Sweden - a Great Gourmet Country

Food critics, guides and gourmets of the world wonder what´s happening in Sweden. They go to Sweden, are seduced by the Swedish raw ingredients and the skill of the chefs and praise our restaurants.

Swedish restaurant food is an integral part of the "Modern European" food trend towards knowledgeable, innovative cooking that borrows from the best of a variety of European traditions. Borrowed traditions are skilfully blended with local raw ingredients and traditional dishes. During recent years Stockholm has become one of Europe´s hottest restaurant towns.
Sweden is fast developing an international reputation for its great gastronomy. Swedish chefs are sweeping home prizes in international competitions. In Octobre 2000 the National Swedish Chef Team won the Olymic Gold. In March 1998 Rikard Nilsson won the European master chef competition. In 1997 Mathias Dahlgren was the "world´s master chef" in the Bocuse d´Or and in 1996 the Swedish Junior Chef team won the Olympic gold.

Swedish farmers´ goal is to operate the world´s purest farming system in harmony with nature´s own cycles and animals are raised under natural conditions. Swedes think that healthy chickens and happy pigs simply taste better.
Swedish cuisine has always been very seasonal, with the accent on each season´s earliest ingredients. Typical examples are the early spring lamb, the first asparagus, the first chanterelles and the northern Swedish potatoes, which are yellow and almond-shaped and have matured slowly in the Midnight Sun. In the late summer the first freshwater crayfish are served.
In June, at the time of the Midsummer festivities, the first delicate new potatoes are dug up and reverently consumed. Traditionally they are eaten with matjesill (sweet pickled herring), sour cream and chopped chives. June also signals the beginning of a love affair with fresh berries, which will last well into autumn. The first to ripen are strawberries followed by raspberries, bilberries, lingonberries and finally from the far north, cloudberries.

Surströmming, fermented Baltic herring perpetuates an ancient method of preserving fish. The herring is put in tins and fermentation starts. A year later the tins are nearly spherical and the new "vintage" is broken open in August. When the tins are opened a strange smell is released. The fermented herring are accompanied by the delicious northern Swedish variety of potato and washed down with milk or beer and schnapps or else rolled into a slice of the north Swedish unleavened barley bread known as tunnbröd (thin bread).

When the moon is on the wane and the nights have grown darker it´s time for eel for the people in the south of Sweden. Nothing but eel is served, though there may be as many as 10 or 12 varieties: fried, boiled, smoked and grilled and with various kinds of stuffing.

Smörgåsbord is a word that the world dictionary has borrowed directly from the Swedish language. The word is defined as "a generous selection of a variety of dishes served buffet style".

The smörgåsbord dates back to the 17th century when the landed gentry got together before a meal and took a shot or two of vodka together with an appetiser of hard bread, butter, cheese and herring. More and more dishes were added to the "schnapps table" in the 18th century and eventually it became a complete meal. It was in the middle of the 19th century that the smörgåsbord developed into the lavish indulgence it is today, a prescribed menu of dishes laid out in an apparently random manner. The most lavish smörgåsbord is served on Christmas Eve.

Guests have to return to the buffet table several times if they want to taste everything. First come the marinated herring, salmon and other fish dishes, then the cold cuts followed by the hot dishes and finally the desserts. A spiced schnapps is a must and there is always a great variety to choose from. Everyone has their own favourite schnapps.

Herring à la Glassworks, or "Hyttsill" as it is called, is the revival of an old culinary tradition. In the evenings the locals would gather in the warm glow of the furnaces for food, drink and gossip. In addition to the welcome warmth, the furnaces lent themselves conveniently to food preparation.

In recent years, a modern version of Hyttsill has become a huge success with glassworks visitors. Hyttsill evenings are arranged throughout the summer . On the menu are fried herring, local smoked sausage, baked potatoes and the region´s special cheesecake with fresh berries. Add to this a frosty beer and a cup of coffee with the cheesecake.