History of wheat in Finland

Together with rice and corn, wheat is one of the most widely cultivated and oldest cereals in the world. Up until the twentieth century, only limited amounts of wheat were grown in Finland, and wheat dishes were delicacies enjoyed by a select few.

Wheat emerges first in the Pre-Roman Iron Age in the Finnish material. The earliest evidence is from the dwelling site complex around the Rapola hill fort in Häme, which has been one of the most important settlement concentrations in the inland from the Pre-Roman Iron Age until the historical period.

In the warm Bronze Age club wheat was common in central Finland, but it had disappeared towards the much colder Early Iron Age (200 BC-200 AD). Both spring and winter wheat were grown in the 16th century, but both were insignificant compared to rye.

Very little wheat was grown in nineteenth-century Finland, and it could not be ground in ordinary mills. Only industrialization made wheat flour commonplace. In the Finnish foodstuffs industry, the use of rye and oats has increased, while the use of wheat has slightly decreased.
History of wheat in Finland