Finnish wooden kuksa - what is it?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Products of folk craftsmen always cause admiration and surprise. This also applies to the national Finnish kuksa mug, which is certainly made of natural wood. However, today a product with an unusual name for a Russian person can easily be bought not only in Finland, but also in a good Russian souvenir shop. And if you have certain skills in working with wood, simple tools and a desire, you can make a kuksa yourself.

Features of dishes

The first question that arises in a person when he hears the unfamiliar word kuksa: "What is it?" In fact, a kuksa is a deep mug or a capacious ladle made from a single piece of natural wood. Finns traditionally give kuksa to a newborn. Subsequently, this wonderful and convenient household dish accompanies a person throughout life, which has a special meaning: for the Finns, kuksa is a symbol of inseparability with its roots.

Finnish kuksa sizes vary from quite small, for example, from children's mugs, designed for 50-100 ml of liquid, to half-liter-liter ladles,tureens and other containers for cold or hot drinks. But in any case, such dishes are light, unbreakable and therefore very convenient to take with you on the road or for a walk in the woods.

The shape of a classic kuksa resembles a mug with a hole for fingers. A leather strap is usually attached to the eye, with which the dishes can be hung from the belt. That is why many residents of the northern forests perceive the kuksu not only as a convenient vessel for drinking, but also as a necessary attribute of national clothing.

What are mugs made of?

The only possible material for making kuksa is natural wood. Moreover, the Finns usually use suvel or birch burl. This outgrowth on a branch or tree trunk resembles a rounded bowl in shape, which greatly simplifies the manufacture of a mug. Another question: why birch? This is quite understandable. Firstly, birch wood is finely porous, which means that the dishes will absorb less dirt and food debris. Secondly, for kuksa (what it is, described above), the inner surface should be rounded. And soft birch wood is easily affected by a spoon cutter - a special tool with which the “inside” is “taken out” from the future bowl, or rather, the “inside” is hollowed out.

e.long in time and occur at low temperatures. This will prevent the mug from cracking during production and use.

Design Features

The uniqueness of any piece of folk art in its decoration. To give the kuksa attractiveness and additional strength, the outer surface of the finished product is impregnated with oil - linen is ideal in this case - decorated with ornaments or inlays and even varnished. Another way to make the kuksa unique is to decorate it with an unusual button, for example, in the form of a partridge. Moreover, the button also has a practical value: with its help, it is much easier to attach the strap to the belt.

Finns often use a small wooden spoon or a horn as an additional decoration for kuksa - they are attached to a strap that holds the mug on the belt.

What is the mug for?

Usually kuksu - what it is, everyone already knows - is used as a container for drinks. Will it be cold spring water or hot coffee - perhaps it does not matter. The only exceptions are alcoholic beverages, since alcohol dries the tree greatly. Although a conveniently shaped wooden kuksu mug can be used, for example, as tureens or deep plates - this is especially true when fishing, hiking, during “outings into nature”.

How to care for the product?

Kuksa made by masters needs to be prepared for use. Masters who know a lot about these utensils will first pour freshly brewed coffee into a new mug andkeep it there for a couple of minutes. Then the liquid is drained, the cake is left to dry for a couple of hours and, finally, the coffee grounds are “rubbed” into the inner surface of the bowl. This will help to give the dishes a pleasant dark shade and shine. But the secret is not only this: the oil contained in the coffee grounds will later become a kind of protection for the inner walls of the mug.

For the treatment of the outer walls, any edible oil (although linseed is still preferable) that can polymerize in the near future is suitable. In the future, it will protect the kuksa from dirt and make washing easier.

Since the Finnish mug is made entirely of wood, it is not recommended to wash it with detergents. It is usually enough to rinse the dishes with clean water and let them dry.

By the way, when you first use kuksa drinks may acquire a specific aftertaste. However, this does not at all mean the bad quality of the mug - soon enough the aftertaste will disappear. An exception may be the smell and taste of rancid oil, especially when using hot drinks - this will indicate that the inside of the bowl was treated with oil, and even of poor quality. And now its particles fall into the liquid.

Dignity of a Finnish mug

Lightweight, comfortable, environmentally friendly, conveying national flavor - all this can be said about the wooden kuksa mug. What it is for northern peoples who spend a lot of time in the forest or on the river is quite understandable.

• Kuksu can be attached to your belt and always carried with you, nofearing that it would break.
• The mug is perfect for drinking cold spring water in the forest or making strong coffee by the river.
• Wood always stays warm, which means there is no need to fear that in extreme cold the edges of the cookies will “freeze” to the lips. And vice versa, you can safely take a kuksa into which hot tea or coffee is poured - it definitely won’t burn your hands.

Here it is, Finnish kuksa - a wooden mug that can become indispensable in the household of every person.