Sweden is Astrid Lindgren's well-nourished favorite of all children, Carlson, the safest Volvo car in the world, the ABBA quartet's permanent New Year hit and the annual Nobel Prize, which celebrates the outstanding contribution of people to the history of mankind in various fields of science and art.
Tourists go to Sweden willingly: the country has a huge amount of natural resources and architectural attractions, and tours are rich and varied.
Sooner or later, any traveler finds himself in a cafe or restaurant, studies the menu and decides what to try. There are some regional differences in culinary traditions in Sweden, but in general its cuisine is simple and good quality.
The Swedes make extensive use of the gifts of nature and their diet is based on natural and organic products. Local cuisine is often prepared from the meat of wild animals - venison, elk or game, as well as wild fish caught both in the sea and in numerous rivers and lakes. Swedish housewives cook soups on strong meat broths with the addition of root vegetables and legumes, and enjoy baking traditional desserts and homemade bread. Jams and preserves are made from wild berries and used for sweet and sour sauces for dishes made from meat of wild animals.
Top 10 Swedish dishes
Surströmming
Even a person who is very far from Swedish realities could hear about "surströmmin" - a famous Swedish dish that leaves no one indifferent. Canned pickled herring easily divides everyone who has tried it into two camps - unconditional admirers and ardent opponents. The second group often falls already at the stage of opening the can - the smell that exudes a branded Swedish snack literally knocks down a morally unprepared taster.
"Surströmmin" is made from medium-sized Baltic herring of spring catch, which is subjected to the process of salting and fermentation. Even after the fish has been packaged, it continues to ferment, and therefore bloated cans are the norm for Surströmming.
The delicacy is served on the thinnest piece of bread, spread with butter. Almond potatoes and chopped onions are added to the herring, and the bread is rolled up like a roll. In the northern regions of Sweden, the sandwich is flavored with a generous layer of soft goat cheese, but this interpretation makes southerners a skeptical smile.
If you decide to take the risk and try surströmmin, head to Sweden at the end of summer, when the finished product of the spring catch begins to be sold.
Gravlax
If the idea of fermented herring is not impressive, try the spicy fish called gravlax in Sweden. A classic for the countries of northern Europe, the appetizer is usually prepared from salmon fish. Fillet of salmon or trout is rubbed with a mixture of coarse sea salt, black pepper, sugar and finely chopped dill. Often brandy, cognac and even Calvados appear in the recipe: then gravlax takes on special tart notes. The fish is sent to be impregnated with aromas, salted and fermented for 3-4 days in a cool place.
In Swedish restaurants, gravlax is served on rye toast with capers, lemon and herb butter. Often the chef adds dill-mustard sauce as an accent. Another interesting serving option is gravlax slices accompanied by eel pâté and green salad.
Räksmörgås
The sandwich traditions of Swedish cuisine originated in the distant 15th century, when the poor who did not have utensils used slices of bread instead of plates. Simple food was laid out on them and ate. This serving of cold appetizers is as popular today as it was in the old days, and skagen toast, for example, is often offered in cafes and restaurants in Sweden as a prelude to the main course.
Mentioned in the title, "Rexmergos" is a type of sandwich that is a toast with shrimp. The seafood is mixed with finely chopped eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes and salad greens and flavored with mayonnaise. The finished mixture is spread on rye toast and the appetizer is decorated on top with caviar sauce prepared with the addition of dill and sour cream.
Smörgåstårta
The Swedes are great masters of original and complex snacks, and the “smörgostort” sandwich cake is a vivid confirmation of this. Simple sandwiches on toast are so boring, so Swedish chefs have come up with a new interpretation of old traditions.
A sandwich cake is layered slices of bread with cut crusts, between which tuna, shrimp, meat, eggs, grated or finely chopped fresh vegetables are placed in any order and combinations. The filling is generously coated with sour cream, mayonnaise or cream. The top and sides of Smörgåstårta are meticulously decorated with beautifully chopped vegetable pieces and herbs, and the “cake” is a true culinary masterpiece. It is served as a cold appetizer, although it is quite suitable as an option for a full lunch, especially if there is meat in the filling.
Ärtsoppa
Pea soup on Thursdays is a family custom in Sweden. Catholics cooked it to eat before Fast Friday, and the culinary tradition is so firmly entrenched that it is present in the life of modern Swedes.
A distinctive feature of Swedish pea soup is its thickness. Ärtsoppa is more like a pea porridge, and a spoon is literally in it. The soup is boiled the day before, so that it is infused, and its taste is revealed to the fullest. You can try this popular dish in any cafe and restaurant in Sweden. The soup is seasoned with mustard and served with rye bread. Traditionally on Thursday lunch menu is complemented with pancakes with lingonberry jam.
Palt
Swedish "coats" (emphasis on the first syllable) are potato dumplings with various ingredients, which are prepared in their own way in the south and north of the country.
Once the peasants tried to make the most of any products that they could grow, and they used not only meat, but also blood, bacon and offal. Blodpalts in northern Sweden are made from animal blood mixed with flour and mashed potatoes. Dumplings are formed from the dough, which are boiled and served with fried meat. Southerners prefer the raw potato dough with flour. A piece of meat or minced meat is placed in such "coats" and served with lingonberry jam.
There is also a "vegetarian" subspecies of the dish, when the dumplings consist only of potatoes and flour. They are called "flat palates" and are flavored with butter on a plate.
Köttbullar
Remember what Carlson's favorite dish was? Suck not jam, if you thought so. The moderately well-fed hero preferred köttbullar - meatballs, the recipe for which came to Sweden from the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century. You can experience Swedish food culture at any IKEA mall that serves köttbullar in self-service restaurants.
Meatballs are made from minced meat with the addition of spices and vegetables. They are baked in the oven and served with mashed potatoes or steamed vegetables and a creamy sauce. Taste accents are beautifully set with pickled cucumbers and pickled lingonberries - invariable companions of meat dishes traditional for Sweden.
Semla
As for sweets and desserts, the Swedes in this matter can give odds to many neighbors on the continent. There is even an officially recognized sweets day in the country, which falls … on every Saturday. Every week a Swedish family of four eats more than a kilogram of sweets, so is it any wonder that baking in Sweden is also practiced in every home and even more so in a restaurant.
A typical example of a Swedish dessert is the wheat flour semla bun with almond paste and whipped cream. The tradition of making such buns is associated with the Butter Tuesday of Great Lent, but the Swedes bake and eat semla with pleasure on other days as well.
The zest of the bun is in its filling. The top of the finished semla is cut off and the bun is stuffed with a mixture of almond butter and milk. The dessert is garnished with whipped cream on top. "Semla" is usually served in a bowl with hot milk, and a special spicy accent is given to the dessert by the notes of cardamom added to the dough.
Prinsesstårta
The shop window of any Swedish pastry shop is adorned with the signature cake Prinsesstårta, which celebrates its centenary in 2020. The king of the sweet Swedish menu is named after the nieces of King Gustav V. The base of the cake is a sponge cake, the layers of which are smeared with raspberry jam, whipped cream and vanilla cream. The shape of the cake resembles a dome covered with green marzipan. The "cherry" is a scarlet rose made from sugar.
"Princess Cake" is so popular with the Swedes that they are ready to eat it for Easter, weddings and Halloween. However, depending on the occasion, marzipan can change color from classic green to orange, red and even white. Order a dessert with a cup of coffee or black tea, and for the Christmas holidays it is also good with a glass of hot glogg.
Glögg
Despite the fact that glögg is a drink, it can easily be classified as one of the dishes to be tried in Sweden. The traditions of its preparation date back to the middle of the 16th century, when the Polish princess Katerina Jagiellonka became the wife of King Johan III. The young queen was freezing in cold winter Sweden and warming herself with hot wine. So the Swedes got a drink, without the aroma and spicy taste of which not a single winter holiday can do today.
Glögg can be tasted at Christmas markets in all Swedish cities. Glögg is based on red wine, but a little Madeira or vodka is often added to it. Glögg is boiled over a fire, adding a mixture of spices to the wine: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, chopped ginger and orange zest. Previously, honey gave a sweetish taste to glögg, but now sugar is more often used, which is caramelized during the preparation process.
