Traditional bakery

Piiroo or Karelian pie?

When visiting Ilomantsi, piiroa, pies, or Karelian pies are almost always on the dinner table. The name varies by family and custom. The most essential characteristic of a real Karelian pie is a thin and crispy crust. The saying goes that through the thin crust of the pie, one should be able to see seven churches. The spread of Karelian pies throughout Finland occurred with the resettlement of evacuees after the Second World War.

In Ilomantsi, piiroa have been available since the 17th century, and Ilomantsi is even called Finland's Piiroo municipality. Parppeinpirtti is the only restaurant in Finland where piiroa are prepared right before the customers' eyes. More authentic and tastier piiroa than these cannot be found elsewhere.

By advance order, we prepare rice-filled pies 1€/piece, potato and barley pies 1€/piece, and gluten-free and vegan pies 1.50€/piece, buttering charge +0.10€/piece

Born in Möhkö in 1898, Hanna Laakkonen tells about the origin of Ilomantsi vatruskas: “My mother’s mother was taken as an infant to Russia to escape hunger from Finland. When she returned to Finland at fourteen years old, and her parents also came when good times had come to Finland, they brought the vatruska making method with them. I vaguely remember that it was on the Petrozavodsk side. They were not made near the border, but in Russia. Mother and grandmother then taught familiar housewives in Möhkö how to make vatruskas.”

If there's a dispute about the name of the Karelian pie, then for vatruska, the product itself causes the dispute. The crust of an authentic Ilomantsi vatruska is made from boiled potatoes and a handful of flour. The filling is loose rice, and the vatruska is crescent-shaped and sealed closed. In a hot oven, the surface of the vatruska gets a beautiful color, and after baking, the vatruska is brushed with melted butter and eaten with egg butter.

Elsewhere in Karelia, vatruska can be sweet, an open pastry, or an open or closed pasty made with various fillings such as minced meat, salmon, and cheese. Of the delicacies on the pie table, vatruska is best suited for various filling experiments.

Ilomantsi vatruskas 1.20€/piece

Katja Niittynen will serve as Parppeinpirtti's vatruska master starting from October 1st, from whom vatruskas can be ordered directly by phone at 045 1668030 or through us by email at myynti@parppeinpirtti.fi.