When I first stared off on this project I thought that I was going to find many differences between the Finnish and Finnish Americans.
Unfortunately to my surprise there were very little differences between them, culture and cuisine wise.
Since the Finnish Americans held on, so tightly, to their ancestral roots not much changed between the two far lands. Finnish Americans built their own little Finlands where ever they went.
They stayed very true to their Finnish cuisine also. There were slight modifications made to recipes here and there, such as venison or other meats were used instead of reindeer or fish such as bass, bluegill, musky, perch, trout, or walleye were used instead of the usual salmon, herring, lavaret, zander, Artic charr, or vendace. I also noticed that the later generations, in the Midwest, started to use more cheese in their cooking and baking.
The Finns need and want to hang onto their Finnish heritage is an accomplishment in that. I believe that is why the Finnish cuisine took on such a strong presence in the Midwest. During a very tough time for immigration and emigration how do we hold onto our heritage? When one leaves their home land are they required to assimilate to the new countries culture? Are they allowed to still practice and participate in their traditional beliefs? It is a struggle to achieve the perfect answer to these questions. In my opinion I believe that one should assimilate to the new country they are living in, by trying to speak their language and learn their customs, but at the same time I believe one should be able to hold onto the culture and beliefs that they had before they come to a new country.