The best local dishes in Sweden are undeniably as much social events as they are good snacks. The summer’s crayfish slice offers wonderful flavors, but it is the community and the joy of the often not-so-messy experience itself, that makes it an appreciated tradition. Likewise, the pull of the cinnamon bun is not necessarily the soft and warm sweetness that fills the mouth, but the cozy conversation when two people have coffee together (the Swedish fika). What you remember from a traditional Swedish smörgåsbord is not necessarily the individual dishes, but the richness of dishes, the conversations in the queue and the happy schnapps songs. Simple and tasty are the key words in Swedish cuisine – cozy is the key word in the Swedish dining experience.
- Pickled salmon with dill stewed potatoes
A simple but good Scandinavian classic
Few dishes are perceived aboard as classically Scandinavian as the pickled salmon. In Sweden, we usually like to serve it with dill, stewed potatoes and a slice of lemon. This tasty dish has a history dating back to at least the 17th century, when fish was salted and fermented in a pit. It is this pit – or grave, as it was popularly called, that has given rise to the strange name of the dish. Why not try cooking this delicious classical by yourself? It’s not hard. You buy the salmon ready-made in the store and you stir the boiled, diced potatoes into a little boiled milk and flour, before you season with salt, pepper and dill.
2. Crayfish
Celebrate the crayfish season with good food and fun decorations.
After Midsummer and Walpurgis Night, there is perhaps no more Swedish holiday than the annual crayfish dinner, which celebrates the start of the crayfish season. The main course on the lobster plate is usually a whole cooked crayfish – the type of crayfish you prefer, it varies from region to region. The accessories can be few or many, with everything from crispbread with cheese to Västerbotten pie, but it is difficult to find a lobster slice where spicy brandy is not served. Swedes like, as well to sing the occasional schnapps songs. Since the second half of the 20th century, it has become very popular to celebrate the crayfish dinner with funny hats and bibs, as well as napkins and lanterns with a crayfish theme.
3. Cinnamon buns
The Swedish coffee table is not complete without a cinnamon bun.
Since 1999, Swedes celebrate Cinnamon Bun Day on October 4th every year, but in Sweden you hardly need such an excuse to serve coffee and cinnamon buns. This sweet pastry became very popular in Sweden when the rationing ended after the Second World War. The cinnamon bun consists of a simple wheat dough that is flavored with cardamom. The dough is rolled, spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon, and then rolled. The finished buns are usually covered with powdered sugar or chopped sweet almonds. Even though tradition says that there should be seven kinds of cakes for coffee, the cinnamon bun is undeniably the uncrowned king on the Swedish coffee table.
4. Raggmunk with lingonberry jam
Satiated potato plates from Östergötland
Fried plates of potatoes are common in many parts of the world, not least in Eastern Europe, but rag donut is a particularly Swedish variant and an Östergötland’s landscape dish. Rag donuts are easy to make at home. You simply grate the potatoes and mix it with flour, milk, eggs and a little salt and pepper. The batter is then fried in a little butter. Your finished rag donuts are traditionally served with a little lingonberry jam and fried pork. If you want to make it really easy for yourself, you can buy a ragmunk mix in a well-stocked Swedish grocery store, if the local restaurants do not happen to serve the dish.
5. Crispbread
The classic accessory that is still found in 80% of all Swedish homes.
It is difficult to imagine Sweden without crispbread in every home, but the first crispbread bakeries did not emerge until the 19th century. The crispy bread, however, has a history that can be traced back to the Iron Age, when this bread’s long life made it so popular. Crispbread is a staple that is often served with hard cheese or caviar in a tube, but in the recent years it has become popular with more luxurious crispbread sandwiches, that draw inspiration from the world outside Sweden’s borders. Combine smoked salmon with hot Japanese wasabi, Swedish prawns with a Provencal saffron aioli or taste a northern creation of smoked reindeer meat and a lot of Västerbotten cheese.
6. Sour cream with chives
A Swedish accessory that fits to many dishes.
What is a Swedish summer meal without sour cream and chives? It is hard to imagine the midsummer herring and new potatoes without this cooling accessory. In its absolute simplest form, the sauce contains only sour cream, chopped chives and a little salt and pepper, but it is easy to add your own touch with, for example, a clove of garlic, a little mayonnaise or a splash of squeezed lemon. Of course, you do not have to eat herring to have an excuse to pick out the sour cream sauce. It goes just well with, for example, hot-smoked salmon or a piece of chicken, directly from the grill. 🙂
7. Sandwich table or Smörgåsbord
The most Swedish dish is not a dish, but a concept.
The Swedes have not exported many words abroad, but smorgasbord is a popular concept among Swedish enthusiasts around the world. This buffet meal began its history as a pick-me-up for the schnapps that was drunk before the food was served, and today became a whole meal in itself. A well-stocked Swedish smörgåsbord traditionally contains bread, cold cuts, different kinds of herring and same small warm pieces. Today it is popular with salads, pies, charcuterie, seafood and different kinds of cheese on the smörgåsbord. Beer and a schnapps are often drunk at the smörgåsbord. It is also very common to add a couple of dessert and coffee, so that the smörgåsbord really becomes a complete meal.
8. Gubbröra
An old treat that suits most things.
Gubbröra may not have the most beautiful name, but this tasty Swedish classic is excellent as a light lunch or as an accessory on the dining table. It is uncertain where the old man’s tube originally came from and how it got its name, but most people probably agree on its natural place in the Swedish cuisine. Gubbröra consists of boiled eggs, anchovies, chives, dill and often a little mayonnaise or crème fraîche. Serve your old man’s mess on a piece of crispbread, a slice of wholemeal bread or why not on a half boiled or baked potato?
9. Toast Skagen
An appetizer that is as simple as it is tasty.
Toast Skagen may get its name from the artistical paradise, Skagen in Denmark, but it is basically a Swedish creation. Toast Skagen is a very popular starter that is as simple as it is tasty. At the bottom you have a piece of roasted or butter-fried French fries and on top of this is a clique of Skagen mash: shrimps, mayonnaise and dill, often combined with crème fraîche and red onion. Toast Skagen was launched in Stockholm in the 1950s and has quickly become a Swedish classic.
10. Swedish meatballs
The Swedish favorite dish among both adults and children
Swedish meatballs are known all over the world, perhaps largely thanks to IKEA, which launched this as its major parade dish. The meatball made its way into Swedish homes in the 19th century, after Cajsa Warg published a recipe in her well-known cookbook, and is today traditionally served with potatoes, cream sauce and lingonberry jam. More child-friendly varieties with, for example, stewed macaroni have also become a tradition. In recent times, it has become popular to serve meatballs with french fries and many restaurants and fast food restaurants choose to serve them with french fries or mashed potatoes over more traditional alternatives.
I hope this article will help you plan your visit to Sweden. If it has been useful, you can help me or your friends by sharing it on your social networks.
Thank you! 🙂
