MEAT Baked ham being the centrepiece of the Finnish Christmas dinner table, a special effort is made in finding and buying "the perfect piece of ham", fresh or salted, either with or without the bone. Picture on left: sliced ham on Christmas dinner table. To prepare the traditional Finnish Christmas ham, fresh ham is first salted by injecting it with saltwater solution and soaking it in brine. It is then prepared by slowly baking it in the oven, until the meat is succulent and cooked to perfection. Nowadays almost everyone purchases the ham readily salted. Ham is also often bought ready-baked. After baking, the rind and excess fat of ham are removed. The surface may then be decorated by smearing it with a mixture of mustard or egg yolk and sugar or honey, then thinly coating it with breadcrumbs, rye flour, or the like. After this, the ham is broiled in the oven until the surface is nicely browned. Ham is served sliced, warm or cold, with sweet, hot mustard. The serving dish can be garnished with apple halves filled with green peas, prunes etc. Nowadays also turkey roast has become more popular in replacing the traditional ham. Reindeer roast is often served in the areas of Lapland, the northern province of Finland. Other meat dishes may include liver casserole (left), made of ground pork or beef liver mixed with rice, milk, egg, onion, molasses and raisins and cooked in the oven, and Karelian stew, among others. Various cold cuts are also a part of Finnish Christmas dinner. Besides many cooked or cured sausages and meats, they include aspics (right) and smooth or rough-textured pâtés (left) made with pork, beef, veal or reindeer meat and pork, beef or chicken liver. These can also be served as hors d'œuvre, together with cheeses. Cheeses may also be served for dessert. In picture above: cold cuts from left to right  —  lightly smoked pork fillet, salami, cold-smoked reindeer roast, cooked tongue, pastrami. You will find recipes for some of the dishes mentioned above in here. Read more about traditional Finnish Christmas here.