Scandinavian Bites: A Nordic Culinary Experience – As an Asian expat living in Sweden, I hear many people criticizing Swedish food. Common complaints are that the food here is tasteless and bland. Having lived in Sweden for many years, I have to agree. Hearing stories of strange and supposedly disgusting traditional dishes like “surströmming” (fermented herring) didn’t change my beliefs at all. However, I always thought it was due to personal interest. I never asked myself why people think Swedish food is so bad?
I’m curious, “Do people consider Swedish food ‘bad’ because of the strange dishes, or because of the local food culture because of its lack of flavor?” Sweden is a very international and modern country, it is becoming harder to find traditional Swedish dishes and dishes from other countries have changed to suit local tastes. So, what is Swedish taste, and how has it evolved over the years?
Scandinavian Bites: A Nordic Culinary Experience
I actually knew very little about Swedish cuisine and food culture. My closest experiences with real Swedish food were in the school canteen and several local restaurants in the city. My family didn’t interact much with Swedish families, and so my knowledge of local food was limited. I needed a place to start, so I asked the network for help.
Aska’s New Nordic Cuisine Creates Fairy Tales On A Plate
From the network, I learned how Swedish cuisine was and still is influenced by the country’s living history, cultural characteristics, its environment and the living conditions and values of the people. As I understand it, Swedes have for many years lost a close connection with food, knowing where it comes from and how to farm it sustainably. However, this is changing.
Just as Sweden embraced the industrialization of the food chain, they are now looking for authentic cuisine, sustainable food production and no food wastage. I will take you on a journey of discovery. Let’s start with some history and then I’ll recommend some delicious and interesting recipes.
Let’s start from the beginning. I noticed that many Swedish dishes don’t require a lot of ingredients or seasonings. Actually, in most cases salt and pepper are enough. I learned that Swedish food culture and taste has historically been characterized by preservation, so many tastes today are influenced by this. Until the late 19th century, Swedish families produced most of what they ate themselves. They looked after their own animals, and grew the vegetables, wheat and fruits they needed.
The only commodity that families purchased in large quantities was salt, which was difficult to obtain in much of Sweden. Therefore, many recipes were simple and quick. Dishes like porridge and soup were common diets in most homes. However, to survive the harsh snowy winters, the Swedes came up with ways to preserve crops and food.
Top Nordic Cuisine Ideas In 2024
Many speculate that this is how “surströmming” came into existence. When the price of salt was very high the Swedes preserved fish through fermentation in weak brine. Also, the famous “Knäckebröd” (crispbread) was a way to preserve bread for a longer period of time. This created a style of Swedish cuisine called “Husmanskost” or traditional simple everyday/comfort food.
On many menus, I have seen “Hussmannskost” dishes, but I never really understood what it was. I just assumed it meant “comfort food”. I was half right. Like the Swedish word “lagom”, “husmanskost” has no exact translation. However, the main point of “Husmanskost” is to use cheap local ingredients for simple food. Therefore, you will find very different specialties and dishes in different parts of Sweden. It depends on what is available to them. For example, moose and reindeer meat are specialties of northern Sweden, and when I visited there, the Sami people showed me their extensive knowledge of harvesting such nature’s produce.
I didn’t know you could find venison in supermarkets all over Sweden. All you have to do is look for “rainscave” in the frozen food aisle, and Google “rainscave” recipe. It is obviously especially popular in autumn when you can cook “renskav” with chanterelles and homemade “lingonsilt” (lingonberry jam) as topping.
Anyone who has lived in Sweden will tell you that Swedes eat a lot of potatoes. Even when I don’t know what to eat my favorite dish is “pite-a-panna”. It’s basically pan-fried diced potatoes, sausage and onions topped with a sunny side up egg. It is easy to make and also very easy to fill the stomach. So, I wasn’t surprised to learn that potatoes are an important part of “Husmanskost”, but I didn’t know that it had only recently been introduced to Sweden.
The Scandinavia Box
The potato first came to Sweden in 1658, it was a real lifesaver for the starving population as it was easy to grow. Many famous dishes are based on potatoes, such as “Janson’s frestelse” (Janson’s temptress), potato gratin and “palt” (I’ll tell about it later). Potatoes were saving Swedes from hunger for more than a century. Thus, it is not unreasonable to assume that people started using potatoes as a dish in “Hussmannskost” sometime in the mid-19th century.
In the 17th–19th centuries, “Hausmannskost” was used in taverns to differentiate prices and menus for nobles and commoners. “Hussmannskost” was cheap and easy, but nutritious and filling. While maintaining its origins in the simple diet of common people, “Hussmannskost” has found its way into fine dining today. Therefore “Pite-à-Panna” is a “Husmanskost” dish.
I know that Sweden doesn’t produce much spice, so the dishes won’t be very spicy. I also knew that most of the spices came from other countries through the ports of the south. However, I learned that port cities like Gothenburg depended on foreign trade and one of the most traded commodities was spices. Most notably, the Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg in 1731 for the purpose of trading with China and the Far East.
It wasn’t long before Southerners began to appreciate spices and experiment with different ingredients. The spices especially appealed to the Swedish upper class and made many dishes more delicious. However, spices were expensive and were not widely used until the 18th–19th centuries. As a result, the food in south-west Sweden is more complex and delicious than in the north-east.
Nordic Bites: Exploring Scandinavian Street Food By Clock Street Books (ebook)
This made me understand. When I traveled to Sweden, I clearly remember more foods I ate in southern Sweden. A lot of the dishes I’ve never seen before, and their flavors are more refined. Unlike the North, where I got to taste many interesting ingredients like reindeer meat, but they were cooked in a very simple way. I remember our Sami guide roasting reindeer on an open fireplace with just a pinch of salt sprinkled on it. It was great, but it wasn’t refined.
In my opinion, Swedish cuisine is simple and salty compared to many other countries. As mentioned earlier, Swedes depended on what was locally available before the Agricultural Revolution. Fish, root vegetables and berries became staple foods as they could be found in abundance in Swedish forests. In a way, they are the main ingredient of every Swedish recipe.
Cured, fermented and dried dishes also feature prominently in traditional Swedish cuisine. Before the introduction of wood-burning stoves, which revolutionized the way Swedes ate by allowing them to roast or roast them, almost all foods were boiled. As a result, foods become healthier but also lose some of their flavor and taste.
Since spices are not native to Sweden, most Swedish dishes use only salt imported from Denmark. This means it is arguably saltier and bland than in spice-centric countries. For example, when I compare Asian food in Sweden to Asian food, Asian food in Sweden definitely lacks the layered flavors. However, it is not representative of Sweden as a whole. There are different tastes and ingredients in different parts of the country. In fact, some of the regional dishes I had were very tasty, but less popular. I had to travel to the countryside to find them.
Top 10 Best Scandinavian Restaurant In Minneapolis, Mn
The reason some recipes are less popular is probably because you can’t find them in everyday supermarkets, restaurants, delicatessens or bakeries unless you know what you’re looking for. Different regions are very particular about their cuisine. Some of them, for example seafood, usually come with a high price tag. Could this also be because there is no reason for the dishes to reach beyond their region? I’ll explore this more next time.
For example, you can find the pastry “Skansk spettekka” (a form of spit cake) only in southern parts of Sweden, such as Skåne. Many Swedes outside of Skåne will have heard of this pastry but very few have ever tasted it. I only heard about it from my friend’s mother, who comes from Skåne. “I didn’t like it, but after a few bites I couldn’t stop eating it,” my friend said. This is on my list of things to do next time I visit Skåne.
The dessert “Ostkaka” (Swedish Cheesecake), is preferred as the dessert of choice in some Swedish regions, focusing on its own sake.
Scandinavian nordic bedroom decor, nordic scandinavian design, nordic scandinavian bathroom design, scandinavian nordic style, nordic experience, nordic scandinavian bedroom, nordic scandinavian interior design, nordic scandinavian countries, nordic and scandinavian countries, nordic scandinavian, scandinavian nordic christmas decorations, culinary experience