The oldest occupation of the Sami people is fishing. They caught whitefish, pike, perch, grayling, burbot and bull trout, char and Arctic char. Therefore, boiled fish was a frequent dish on the Sami table. This method of cooking does not require special preparations and makes it possible, as a result, to have not only the fish, but also the broth in which it is made (ukha).

In summer, the Sami people only ate fresh fish, whereas in winter they had it salted and dried.

Made of natural materials, the Sami kitchen utensils fully corresponded to their way of life. The Sami people made them from wood (more often birch or birch bark). Bowls, cups, ladles and spoons were carved out of wood. Birch bark was used to make baskets, boxes and special tablecloths. The fish plate had raised edges, making it possible to place the whole product on a flat surface.

When the Sami people returned from the day’s fishing, they gutted the fish and rinsed it to salt. Some of the largest and fattest fish (three or four large whitefish) and the rest, of medium size, were put into a bucket or half-bucket cauldron and hung over the hearth. Except for salt, no seasonings were put in the soup. When the soup was ready, the fish was laid out with a wooden spoon (kapest’) on a wooden board (kar) with raised edges and eaten with broth poured into chiseled wooden cups (murnahp’). Fried fish was put on a plate and eaten without bread as a second course. The Sami people often took the fish out of the cauldron, removed its bones, added to it the cloudberries they had collected during the day and pounded the mixture to make mash (luem naut). In the mornings, before leaving for fishing, they ate the fish left over from dinner.

To this day, the Sami people still make traditional fish soup. They fill half of the kettle with fish, then pour water over it and add potatoes. Salt and wild onions are added to taste. Finally, they pour flour mixed with cold water into the kettle to make the soup thick. The Sami people often make fish salad — “kӯll — nyuvvt”. They salt the freshly boiled fish, remove the bones, mix it with cloudberries and pour fish oil over it. The smell of smoky fire and the atmosphere of the national Sami dwelling, called “kuvaksa”, add a special flavor to the dishes.