Traveling Canucks are far more astute and sophisticated when it comes to grading different beers from around the world. Overall, this was the perfect setting for me to try eating authentic Reindeer cold cuts for the first time. On a warm summer evening the beer was refreshing and the small meal that we shared hit the spot. If you're in Finland it's an absolute must (if you're not vegetarian or vegan) to try Reindeer. Instead of going for the ubiquitous Reindeer meatballs instead be willing to pay a little more for high quality Reindeer cold cuts and/or Reindeer steak. Would you try Reindeer meat? Pyrkimys yrittää niin monia aitoja suomalaisia ​​elintarvikkeita kuin mahdollista, päädyimme luona ulkoterassi, joka palveli Poronliha ja ottajilla on Suomen oluita Helsingissä, Suomessa. Mitä Poro maistuu? Se on hyvin rikas riistamainen maku, joka on varsin miellyttävä paletti. Jos minulla olisi verrata sitä jotain muuta se on samanlainen Elk hirvenliha tai suolatut / hapan paahtopaisti. . Se oli huomattavasti parempi kuin Poro lihapullia yritimme on päämarkkina, joka oli yleisempi tunnistamaton maku. Tarjoillaan hapokas puolukkaa ja perunamuusia se muistutti minua kiitospäivä illallista. Ulkoterassi oli itse asiassa osa Jail House Hotel yövyimme Helsingissä. Me sipped maksuton suomalainen olut: säännöllinen luonnos, punainen ale ja lager. This is part of our Travel in Finland series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Finnish culture, Finnish arts, Finnish foods, Finnish religion and Finnish people: nomadicsamuel.com/video-blog/eating-reindeer-meat-finland Proudly presented by: nomadicsamuel.com , smilingfacestravelphotos.com , thatbackpacker.com & backpacking-travel-blog.com All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker). This video features the song 'Pulse Rock' from Kevin Macleod available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Commercial license.

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