Posts tagged with "swedish food"

Sankta Lucia in Sweden

Posted by Marcus Cederström 2 Comments
Dec 13 2011

A couple of years ago, we wrote about the Lucia tradition in Sweden. But with it being the 13th of December yet again, it was time to give a quick refresher course.

The Lucia tradition involves a woman dressed in white with a crown of candles upon her head. Following her are several young boys, also dressed in white, with conical star covered hats on their heads. The woman appointed to be Lucia is usually carrying baked goods and coffee to serve.  Known as Luciatågs (literally a Lucia train), these processions wander through offices and schools on December 13th spreading light and delicious fika materials.

Katja did a great job of explaining some of the baked goods that make a traditional Lucia day a few days ago when she wrote Lussekatter, Lussebullar and Lusselängd. If you’re feeling adventurous, check it out and try baking your own Lussekatter. Be warned, they do call for saffron and saffron is not cheap.

Along with the candles, the coffee, and the baked goods is the singing.  There are several Lucia songs that could be considered classic, but the one that always comes to mind from my time in Sweden is simply titled Sankta Lucia

The melody (apparently) is an old Neopolitan one, but there are several different lyrical versions. Below, you will find a lovely rendition on YouTube, as well as the accompanying text. Enjoy:

Sankta Lucia, ljusklara hägring,
sprid i vår vinternatt glans av din fägring.
||: Drömmar med vingesus under oss sia,
tänd dina vita ljus, Sankta Lucia. |

Kom i din vita skrud, huld med din maning.
Skänk oss, du julens brud, julfröjders aning.
||: Drömmar med vingesus, under oss sia,
tänd dina vita ljus, Sankta Lucia. |

Trollsejd och mörkermakt ljust du betvingar,
signade lågors vakt skydd åt oss bringar.
||: Drömmar med vingesus, under oss sia,
tänd dina vita ljus, Sankta Lucia. |

Stjärnor som leda oss, vägen att finna,
bli dina klara bloss, fagra prästinna.
||: Drömmar med vingesus, under oss sia,
tänd dina vita ljus, Sankta Lucia. |

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Fika. Swedish Style.

Posted by Marcus Cederström 3 Comments
Dec 12 2011

After several years in Sweden and a move back to the United States, I realized I had picked up quite a few habits. Some decidedly Swedish. Like taking my shoes off every time I enter someone’s home. It’s just a nice thing to do in my opinion and it ensures that all of that gunk I’ve been walking on outside, doesn’t make its way inside.

One habit that I did not pick up was going out for a fika. Probably because I don’t drink coffee (on a side note, I was once told that me not drinking coffee made me a stereotypical American. Because Americans don’t drink coffee. Obviously.). But no trip to Sweden is complete without hearing the word fika on a regular basis.

A while back, Katja wrote about the classic snacks for a fika, and even took a look at the habit of fika-ing in cafes instead of at home.  Today, we’re going to talk a bit about the word and the cultural mainstay it has become.

First, what is it? Fika is a cultural phenomenon that is similar to English tea.  You’re supposed to have yourself some coffee, maybe some saft if you’re not into coffee, and some baked goods.  Fikas are common in the work place, where you’ll sometimes have both a morning and an afternoon fika.  They’re a common way to go on a first date. A common way to go on a last date.  A common way to meet new people, meet old friends, meet new colleagues.  Sometimes you might even have a job interview over a fika.

As you’ll notie above, there’s not much the fika can’t do.  It’s amazing really. The word itself is pretty impressive.  It can act as both verb and noun.  For example:

Verb form: Ska vi fika imorgon eftermiddag? (Shall we fika tomorrow afternoon?)
Noun form: Ska vi ta en fika lite senare? (Shall we grab a fika a little bit later?)

Fascinating isn’t it?  It gets better. Or at least for the linguistics amongst us it gets better.  Nationalencyklopedin has a very short, but very interesting (and unfortunately, now NOT free service) that describes how the word originated from a slang language used by marketplace merchants in Västergötland.  The Swedish word for coffee is kaffe, which became kaffi. Somehow, and this is where my linguistic knowledge hits a wall, the letters were rearranged and we are left with the word fika.

So next time you find yourself in Sweden and someone asks you out for a fika. Say yes. You’ll already have a great conversation starter (speaking of which, Katja has written a lovely post about a classic conversation starter in Swedish. Check it out.).

Swedes Abroad Mourn…

Posted by Marcus Cederström 4 Comments
Oct 18 2011

It’s been rumored for months now. Hushed whispers in the Swedish-American community. Disgust. Fear. Sadness. It’s been a time of uncertainty.  Swedes around the world have been stocking up on the essentials. And by Swedes everywhere I mean my dad. And by essentials I mean Kalles Kaviar.  IKEA has decided to discontinue their sale of name-brand Swedish products like Kalles Kaviar.  Instead, they will only be selling IKEA brand Swedish staples. That means no more Abba sil. No more Daim. No more Bilar. And worst of all, no more Kalles.

I love IKEA. Unashamedly. There are few pieces of furniture in my apartment that are not from IKEA. It’s perfect really. I can buy them cheap. Live a student’s lifestyle on them, and replace them in two years’ time. Just like IKEA intended.  But this latest move stings a little bit.

We’ve written about Swedishness Abroad and how IKEA helps to maintain some semblance of connection with Sweden.  Jennie even wrote about what kind of food items you need to buy for that Swedish nostalgia, all the while noting the slow descent into solely IKEA brand Swedish foods in How to Buy Swedish Food Abroad. But now it is official. No more.

From a business standpoint, this makes sense. IKEA wants to have more control over the products they sell. Plus, chances are they’ll be able to pull in a few extra kronor with this move.  That doesn’t mean that the products won’t be missed.  There is a sense of nostalgia that comes with opening a bag of Bilar and hoping that they are just the right level of stale.  Or of flipping the cap over on a tube of Kalles and popping it open.  Or of chewing your way around the chocolate-y center of a Ballerina cookie.

Of course, Swedish brands do not define Swedish identity. Swedish identity is constantly evolving. It is not a static idea that is dependent on some sort of Nordic ideal; instead ideas are constantly being imported from and exported to different countries. Just as Swedes pepper their language with English loan words, Americans pepper their homes with Swedish design. It’s a cultural exchange that gives excitement to living in an international setting.  As Swedes living abroad know, Swedishness is not defined by a border on a map. Or words on a page. Or even the brands at IKEA.

How to buy Swedish food abroad

Posted by jennie 7 Comments
Sep 1 2011

As a Swede living abroad, the monthly trip to IKEA is big treat. Not so much for the flat packs and the tea candles, but more so for the mouth watering food department. Lingonberry jam, pickled herring, knäckebröd, Daim cake… Well, you probably all know what it’s like. Or, what it WAS like, I should say. Because over the past years, IKEA have slowly but steadily changed the stock from familiar Swedish meatballs-sausages-cookies-herring-bread-coffee-brands to IKEA’s own brand IKEA Food. Pretty much all food you buy in IKEA nowadays are IKEA Food labelled or will be in the near future, and this makes the expat in me quite sad. A bit pathetic, I know. But there was something quite fulfilling about seeing the familiar brands of meatballs-sausagge-cookies-herring-bread-coffee on our kitchen shelves. Not to mention, the quality of it the ‘proper’ stuff.  It’s of course rather obvious why IKEA is doing this and understandable as well, I suppose. But it doesn’t change the fact that I still want my Leksand’s Knäckebröd and my Pågen’s Hönökaka.

One good thing being a Swede living in the UK is Totally Swedish. It’s a Swedish shop based in London which has become so popular it is now a chain (read more here!). The deliver all over the UK for a reasonable price and it’s like Christmas Eve all over when the delivery guys knock on the door. I have a few friends in USA who use Sweden’s Best  for their Swedish food fix and someone once recommended Sverige Online for deliveries worldwide.

Where do you people turn when you need a dose of Sweden? And what are your absolute favourites that you would happily pay loads for in your local supermarket?

My top 5 Swedish foods are the following tasty five:

*Almond Cake made from the chocolate brand Daim. Cake heaven.
*Falukorv, my favourite a sausage that you must and should eat with…
*…Snabbmakaroner, the pasta of all pastas – and they are ready in only three minutes!
*Hönökaka, a sweet bread from the west coast of Sweden.
*Leksands knäckebröd, read Katjas post about this deliscios type of bread here!

Kräftskivor – The Swedish Crayfish Party

Posted by Marcus Cederström 4 Comments
Aug 24 2011

It’s August. You knew that though. What you might not have known though is that August is also the month for crayfish parties throughout Sweden (and really wherever I find myself in the US).

Crayfish are essentially tiny little lobsters. A form of shellfish that is common in Cajun culture. In Swedish culture though, the crayfish is cooked quite differently. And by differently I mean boiled in salt water with dill. And that’s it. They are delicious.

Eating a crayfish is a messy affair. You’ll want to start by letting the crayfish cool. Obviously. Obviously because when you pick up your first crayfish you need to unfold the thing and suck out all of the juices. No one likes sucking boiling crayfish juice into their mouths.  Once you’ve sucked the dill and crayfish juice out, it’s time to pop the tail off and eat the meat.  There’s not a lot in there, but it’s worth it.  Some people, and by some people I mean my very Swedish father, eat all the disgusting crayfish excrement within which includes everything from eggs to I-don’t-want-to-know-what. Once the tail has been dissected, it’s time to crack open the claws. Which are even smaller than the tails. There is even less meat here, but it adds to the whole experience of eating crayfish.

Along with the crayfish, you’ll probably want to serve potatoes, preferably färskpotatis which are known as new potatoes in English. You’ll also need some knäckebröd, some cheese, some salad, and of course – cheese pie. Specifically Västerbottenpaj.

Of course, no Swedish tradition is complete without alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. Namely snaps – akvavit.  Shots of akvavit generally go hand in hand with the crayfish.  And over the course of the evening, those shots are accompanied by plenty of drinking songs.

Below you’ll find a YouTube clip with lyrics. And of course, you can find the lyrics to Helan Går here on Transparent’s blog as well.

All this tends to be done outdoors. Or at least is attempted outdoors. The weather is notoriously fickle in August in Sweden.  Along with the food, snaps, and singing, people tend to wear bibs (remember that sucking? It gets messy), and ridiculous looking conical party hats.  If you can work in a crayfish motif as often as possible, all the better.

Crayfish parties are traditionally held in August due to laws that limited crayfish fishing to the late summer months. Like August.  Of course, now you can find frozen crayfish on sale just about all year round coming from China and Turkey, but that doesn’t stop the Swedes from doing the majority of their crayfish consumption in August. Traditions die hard. YouTube Preview Image

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