Paper short abstract:

My paper analyses the revival of traditional food in Finland in the 1970s, especially from the lost province of Carelia. The memories of taste are discussed in the framework of intergenerational identity construction and also, because of their diffusion into national level, as invention of tradition.

Paper long abstract:

From the 1960s the Finnish kitchen had started to become more international. Experiments with new tastes were set off and, for example, the emerging mass tourism familiarized the Finns with the Mediterranean kitchen. However, in the beginning of 1970s, traditional 'simple' Finnish food and delicacies from the provinces were forcefully promoted. The revival of traditional food was especially intense concerning dishes from the province of Carelia, the territory ceded to the Soviet Union during the war, with 400 000 inhabitants relocated in Finland. The purpose of my paper is to analyze this revival of provincial food and the memories of taste in the framework of intergenerational identity construction, and furthermore, because of their diffusion into national level, as invention of tradition.