Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Swedish Cuisine
Most people don't travel to Sweden for the food—I used to call it Wonder
Bready. Though potatoes and heavy sauces are a focus of the country's
cuisine, its variety of meat and fish dishes can be surprisingly satisfying.
If you don't think you'll like Swedish or Scandinavian food, be sure to
splurge at a good-quality place before you pass final judgment.
Every region of Sweden serves different specialties, but you'll always
find
svenska köttbullar
on the menu (Swedish meatballs made from beef
and pork in a creamy sauce). This Swedish favorite is topped with lin-
gonberry jam, which is served with many meat dishes across Scandinavia.
Potatoes, seemingly the only vegetable known to Sweden, make for hearty
kroppkakor
dumplings filled with onions and minced meat. The northern
variation,
pitepalt
, is filled with pork. Southern Sweden takes credit for
pytt i panna
, a medley of leftover meat and diced potatoes that's fried and
served with an egg yolk on top. And it seems that virtually every meal
you'll eat here includes a side of boiled, small new potatoes.
Though your meals will never be short on starch, be sure to try
Sweden's most popular baked good,
kanelbulle
, for a not-so-light snack
during the day. This pastry resembles a cinnamon roll, but it's made with
cardamom and topped with pearl sugar. Enjoy one during
fika
, the daily
Swedish coffee break so institutionalized that many locals use the term as
Like those of its Nordic neighbors, Sweden's extensive coastline pro-
duces some of the best seafood in the world. A light, tasty appetizer
is
gravad lax
, a dill-cured salmon on brown bread or crackers. You'll
also likely encounter
Toast Skagen
. This appetizer-spread is made from
shrimp, dill, mayonnaise, and Dijon mustard, and eaten on buttered toast.
For a main course, the most popular seafood dish is crayfish. Though
only eaten by the aristocracy in the 16th century, these shellfish have
since become a nationwide delicacy; they're cooked in brine with dill and
