2nd Annual Mojakka Cook-Off in Menahga, MN
The popular Saint
Urho's Day Mojakka Cook-OffTM tradition has been picked
up in Menahga, MN. The 2013 Mojakka Cook-Off will be Sunday, March
17th, from 12 Noon to 2 pm at the Senior Center. Registration for the
Mojakka Cook-Off as well as details of all the St. Urho weekend's
festivities can be found at
Menahga.com
For more Saint Urho Celebrations, visit SaintUrho.com
.
Stories and photos of past Mojakka Cook-Offs
Note: The phrase "Saint Urho's Day Mojakka
Cook-Off" is a trademark of the Wink Timber Media Agency.
Mojakka (pronounced MOY-a-kah)
is a soup served in Finnish-American households in Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Michigan and Western Ontario. The principal ingredients are
beef or fish and potatoes. Made with fish it is called kalamojakka
(KAH-la-moy-a-kah), with beef it is lihamojakka (LEE-ha-moy-a-kah).
Mojakka is not a term known to modern day
residents of Finland. A couple of sources indicate it originated in the
Bothnia region. Ivy Nevala wrote, "When Helena Rautala, a linguist,
checked the word in the archives at Turku University [in 1990], she
found that the
word had been used in northern Bothnia, for
instance in Kalajoki, which is
on the coast, south of Raahe. It has two meanings, 'good tasting' and a
'fish soup usually made of potatoes and Baltic herring.' ... The word
isn't
in common use in Finland today." (The word for soup in modern
Finnish is keitto, so what Finnish-Americans call kalamojakka
is known in Finland as kalakeitto.)
When Finnish immigrants of a century ago made their way
to the area around Lake Superior, the name followed them, but it came
to mean any soup made of leftovers. Conseqently there are many
varieties of mojakka -- fish, beef, pork, venison -- and the broth may
be watery or it may be more like stew. With fish it is usually
milk-based. Many North American Finns remember it being served in the
late winter, when supplies of potatoes and other root vegetables were
beginning to run low and cooks needed to ration what remained.
There are several ways to spell it as well, including
"moiakka", "moijakka", and "moyakka", but "mojakka" is the most
popular.
Why a web site dedicated to
Mojakka? Why not? Everything else is on the Internet. Truthfully,
we think mojakka should be considered seriously as a regional dish,
much as Wild Rice is to Minnesota, Lobster Rolls are to Maine, Boiled
Peanuts are to Georgia, or Pastys are to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It
is certainly tastier than lutefisk, the traditional Norwegian-American
dish that many consider inedible (though some Finns have been known to
consume lutefisk).
There are very few references to this delicacy on the
Internet. Most of them have to do with Mojakka Suppers on St. Urho's
Day, or other references to that legendary Finnish hero. According to
the famous Ode to St. Urho, in order to maintain his
Sampson-like physique, the brave Finn "ate culla mojakka effery hour".
Contribute your Mojakka Recipe
We are seeking Mojakka recipes for this site and to create a Mojakka
Cook Book. Other Finnish recipes are welcome also.
Submit your recipe here.
Restaurants
There are many restaurants in the Lake Superior region that serve
mojakka and other Finnish dishes. Please let us know about them as well.
Submit Finnish Restaurants
Mojakka Memories
Do you have story that involves mojakka? Remembering Mama or Grandma
making mojakka or a special occasion when it was served? (You may wish
to write out your story in a text editor such as Notepad, then copy it
to email or send as an attachment. ASCII text files are preferred as
attachments [e.g., story.txt].)
Submit Mojakka stories
Saint Urho's Day Mojakka Cook-Off
2008 Mojakka Cook-Off
Results
2007 Mojakka Cook-Off
Results
2006 Mojakka Cook-Off
Results
2005 Mojakka Cook-Off
Results
2004 Mojakka Cook-Off
Results
2003 Mojakka
Cook-Off Results
Photos
from 2004 Laskiainen in Palo, MN
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