Soup was cookin' on the island

This year's Mojakka Cook-off featured 15 varieties of soup and the largest crowd since the Carlton County Historical Society became beneficiary of the annual fundraiser at Cloquet's NorthEastern Hotel and Saloon.

Attendees honored both St. Patrick's Day on Sunday, and St. Urho's Day, which was the day before. The made-in-America Finnish holiday celebrates the fictional St. Urho ridding Finland of a scourge of grasshoppers, and the NorthEastern was selling purple and green beer in honor of both holidays.

Historical society co-director Anja Bottila said 176 people voted, an increase of nearly 30 percent over the last year.

"This is what [the cookoff] was like in its heyday," said Linda Erickson, referring to the nearly two-decades history of the fundraiser, while walking around with a stuffed grasshopper on her shoulder.

Tasting all of those soups and deciding on a favorite was a challenging task, but one that many attendees took very seriously, scribbling notes on scrap pieces of paper before dropping their votes into a giant bowl.

Cloquet's Dorence Erickson voted for soup No. 9 rather than his wife's award-winning beef mojakka.

"She won last year," he said. "You gotta give someone else a chance."

Cassandra Schambee came from Duluth for the event. After much evaluating, the half-Finnish first-timer voted for Grandma Helen's Mojakka, because of the taste and because her grandmother's name was Helen.

"I like old-fashioned soups," she said.

Mojakka can range from a thin soup to something approaching stew and contain whatever might be on hand. There is no ideal recipe, although there are some ingredients that can make the difference between a "lihamojakka" (LEE-ha-moy-a-kah) and just a beef and vegetable soup.

"Allspice is key," said Anja Bottila.

Not every mojakka is made with beef. Another version, made with fish in a creamy, allspice-flavored broth, is commonly referred to as "kalamojakka" (KAH-la-moy-a-kah). And then there's Finnish salmon soup, or lohikeitto (low-he-KAY-toe).

Although variations of mojakka made up the core of the entries, there were plenty of other soups to try, from a yellow split pea and ham by Mark Edwards to a Finnish beetroot soup by Carol Klitzke.

"My favorite is 1 through 15," said NorthEastern owner Bert Whittington. "They're all really good."

Whittington said they've had more soups (21 is the record), noting that the NorthEastern has always hosted the event, which has benefited various non-profit groups over the years, including the now defunct Friends of Animals humane society, United Way and American Legion Auxiliary.

After all the people's choice votes were tallied, this year's first-place medal went to Roaring Good Mojakka by Jim Vnuk and the Carlton Lions Club. Second place went to Peggy VanHoever for her Lemon Roasted Chicken soup. Deb's Boiled Dinner by Debra Peterson took third place.

For those who like some Finnish humor with their soup, Jan Salo Korby was there to help.

"Why was the mermaid depressed?" she asked. "Because she realized she was only half Finn."