Finnish grandmothers share traditional cooking skills on TikTok with hundreds of thousands of viewers

A new TikTok account is bringing Finnish grandmothers—and their decades-old recipes—into the spotlight, with some videos already amassing hundreds of thousands of views, Yle reports.

Terttu Ahonen, an 80-year-old resident of Joutseno in southeastern Finland, is one of the participants in the Ylämummola (“Top Grandma”) project, which records elderly Finns preparing traditional dishes. Her specialty: joutsenolainen rieska, a soft, yeast-raised barley flatbread unique to the region.

“Rieska usually means an unleavened flatbread in most of Finland, but the authentic Joutseno version is a round, fluffy bread made with barley,” Ahonen explains. The dough—composed of milk, water, yeast, barley flour, and salt—must be kneaded until it can be stretched thin without tearing. After rising, the loaves are shaped in a floured bowl through höpsöttäminen (a spinning motion to remove air), then baked in a hot oven.

Ahonen, who has baked the bread since the 1970s, insists the best way to enjoy it is fresh, with just butter. “You can tell it’s done by tapping the bottom—the sound tells you if it’s ready,” she says.

The Ylämummola project, funded by Finland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, is a collaboration between food influencer Olli Freese, Helsinki University food culture professor Taru Lindblom, and social media agency Sakea. Since launching in February, its TikTok videos—featuring dishes like karjalanpiirakka (Karelian pies) and gravlax—have surpassed two million views.

“These videos fill a real social need,” Freese says. “People watch them all the way through.” Over three years, the team plans to film 300 clips, each starring a participant aged 80 or older. “Authenticity is key—we’re showcasing ordinary people with extraordinary skills.”