Food and flavors of Sweden

In Sweden it is cold, few people live for the amount of territory it occupies, so we can imagine what the Swedish inhabitants will do on those long cold and dark winter afternoons ... well, a thousand things, of course, but one of them is to dress them in color. and flavor with its different gastronomic proposals.

If something draws the attention of diners not used to the swedish food are the colors, I myself was surprised in his day how usual it was to consume dishes with ingredients of pink color or similar tones. In some cases this color is due to the presence of, very present in the swedish gastronomy, at other times due to the presence of the fruits of the forest, also an essential.

Fish, salmon and herring dishes alternate with meat dishes, which are generally beef or pork, but also we can find reindeer and moose, especially in Lapland. And they are accompanied by turnip, kohlrabi, cabbage, cabbage, cucumber, beet, a pasta in the form of little elbows ... And in a very common way, cranberry jam.

Main ingredients and their names

In Swedish cuisine there are many preparations that do not have a special name, a proper name, but rather that their name describes exactly what we have in front of us: "gingerbread cookies", "meat balls", etc. For this reason, only by translating some names we will already have an explanation of what they are, in other cases if we are going to need some additional considerations. We are going to get familiar with the vocabulary then.

• Kött: Meat
• Kanel: Cinnamon
• Bullar: Ball
• Kål: Cabbage
• Ärt: Pea
• Smörgås: Sandwich
• Kakor: Cakes
• Brod: Pan
• Lax: Salmon
• Saddle: Herring

Some dishes of Swedish gastronomy

Swedish gastronomy includes dishes of fish, meat, potatoes and other root vegetables ...

Kötbullar

Probably the most popular typical dish in Sweden are the well-known Köttbullar, the meatballs which are usually served under a meat sauce, accompanied by potatoes, usually in the form of a puree and with cranberry jam (“Lingonberry”).

Lax

Another food that we immediately associate with the Nordic countries it's salmon, which is consumed in different ways, and which is very common to season with dill. It is eaten cooked, smoked "Rökt lax", cured or macerated "Gravad lax". Salmon fermentation used to be done by salting the fish and burying it underground, hence the name "Gravad lax", since "Grav" means to dig. It is common to take these foods with Swedish bread, such as Knäckebrod, with dill and with mustard.

Pyttipanna

The meaning of "Pyttipanna" is small things in a frying pan. This dish used to be made with the remains of other foods and is very popular for its simplicity. Consists in pieces of meat, potato, onion and maybe other vegetables, cut into small cubes and cooked in the skillet. Once on the plate, it is usually accompanied by beetroot and fried egg.

Other typical Swedish dishes

• Kroppkakor, stuffed potato balls.
• Raggmunk (a kind of potato crepe).
• Strömmingslådor (a stew with herring).
• Smörgåstårta (a kind of salty cake, made in layers, with ham, shrimp, eggs, tuna ...).
• Rödbetssallad or beet salad.

The typical breads of Swedish cuisine

In addition to salmon and Köttbullar, there is something very well known in Swedish gastronomy that has been exported outside its borders: Swedish bread. There are a wide variety of bread-based preparations.

It is usually compact bread in the form of toast, although it is also very common to buy a kind of round and crushed bread roll, to consume more sandwich style or accompanied by a thousand and one ingredients, as in the Smörgåsbord. Some of the most popular varieties are:

• The Knäckebröd, a crusty bread, usually of rye that dries after cooking.
• The Kavring, a dense rye bread.
• The Tunnbröd, which has the appearance of a crepe.
• And the Vörtbröd, made from rye and wheat flours, and "Wort" beer wort, which is traditionally consumed at Christmas and is usually seasoned with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and raisins.

These loaves they are served with salmon, cold cuts, sauces or "caviar pasta". And, of course, also with cheese, some of the most popular in Sweden are Västerbotten, a hard cheese, with more than a year of aging, Svecia, or Kryddost, flavored with caraway and sometimes with cloves.

Drinks

Drinking is a subject, curious to say the least in Sweden. In the supermarket, the sale of alcoholic products is limited, which does not mean that they are not consumed, low-alcohol beers (“Lattol”) and concentrated syrups are sold to add to alcoholic beverages in mixed drinks.

The traditional drinks are Snaps and Glögg. Snaps, in addition to meaning brandy, refers to a distilled drink that is drunk at Christmas, flavored with various flavors: black currants, caraway, absinthe, etc. Snaps are usually served to accompany herring dishes. Glögg is also usually taken in, and it is a hot red wine with sugar and spices that is usually served in a mug with handles, with almonds and raisins.

The sweets

Probably the most popular and commonly consumed preparations in Swedish cuisine are Kanelbullar, a kind of spiral bun and spiced with cinnamon.

Others are the Saffransbullar: saffron buns that also contain raisins. And other indispensable Christmas sweet, along with the Saffransbullar, are the Pepparkakor or gingerbread cookies that are usually cut in the shape of people, animals, hearts ...

Now, if there is a sweet that is really limited to a certain time of year and that is worth waiting for, it is Semla, the typical Lenten bun, filled with cream and almond paste that, once the season is over, disappears.

The nutritional note

As we see, the dishes of the swedish gastronomy they are quite protein, due to the usual presence of fish, meat and / or dairy products. They are combined with sources of carbohydrates, especially in the form of potatoes or bread, and are accompanied by cooked vegetables.

Of course, the harsh winter makes this gastronomy poor in fresh vegetable products such as fruit and vegetables, so one of the main sources of vitamin C are cranberries, which are consumed mainly in the form of jam to achieve their conservation. Smaklig måltid! (enjoy your meal)

Bachelor of Food Science and Technology Diploma in Human Nutrition and Dietetics