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Due to its northerly location, Sweden
experiences long Winters. As a result, traditional Swedish recipes often contain relatively few
fresh vegetables other than those that would have been available in the Winter months such as
turnips (including rutabaga which is native to Sweden,
and known in British English as "swede"), potato, cabbage preserved as sauerkraut, or a jam
made from lingonberry (a small flowering plant with edible red berries). On the other hand, due to
the country's long coastline and seafaring traditions, fish forms an important part of the Swedish diet.
On the whole, Swedish food is relatively plain, although some local herbs and spices are used. Traditional
Swedish food is also relatively high in saturated fat and sugar, but as most other Western countries,
supermarkets are increasingly offering healthier alternatives, such as low fat milk.
The traditional Swedish practise is to eat three meals each day -
breakfast
(Swedish: frukost),
lunch
(Swedish: lunch),
and
(Swedish: middag)
- with the evening meal being the main meal of the day. However, nowadays it is
increasingly common to have the main meal at lunch time and a lighter dinner.
Additionally, snacks
(Swedish: mellanmål),
particularly sandwiches and fruit are popular between meals.
Here are some popular Swedish dishes:
- Ärtsoppa - Pea soup.
- Blodpudding - Black pudding - A sausage prepared by cooking blood with filling.
- Gravad lax - Cured salmon with salt, sugar, vinegar and dill. It is popular as an appetizer,
and eaten with a dill and mustard sauce, on bread or with potato.
- Inlagd sill - Pickled herring.
- Janssons frestelse - A baked dish containing potato, onion and cream,
with pickled sprats
(Swedish: ansjovis).
- Kåldolmar - Rolls made from cabbage filled with pork and rice. They are usually eaten with
boiled potato, gravy and lingonberry jam.
- Knäckebröd - A crisp cracker-like bread, made mostly from rye. It is often eaten for breakfast (Swedish: frukost)
in the form of open sandwiches which are buttered and then topped with caviar, cold cuts, hard cheese
or messmör (cheese spread).
- Köttbullar - Meatballs made either from ground (minced) beef, or a mixture of ground (minced)
beef and pork. Before cooking, the meat is mixed with breadcrumbs and finally chopped onions, and
seasoned with salt, and white pepper or allspice. Köttbullar are traditionally served with
boiled potato, gravy, pickled cucumber and lingonberry jam.
- Köttsoppa - A meat and root vegetable soup. Beef is normally used, but sometimes elk or reindeer
is used instead. The soup is sometimes eaten with klimp, which are small simple dumplings made
from wheat flour, egg and milk.
- Kroppkaka - Potato dumplings, filled with pork and onions. Served with butter or cream, and
lingonberry jam.
- Lutfisk - An unusual dish made from stockfish (air-dried white fish) prepared using a long process
involving soda lye (a caustic soda solution).
- Pyttipanna - Potato, onions, and sausage or ham, chopped and then fried together in a pan.
- Raggmunk - Potato pancakes.
- Smörgåsbord - A buffet-style meal, with many small dishes to which guests can help themselves.
Popular at holidays and Christmas, the
latter being known as "Julbord".
- Smörgåstårta - Literally translated, smörgåstårta means "sandwich cake". It is prepared
from layers of buttered bread, with fillings in between the layers and a topping. The fillings
and topping may vary, but egg and mayonnaise fillings are popular, and they are usually
accompanied by one or more of caviar, liver paté, olives, prawns and smoked salmon. Smörgåstårta is
served cold, and cut into slices like a dessert cake.
- Surströmming - Fermented Baltic herring in brine.
Some popular Swedish desserts include:
- Kanelbulle - A cinnamon-flavored pastry roll.
- Knäck - A toffee eaten at Christmas.
- Ostkaka - A baked cake made using curded milk (or nowadays cottage cheese as a substitute). Eaten
with jam and whipped cream, or ice cream and fruit.
- Saltlakrits - Salty liquorice.
- Spettekaka - A hollow cake prepared by cooking on a skewer over an open fire.
Served with vanilla ice cream, dark roast coffee and port wine.
On this page, you'll find a great selection of Swedish Cook Books.
Skyhorse Publishing
Hardcover (192 pages)
 | List Price: $17.95
Lowest New Price: $12.21
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A full-color guide to delectable Swedish cakes and cookies—3.4 million copies sold in Sweden, a copy for every Swedish family!
Swedish Cakes and Cookies has become a modern classic since it was first published in 1945. Modernized and improved over the years, today's full-color edition, with beautiful photographs of each recipe, contains nearly 300 recipes. Some, such as Berry Muffins, Coconut Macaroons, Linzer Torte, and Jelly Doughnuts, may be familiar, while others, such as German Lemon Cake, Almond Meringues, Truffle Tarts, and Toffee Crunch Torte, are deliciously unique. Gluten-free, egg-free, and sugar-free recipes ensure that this book is accessible to all dessert lovers. Beginners and experts will be reminded that baking is both easy and enjoyable when they read the practical advice and step-by-step instructions in each section. Swedish Cakes and Cookies is an essential resource for any home baker, and for anyone who loves to meet with friends for coffee and cake. 300 color photographs. |
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By Judith Pierce Rosenberg
Hippocrene Books
Hardcover (234 pages)
 | List Price: $24.95
Lowest New Price: $14.52
Lowest Used Price: $16.34
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A Swedish Kitchen: Recipes and Reminiscences is the story of an American woman's 25-year love affair with the land, people, and cuisine of this Nordic nation. Sharing her love of food and cooking, Judith Pierce Rosenberg leads readers to markets in search of wild strawberries and smoked reindeer and to cafés for a cup of strong Swedish coffee and a kanelbulle (cinnamon bun) or mazarin (almond tart). Among her culinary adventures are dinner at a wilderness lodge, a medieval banquet, and a Christmas smorgasbord with all the trimmings. Throughout this culinary memoir, Rosenberg interweaves the historical and cultural context of Swedish cooking, explaining the history of waffles and the traditions behind Saint Lucia Day. A Swedish Kitchen includes 80 recipes that highlight traditional Swedish flavors and ingredients, such as red currants, cloudberries, and cardamom. Recipes are designed for use in the American kitchen enabling readers and cooks to easily prepare such Swedish favorites as, rabarbersoppa (rhubarb soup), prinsesstårta (princess cake), and Janssons frestelse (Jansson's temptation). |
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Dover Publications
Paperback (157 pages)
 | List Price: $7.95
Lowest New Price: $3.95
Lowest Used Price: $2.95
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Delight family and friends with hundreds of the best Swedish dishes prepared right in your own kitchen. From typical smorgasbord items — pickled herring, creamed lobster, meatballs, etc. — to classic main dishes — roast lamb, baked eel, Lutfisk, etc. — to traditional breads and pastries. 200 easy-to-follow recipes. |
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By Kerstin O. Van Guilder
Penfield Press
Spiral-bound (160 pages)
 | List Price: $6.95
Lowest New Price: $6.95
Lowest Used Price: $6.26
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This inexpensive, index card size spiral-bound recipe book features over 100 Swedish recipes. Makes a great gift or "stocking stuffer" for friends and relatives. The author came to America from Sweden in 1961. |
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By Inga Norberg
Hippocrene Books
Paperback (192 pages)
 | List Price: $10.95
Lowest New Price: $1.00
Lowest Used Price: $0.05
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By Anna Olsson Coombs
Paperback Library
Paperback (238 pages)
 | Lowest Used Price: $3.38
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Over 300 exciting, easy-to-prepare recipes that can transform simple ingredients into light lunches -- or festive buffets fit for a Viking. (Front cover) |
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Carlsons
Paperback (378 pages)
| List Price: $14.95
Lowest New Price: $14.95
Lowest Used Price: $1.67
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