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My thoughts...
Swedish food is not scary, in my opinion. Yes they eat meatballs - do not be alarmed though when you are served meatballs, spaghetti and ketchup as the sauce! Perfectly normal!
Moose is a delicacy and quite expensive, there are hunting laws preventing over killing so it is quite a treat for the majority. It tastes like a very tender beef.
Reindeer tastes like most game meats but be on the look out for horse meat - it isn't something you will find very often but it can be slipped onto smörgåsbords without hesitation and if you don't want to eat horse then watch out for any dark red looking slightly shiny thinly cut meat!
Herring is the other thing I should mention, pickled herring (Inlagd sill in Swedish) is lovely if you like oily fish, it is traditionally eaten around Christmas. FERMENTED herring (Surströmming in Swedish) is one to be wary of, I have heard it smells like nothing on this earth but tastes nice. It is canned and definitely something I will leave to the real Swedes!
ICA / Coop etc:
Supermarkets no matter how big or small tend to have long opening hours, usually from 08.00-21.00 7 days a week. When going shopping you need to make sure you have either a 10 or 5 sek coin for a trolley (or a handy plastic substitute which are sometimes given away outside stores) and just be aware you need to pay for carrier bags which you add to your shopping when you put it on the belt. It is also considered polite to line your items up on the belt one by one with the barcode facing the scanner - unlike in the UK where it is a free for all!
Some explanations of things you might see on a menu or served in a Swedish home.
| Swedish | Definition | |
|---|---|---|
| Ärtsoppa | Pea soup | |
| Blodpudding | The Swedish names literally means "blood pudding". Eaten with lingonberry jam, potatoes and grated carrots. | |
| Blodkorv | Also contains pork and raisins. | |
| Falukorv | Big and thick sausage of hot dog type, originating from Falun. | |
| Fiskbullar | Fishballs, made from minced white fish meat. | |
| Gravlax | salmon cured with salt and sugar with herbs. | |
| Inkokt lax | Boiled Salmon | |
| Isterband | ||
| Janssons frestelse | Potato casserole made of grated potatoes, onion, "anchovy" and cream; the fish used is usually the sprat, a different species, but similarly spiced. | |
| Julskinka | Christmas ham | |
| Kalops | meat stewed with onion and some vegetables | |
| Kåldolmar | Cabbage rolls | |
| Köttsoppa | A rustic beef and root vegetable soup. | |
| Kroppkakor | Boiled potato-dumplings, filled with pork. | |
| Lutfisk | Lye fish made of Stockfish. | |
| Palt | Dumplings with a filling of pork. | |
| Pitepalt | Palt from Piteå. | |
| Blodpalt | Palt with blood | |
| Leverpalt | Palt with liver | |
| Blåbärspalt | ||
| Pannkakor | Pancakes | |
| Plättar | ||
| Inlagd sill | Pickled herring | |
| Pölsa | Similar to hash | |
| Raggmunk | Potato pancakes | |
| Rotmos med fläsk | Mashed potatoes, carrotts and swede served with pork belly | |
| Korv Stroganoff | Sautéed pieces of sausage served in a sauce | |
| Biff Stroganoff | sautéed pieces of beef served in a sauce | |
| Stekt fläsk och bruna bönor | Pork with stewed brown beans | |
| Prinskorv | Small hot dog sausages | |
| Fläskkorv | Pork sausages | |
| Pyttipanna | Mix of chopped and fried meat, onions, pre-boiled potatoes. Other ingredients are often added as well, such as sausages, bacon, various herbs or even salmon (instead of the meat). | |
| Smörgåstårta | Like a very big multi-layer sandwich. Comes with many different fillings and toppings. | |
| Surströmming | A rather different tasting species of herring. Surströmming has a strong odor and unique flavour and is considered an acquired taste. OPEN THE TIN WITH CAUTION AND IDEALLY OUTSIDE! | |
| Stekt strömming | Very different from surströmming. Usually eaten with pickled root beets and boiled or fried potatoes. | |
| Grisfötter | Pigs feet served with rödbetor | |
| Flygande Jacob | Casserole based on chicken with bananas, peanuts and bacon. "Invented" in the 60s. | |
| Drink | Definition |
|---|---|
| Julmust | Traditional stout-like, sweet seasonal carbonated soft drink (jul means Christmas in Swedish). Also called påskmust when sold during Easter (påsk meaning Easter). |
| Mumma | A traditional Christmas beverage. Usually a mix of porter or another dark beer, some light beer (pilsner), port wine (or some other wine), and something sweet (sockerdricka or julmust); commonly spiced with cardamom. |
| Glögg | Mulled wine |
Systembolaget:
(Off Licence / Liquor Store)
This is the only place you can buy alcohol above 3% strength. It closes at 19.00 on weekdays and at 3pm on Saturdays. They do not open on Sundays. Even if you are in your 50s you might get asked for ID when purchasing alcohol so don't be alarmed. There is a story of a 70 year old man not being able to buy light beer as he had no ID on him so keep your passport or driving licence handy! You will be asked for "legitimation" or "leg" and you hand it over.
