Dairy products such as maito (milk), juusto (cheese) and voi (butter) are often a very important part of people’s diet. Thank you, Jukka_K, for offering to tackle this topic by sending me a vocabulary list which I could build this article from!
1. Juotavia maitotuotteita – Milk based drinks
| Finnish |
English |
| maito |
milk |
| maitojuoma |
”milk drink” (legally not called milk anymore
after processing processes) |
| ykkösmaito |
semi-skimmed milk (1 % fat) |
| kevytmaito |
semi-skimmed milk |
| kevytmaitojuoma |
semi-skimmed milk drink |
| täysmaito |
whole milk |
| laktoositon maito |
lactose-free milk |
| laktoositon maitojuoma |
lactose-free milk drink |
| vähälaktoosinen maito |
low-lactose milk |
| raakamaito |
raw milk |
| tinkimaito = tilamaito |
raw milk straight from the farm |
| pastöroimaton maito |
unpasteurized milk |
| pastöroitu maito |
pasteurized milk |
| homogenoitu maito |
homogenized milk |
| luomumaito |
organic milk |
| iskukuumennettu maito |
UHT (ultra-high temperature processed) milk |
| kestomaito |
UHT milk, long-life milk |
| maitojauhe |
powdered milk |
| maitotiiviste |
evaporated milk, condensed milk |
| kondensoitu maito |
condensed sweetened milk |
| vapaan lehmän maito |
free range cow’s milk |
| vuohenmaito |
goat milk |
| kauramaito |
oat milk |
| mantelimaito |
almond milk |
| riisimaito |
rice milk |
| soijamaito |
soy milk |
| ternimaito, ensimaito |
first milk |
| pullomaito |
bottle milk (for baby) |
| äidinmaito |
human breast milk |
| rintamaito |
human breast milk |
| kefiiri |
kefir, fermented milk |
| piimä |
sour milk, soured milk |
| rasvaton piimä |
fat-free soured milk |
| kirnupiimä |
buttermilk |
| maitojauhe |
milk powder |
2. Kerma – Cream
| Finnish |
English |
| kerma |
cream |
| kestokerma |
UHT (ultra-high temperature processed) cream |
| iskukuumennettu kerma |
UHT cream |
| kahvikerma |
coffee cream |
| kevytkerma |
light cream |
| ranskankerma |
crème fraîche |
| kuohukerma |
heavy cream, whipping cream |
| vispikerma |
whipping cream |
| kermavaahto |
whipped cream |
| ruokakerma |
cream for cooking (can be heated up) |
| smetana, hapankerma |
smetana, soured cream |
3. Juusto – Cheese
| Finnish |
English |
| juusto |
cheese |
| juustoraaste |
grated cheese |
| feta, fetajuusto |
feta |
| salaattijuusto |
feta-style salad cheese, salted or in oil |
| homejuusto |
mold cheese |
| sinihomejuusto |
blue cheese |
| valkohomejuusto |
white mold cheese |
| juhannusjuusto, punainen hera |
red cheese soup of Midsummer |
| leipäjuusto |
bread cheese, Finnish squeaky cheese |
| aurajuusto |
A Finnish blue cheese called “Aura“ |
| murukolojuusto |
cheese with irregular holes |
| mustaleimainen juusto |
Emmentaler cheese fermented 9 months |
| herajuusto |
brunost |
| punaleima |
Emmentaler cheese fermented 6 months |
| raejuusto |
granular cottage cheese |
| rakletti |
raclette |
| sinileima |
Emmentaler cheese fermented 3 months |
| sulatejuusto |
processed cheese |
| tuorejuusto |
curd cheese, cottage cheese |
| uunijuusto |
oven-baked cottage cheese made of first milk |
| kermajuusto |
cream cheese, mild-tasting crumbly cheese |
| fondue, fondyy |
fondue |
4. Foreign cheeses
Imported cheeses are usually called by their original name in Finnish. You will come across versions of these names with the word juusto (cheese) at the end. This is mostly used for uncommon cheeses, to make it extra clear in Finnish that we’re talking about a certain type of cheese. The word juusto can be added to the basic form as-is (e.g. briejuusto) or to the genitive case form of the noun (e.g. brienjuusto).
| Finnish |
English |
| brie |
brie |
| briejuusto |
brie cheese |
| brienjuusto |
brie cheese |
| camembert |
camembert |
| camembertjuusto |
camembert cheese |
| camembertinjuusto |
camembert cheese |
| cheddar |
cheddar |
| cheddarjuusto |
cheddar cheese |
| cheddarinjuusto |
cheddar cheese |
| edam |
edam |
| edamjuusto |
edam cheese |
| edaminjuusto |
edam cheese |
| emmental |
emmental |
| emmentaljuusto |
emmental cheese |
| emmentalinjuusto |
emmental cheese |
| gorgonzola |
gorgonzola |
| gorgonzolajuusto |
gorgonzola cheese |
| gorgonzolanjuusto |
gorgonzola cheese |
| gouda |
gouda |
| goudajuusto |
gouda cheese |
| goudanjuusto |
gouda cheese |
| gruyère |
gruyère |
| gruyèrejuusto |
gruyère cheese |
| gruyèrenjuusto |
gruyère cheese |
| pecorino |
pecorino |
| pecorinojuusto |
pecorino cheese |
| parmesaani |
parmiggiano reggiano |
| parmesaanijuusto |
parmiggiano reggiano cheese |
| parmanjuusto |
parmiggiano reggiano cheese |
| ricotta |
ricotta |
| ricottajuusto |
ricotta cheese |
| roquefort |
roquefort |
| roquefortjuusto |
roquefort cheese |
| roquefortinjuusto |
roquefort cheese |
| stilton |
stilton |
| stiltonjuuso |
stilton cheese |
| stiltoninjuusto |
stilton cheese |
| tilsit |
tilsit |
| tilsitjuusto |
tilsit tilsit |
| tilsitinjuusto |
tilsit cheese |
5. Butter
| Finnish |
English |
| voi |
butter |
| maalaisvoi |
butter prepared directly in a farm |
| meijerivoi |
butter produced in a dairy |
| maustevoi |
flavored butter, herb butter |
| valkosipulivoi |
garlic butter |
| margariini |
margarine |
| oivariini, voimariini, ingmariini |
mixtures of butter and rapeseed oil |
| kirkastettu voi |
clarified butter |
6. More milk-based products
| Finnish |
English |
| vaniljakastike |
custard |
| pirtelö |
milkshake |
| jäätelö |
ice cream |
| pehmis |
soft ice cream |
| vanukas |
sweet dessert pudding |
| jogurtti |
yoghurt |
| juotava jogurtti |
drinkable yogurt |
| maustamaton jogurtti |
unflavored yoghurt |
| rahka, maitorahka |
quark, curd cheese |
| viili |
curdled milk, yoghurt-like consistency |
| kermaviili |
sour cream |
| serbetti |
sherbert |
| valkokastike |
béchamel sauce |
7. Other milk related words – Muuta maitosanastoa
| Finnish |
English |
| Eila (= ei laktoosia) |
Trademark by Valio for lactose-free products |
| Hyla (= hydrolysoitu laktoosi) |
Trademark by Valio for low-lactose products |
| hapate |
fermentation starter, ferment |
| hera |
whey |
| juoksutin, juustonjuoksutin |
rennet |
| juustohöylä |
cheese slicer |
| juustoveitsi |
cheese knife |
| juustotarjotin |
cheese platter |
| juustonkuori |
cheese skin |
| juustonpala |
piece of cheese |
| juustoviipale |
slice of cheese |
| juustotahko |
wheel of cheese |
| kalsium |
calcium |
| kaseiini |
casein |
| kirnu |
churn |
| kitti |
smear (of cheese) |
| kolo |
hole |
| kuutio |
cube |
| laktoosi-intoleranssi |
lactose intolerance |
| loraus (maitoa) |
dash (of milk) |
| maitoallergia |
milk allergy |
| maitoauto |
tanker collecting milk from farms |
| maitohappo |
lactic acid |
| maitohappobakteeri |
lactic acid bacteria |
| maitohappokäyminen |
lactic acid fermentation |
| maitokannu |
milk can |
| maitotila |
milk producing farm |
| maitotölkki |
milk carton |
| meijeri |
dairy, milk processing plant |
| proteiini, valkuaisaine |
protein |
| purkki |
can (for yoghurt etc.) |
| rasia |
carton (for butter etc.) |
| rasvapitoisuus |
fat percentage |
| tilatankki |
bulk tank for milk in farms |
| vatkain |
electric mixer, kept in hand |
| vispilä |
whisk |
8. Adjectives related to milk products
| Finnish |
English |
| allerginen (maidolle) |
allergic (to milk) |
| homogenisoitu |
homogenised |
| härski (voi) |
oxygenated, rancid (butter) |
| iskukuumennettu |
UHT-processed |
| kermainen (juusto) |
creamy (cheese) |
| kova (juusto) |
hard (cheese) |
| laktoositon |
lactose-free |
| maidoton |
milkless, non-dairy |
| pastöroitu |
pasteurised |
| puolikova (juusto) |
semi-hard (cheese) |
| rasvaton |
fat-free |
| suolaton |
unsalted (butter etc.) |
| vastalypsetty |
freshly milked |
| vähälaktoosinen |
low-lactose |
| vähärasvainen |
low-fat |
| vähäsuolainen |
low-salted |
9. Verbs related to milk products
| Finnish |
English |
| gratinoida |
to gratinate |
| hapantua |
to sour |
| iskukuumentaa |
to process in UHT |
| juoksettaa |
to curdle |
| kaataa (maitoa) |
to pour |
| keittää |
to boil (transitive) |
| kermoa |
to separate cream from milk |
| kiehua |
to boil, sometimes over (intransitive) |
| kirnuta |
to churn |
| lorauttaa (kermaa) |
to pour freely (cream etc.) |
| lypsää (lehmä) |
to milk (the cow) |
| läikyttää |
to spill |
| pastöroida |
to pasteurize |
| piimittää (maitoa) |
to turn milk into cultured buttermilk |
| polttaa pohjaan |
to burn, to overheat |
| raastaa (juustoa) |
to grate (cheese) |
| vatkata, vispata |
to whip |
| voidella |
to butter |
I think to remember that the firs time I came to Finland in 1989 there was I kind of milk called “kulutus maito” I do not see it anymore. I supposed it has been replaced by the “täysmaito”
Yeah, kulutusmaito is not used anymore 🙂 It was before my time, but I did come across the term on my search for milk-related words while making this article! Kielitoimiston sanakirja says it’s “täysmaidon aiempi nimitys“. So you’re right.