The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Swedish Foods. If you manage to be in an Swedish restaurant or you are visiting Sweden, I recommend the following:
1. Jansson’s Temptation
This classic stew is one of Sweden’s most popular dishes and is often served at Christmas. It consists of potato fillets and sprats (not to be confused with anchovies, as many recipes suggest), topped with onions and dipped in cream. The top of the pan is greased and breaded from time to time, then baked until golden brown.
2. Crayfish
These are fresh crayfish – very fresh! They are served cold and seasoned only with dill. They are plentiful during the now famous Crayfish Festival (August to September). A typical snack before this dish is soup. No one can leave Sweden without tasting these delicacies.
3. Smörgåsbord
This is a magnificent buffet that brings together many typical Swedish dishes and ingredients. At a smörgåsbord, bread and butter are a must, hot and cold meats are offered at the same time, and the diner can choose which one to start with. As the idea is to eat as much protein as possible, potatoes, rice and salads are rare.
4. Raggmunk
It is basically a potato pancake that is fried in butter and served with bacon and cranberries. Raggmunk is a very typical dish, but it is no longer one of the usual foods that Swedes eat on a regular basis.
5. Gubbröra
It is a traditional snack that originated in Sweden. It usually consists of a mixture of anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, onions, sour cream, chives, dill and white pepper. The salted anchovies are cut into small pieces and mixed with hard-boiled eggs, cream, chopped onions and herbs. Season the mixture with white pepper, salt is not necessary as the anchovies are already quite salty. Gubbröra is chilled in the refrigerator before eating and is usually enjoyed on a slice of wholemeal bread.
6. Toast Skagen
Skagen toast is toast with a mixture of shrimp, mayonnaise and sour cream. Although Sucia doesn’t usually have a first course, this is an exception. Here, with simplicity and refinement, they present you with prawns and dill in mayonnaise on a compact slice of toast. You can choose to have caviar on top of everything as a garnish.
7. Gravlax
Hundreds of years ago, ‘gravad salmon’ was marinated in salt, sugar, dill and other spices, buried in the ground and weighed down with stones for at least three days. This process removed water and fermented the fish a little, so that it could be preserved for longer. Today, the fish is not buried or fermented, but marinated and kept in the refrigerator for a few days. It is then typically eaten with a cold and relatively sweet dill and mustard sauce (hovmästersås), on bread or with a salad.
8. Chives and Sour Cream
An important addition to the herring. Swedish crème fraîche and fresh spring onions are a perfect combination. So simple but so delicious that it goes with almost everything. In Midsummer, sales of crème fraîche in Sweden increase by more than 300 %, and that’s saying a lot.
9. Knäckebröd
This crusty bread is found in markets all over the world, but its origin is Swedish. Rye hardly thrives in the North, so people had a different idea about 500 years ago, when they needed something that would keep as long as possible during the Scandinavian winter. Traditionally, it is served with salted butter, and maybe a piece of hard cheese, everything else is a luxury. It is available for a few SEK in every supermarket.
10. Yellow Pea Soup
Yellow pea soup is the main ingredient. The most authentic version is made with yellow peas, salted parka and fresh herbs. After the soup is cooked, the pork is usually chopped up and returned to the pot. Interestingly, there is also a commercial version of this soup called Habitant Pea Soup.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional European Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.