Mustikka pöperö / Blueberry mush recipe

Finnish nature offers a large variety of berries of various types and since they are very healthy and packed with flavour, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals as well, it is wise to use them in different recipes. This recipe is a very special traditional recipe which hardly anyone knows about. Therefore it can create a very appealing dessert for foreigners who would like to try very special dishes of various cuisines. 

Talkkuna/Finely milled flour mixture

This recipe requires talkkuna flour/kama, which needs to be introduced because it is not familiar to non-Finnish people. Talkkuna powder is traditionally made of a mixture of roasted barley, rye, oat, and pea flour. But nowadays, one can find gluten-free versions as well, which are made of oats or buckwheat (tattari in the Finnish language).

Mustikkapöperö

This dish was traditionally made with fresh wild blueberries when they were just picked from the forest. Therefore, one can not find it commercially made in supermarkets because one is supposed to eat it very fresh, made with fresh blueberries. However, preparing it at home is really very easy and requires no particular effort.

The dish is also known as mustikka-pöllöhillo, which literally means blueberries in owl-jam; hillo is a jam in the Finnish language, and pöllö means owl, which is a type of bird.

Ingredients

2 dl blueberries

½ dl talkkuna-flour (talkkuna jauho)

Mix well blueberries with talkkuna flour, crush the blueberries a bit with a fork for better results, and let it sit for a while, done. Enjoy.

-You can eat it alone or add some sugar if blueberries are a bit sour or if you like a more sweet dessert-dish-looking.

-Since talkkuna has a special taste for foreigners and they might find it a bit bitter, you can add the first 2 spoons to blueberries, plus sugar if using, mix well all and let it sit to get the flavor to hold together. And if you like the taste of talk kuna and you don’t find it bitter, you can add 1-2 spoons more talkkuna. Since talkkuna is flour-like, it is always a good idea to let it sit for a while and then enjoy it.

-Some people like to eat mustikkapöperö with porridge or with some ice cream or vanilla sauce, or yogurt or cream on top.