Egg Butter (Finnish Munavoi) - Savory Lotus (2024)

Table of Contents

Egg Butter (Finnish Munavio) Ingredients Instructions Click HERE to PIN THIS! Reader Interactions Comments Leave a Reply FAQs References

By Katja Heino 15 Comments
Savory Lotus may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this post.

Jump to Recipe

I may have mentioned it before, but I am originally from Finland. I spent my early yearsin theland of a thousand lakes, the midnight sun, and cold winters. And our dinner table was always full of traditional Finnish foods. The one that has stuck with me after all of these years is Egg Butter or Finnish Munavoi.

Egg Butter is exactly what it sounds like. Eggs and butter. YUM! In the United States, you make egg salad with mayo. And I’ve been known to eat a good egg salad, as long as the mayo is homemade. In Finland, you skip the mayo and just add butter. It’s simple. It’s easy. And OMG is it good!

I’m all about finding nutrient-dense foods to feed myself and my family. Eggs (especially from pastured chickens) and butter (from a grass fed source) are superfoods in my book. Eggs are one of my most favorite sources of protein. Pastured egg yolks are also a good source of Omega-3’s. Then there’s the vitamin E, vitamin D, B vitamins, selenium, iodine, and phosphorous.

Oh, and the butter! Amazing, delicious, nutritious butter. Don’t believe the hype. Butter has gotten a bad wrap for years as being an artery-clogging, heart attack-causing food. The truth is that butter is a vitamin, mineral and antioxidant rich food with many healing properties. Before the introduction of processed vegetable oils, our ancestors enjoyed healthy amounts of butter and lived robust, vital lives. Read more HERE about the health benefits of butter.

When Dr. Weston Price studied native diets in the 1930’s he found that butter was a staple in the diets of many supremely healthy peoples.¹ Isolated Swiss villagers placed a bowl of butter on their church altars, set a wick in it, and let it burn throughout the year as a sign of divinity in the butter. Arab groups also put a high value on butter, especially deep yellow-orange butter from livestock feeding on green grass in the spring and fall. American folk wisdom recognized that children raised on butter were robust and sturdy; but that children given skim milk during their growing years were pale and thin, with “pinched” faces. (source)

This ain’t no gourmet recipe. It’s just eggs and butter. But it’s good. It’s healthy. And the kids are going to love it.

Egg Butter (Finnish Munavio)

★★★★★4.8 from 4 reviews

Author: Katja from Savory Lotus
Yield: 2 1x

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

2 hard boiled eggs
2 TBS butter or ghee, softened
unrefined sea salt (I use this one), to taste

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Mash peeled hard boiled eggs with butter (or ghee) with a fork until eggs are broken up and mixture is spreadable. Salt to taste.
Serve on your favorite bread, crackers, or salad. Or do what I do and eat it off the fork. ENJOY!

Click HERE to PIN THIS!

I love to eat this with my “Cheesy” Paleo Crackers and my Grain Free Everything Crackers.

Do you have a favorite recipe from your childhood? Please share in comments.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Melissa says
February 12, 2014 at 9:11 am
Wow, I am really looking forward to preparing this. Thank you for sharing Katja!
★★★★★
Reply
Ayumi says
February 12, 2014 at 3:24 pm
Thank you for sharing! We love this!
Reply
melissa says
February 28, 2014 at 9:15 am
Even though I am from Tennessee. I can remember my grandmother fixing this but it had to be mashed in a clear glass. It was the best and really brings back some great memories.
Thanks for sharing.
Reply
- Katja says
  March 1, 2014 at 7:52 am
  Food memories are the best for me, especially if they involve my grandmother. Thanks for coming by!
  Reply
Phyllis says
September 2, 2014 at 6:14 pm
See Also
Feta Cheese From Scratch
I too am Finn – this was a favorite of all the elders in my family from way back and just off the boat into the USA – incredibly I had forgotten about it until I came across your site – you can best believe I won’t forget it again – DELICIOUS – Kittos!!!!
★★★★★
Reply
- Katja says
  September 3, 2014 at 6:01 pm
  ole hyvä! I am so glad that you found my recipe. This it total comfort food for me! 🙂
  Reply
Marcia Smith says
February 21, 2019 at 12:21 pm
This sounds wonderful. Going to go make it now.
Reply
- Katja Heino says
  February 21, 2019 at 10:03 pm
  Hope you enjoy! It’s such a childhood comfort food for me. 🙂
  Reply
Pamela Loughridge says
March 8, 2019 at 7:33 am
My husband is Finnish. I always loved Mummu’s egg butter with her traditional rye bread. Sadly she has passed on recently leaving me with a lot of her precious recipes all documented in Finnish language. I am searching for a recipe for what she called “S Cookies” they are cinnamon and sugar cookies that melt in your mouth. They were always plentiful at Christmas time. Would you have a recipe for these treasures? I would be ever grateful if I could give them a try as they are my husband’s favorite. Would like to surprise him with a little memory of his dear Aitti.
Reply
- Katja Heino says
  March 12, 2019 at 11:55 am
  That is so sweet of you to try to recreate a childhood fav for him. My family didn’t eat S cookies, so I don’t know what they are. I found this online:
  http://www.arctic-cloudberry.com/2015/04/assa-vekarapaat-grandmas-traditional.html
  Not sure if it’s what you’re looking for. 🙂 Mmmmm… egg butter and dark rye. I love it!
  Reply
- Jussi says
  August 24, 2019 at 12:45 pm
  Hey Pamela! The s-cookies you’re looking for are called “kaneliässä”. Hope you find a good recipe and are able to translate it.
  Reply
- Juli says
  September 4, 2022 at 10:03 am
  My mom bakes S cookies every year for Christmas and they’re so good! I don’t haver her recipe but here’s a few links that may to the trick
  https://www.robinhood.ca/En/Recipes/Cinnamon-S-Cookies
  https://myvintagecooking.com/finnish-s-cookies/
  Reply
P7 says
October 18, 2021 at 5:47 am
Should the butter be salted?
★★★★★
Reply
- Katja Heino says
  October 20, 2021 at 5:49 am
  You can use either, depending on your preference. 🙂
  Reply
DavetteB says
March 12, 2022 at 3:06 am
I’ve eaten this all my life 50+y, and it was never called by a name. We always had this when we had enough eggs, some fresh hot with butter, salt & pepper and the cold ones either became egg salad or deviled eggs. It was a mild food we could have when we were sick too. I’ve jokingly called it hot egg salad trying to describe it but it’s so simple and delicious. As far as I know, there’s no Finnish or Scandanavian in my heritage; mostly African-American and Mexican from the mid-Atlantic area.
It will be munavoi from now on 🙂
★★★★
Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Egg Butter (Finnish Munavoi) - Savory Lotus (2024)

FAQs

Where did egg butter originate? ›

Egg butter

Karelian pasties topped with egg butter
Alternative names	Munavoi
Type	Spread
Place of origin	Finland
Region or state	Northern Europe

2 more rows

See Details ›

How to make an egg? ›

How to cook it: Melt butter in a non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Add the egg and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until the whites are firm. Flip and cook about 2 more minutes until the yolk is fully cooked, gently pressing the yolk with a spatula to make sure it's broken.

Discover More ›

What does a butter and egg man mean? ›

butter-and-egg man in American English

(ˈbʌtərənˈeɡ) noun. old-fashioned slang. a prosperous businessman from a small town or a farmer who spends his money ostentatiously on visits to a big city.

Discover More Details ›

How long do buttered eggs last? ›

Buttered eggs take on a shiny gleam. And, as an added bonus, the taste of butter permeates the egg, making it even richer when cracked opened and cooked. Eggs preserved this way keep for up to six months in a cool place.

Tell Me More ›

Why do eggs taste better with butter? ›

The best thing about frying eggs in butter is the taste. Because butter is higher in fat than oil, your eggs will naturally take on that rich butter flavor as they crisp in the pan.

How to tell if eggs are bad? ›

If the egg sinks to the bottom and lays on its side, it should be fresh and ready to eat. If it floats all the way to the top, the egg may be spoiled.

Is butter healthier than oil? ›

Bottom line: Olive, canola and safflower oils are healthier choices overall than butter and most margarines. Use them as replacements for butter and margarine in most of your cooking, but watch the amounts – those fat calories can add up fast.

Get More Info ›

How many eggs for 2 person scrambled eggs? ›

To make scrambled eggs for two, you'll need 4 to 6 eggs, 4 to 6 tablespoons of milk (figure 1 tablespoon of milk for every egg), and salt and pepper to taste. Chopped fresh parsley and other herbs add flavor and visual appeal, but they're completely optional.

Show Me More ›

Do you put milk in eggs yes or no? ›

Save the Milk for Your Coffee Mug

You can stop if you are in the habit of adding milk or cream while whisking eggs—now. Milk won't make eggs creamier, fluffier, or stretch the dish out. The milk dilutes the eggs' flavor, making them rubbery, colorless, and similar to what you would find at a school cafeteria.

Show Me More ›

Where is butter and eggs from? ›

butter-and-eggs, (Linaria vulgaris), perennial herbaceous plant of the Plantaginaceae family, native to Eurasia. The plant is widely naturalized in North America, where it is considered an invasive species.

Learn More Now ›

Where did egg tapping originate? ›

Egg tapping was practiced in Mediaeval Europe. The practice was mentioned to have played an important part in the 14th century in Zagreb in relation to Easter. A study of folklore quotes an early 15th-century reference from Poland.