Gluten Free Finland

[hlmac]

Hi

I am traveling to Helsinki Finland in a few weeks and I am wondering if anyone knows how easy or hard it is to eat gluten free there.

I hear that the restaurants are fairly familiar with gluten free but I was wondering if anyone has any first hand experience or any recommended restaurants.

Thanks

Heather

[aikiducky]

Finland has one of the highest incidences of diagnosed celiacs in the world I think. So it's really pretty well known there. I haven't eaten out in Helsinki for years so I can't give you any names, but I don't think you'll have a problem. If you're staying at a hotel, contact them beforehand and chances are good they can provide you with a gluten free breakfast.

One thing to look out for that you might not be used to is some celiacs in Finland eat wheat starch that has been cleaned extra well to render it almost (but not quite) gluten free. So you might want to check that gluten free products are either labelled "naturally gluten free" ("luontaisesti gluteeniton" in Finnish) or gluten free AND wheat free ("gluteeniton, vehn

[hlmac]

Thanks Pauliina

That is great information and thank you for giving me the finnish words for gluten and wheat.

I heard this isn't the best time to visit Finland but I didn't have a lot of choice the tickets were a present from my employer. But I figure travel is always fun!

Heather

[aikiducky]

On the plus side there are more concerts and stuff now than in the summer so you can find stuff to do inside if it's very rainy. And sometimes you get really nice sunny crisp autumn days as well, just pack warm clothes.

"Vehn

[NJKen]

I am traveling to Helsinki Finland in a few weeks and I am wondering if anyone knows how easy or hard it is to eat gluten free there. I hear that the restaurants are fairly familiar with gluten free but I was wondering if anyone has any first hand experience or any recommended restaurants.

Last summer I was in Helsinki for a couple of days and ate at these restaurants:

Rosso Restaurant -- gluten-free pizza and risotto

Raffaella -- gluten-free items indicated on the menu, and gluten-free bread available

I also ate in restaurants in Naantali and Fiskars. Wherever I went, the servers spoke English well and were familiar with the gluten-free diet. If the menu did not clearly indicate gluten-free foods, they knew what was safe and what wasn't.

The grocery stores also carry lots of gluten-free foods. Stock up before you return home.

Ken

[hlmac]

Thanks Ken

I'll keep those restaurants in mind!

Heather

[Momsy]

My husband and daughter who are both gluten-intolerant just travelled around Sweden and Denmark, the groceries available were awesome and they brought back lots for me, as I am gluten-intolerant as well. The crisp crackers and Kex chocolate bars are wonderful. I can not believe how much further advanced they are in Scandinavia/Europe with these issues. I am now trying to find someone to ship food over for me, as when my stocks are gone, I will be most disappointed. At their hotel restaurant it was easy to get gluten free toast and information on gluten free food at the breakfast buffet. Everyone over the age of 50 spoke fluent English, careful though they are very shy but os so friendly. We are planning another trip very soon. Have a great trip =)

[Char]

Hi Heather,

I was in Finland two years ago, and had a fantastic experience. Here's a link to the Finnish celiac society's list of gluten-free restaurants in Finland: Open Original Shared Link (for some of the descriptions, you may need to use something like Google Translator)

I worked off this list at first, but by the end of my trip, I would just walk into fairly random places and had amazing luck.

Good luck!

-Char