Memma is a simple Finnish easter treat which is magical because it becomes very aromatically sweet although it is made with ingredients that are not very sweet.

It is made with the following ingredients:

first phase:

• Rye malt
• Rye flour
• Water

second phase:

• Salt
• Seville orange peel

eating phase:

• Cream

first phase

Start in the evening. Mix the ingredients, in proportions to taste; in my case, I tried the proportions

0.3 malt + 0.7 flour + 1 water

0.5 malt + 0.5 flour + 1 water

Mix the three above ingredients in a casserole. IT might be useful to warm it before putting it in the oven. Make sure you don't go beyond 70°C because it kills the process that makes it sweet.

Put the casserole, covered, in the oven at 50°C for the whole night.

second phase

Take the casserole from the oven after at least 12 hours. Add salt and seville orange peel and bring it to boil; keep it boiling for 10 minutes.

After that, put the mixture in something large like a roasting pan

and put it in the oven at about 200°C for around 2 hours. It must dry out, but not too much.

I read on a website that you should stir it every now and then while cooking, but in my experience it actually makes all worse. It works much better if you leave it alone. You can of course probe it to check its consistency; at the end of the 2 hours it should have a nice darker brown surface and its consistency should be approximately that of a thicker porridge.

eating phase