I LOVE Swedish Sandwich Cake, which basically consist of a bunch of layers of sandwich slices with different spreads and fillings. Now there are of course endless ways you can make a Sandwich Cake, but my favourite fillings to have in one are for instance cheese, roast beef and different mayonnaise based seafood salads. I also love when it is garnished with lots of shrimps, roast beef, eggs and veggies.
A slice of a Swedish Sandwich Cake I had a while back.
Now apparently it was a Swedish fellow named Gunnar Sjödahl who invented this delicious concept. He did so when he worked at Wedemarks Konditori (a café) in Östersund in the 1960s. However it seems that different kinds of Sandwich Cakes began to occur in food events as early as in the 1940s in Sweden. Although it was not until the 1970s that Sandwich Cake became a popular cake to serve at festive occasions such as weddings, confirmations, student and birthday parties, in Sweden.
In fact, Sandwich Cakes are still often served at events like these. Which I think is because they can be completely prepared (or bought) in advance. Also a Sandwich Cake is served cold and can be as big or small as you need it to be. And it is served just like a regular cake, simply sliced and put on a plate. So really all you have to do with a Sandwich Cake at a party is to bring it out when the time is right.
Although I do not think that you have to wait until a festive occasion to eat a Sandwich Cake. Hehe. I eat smaller versions of them every now and then, sometimes just to celebrate that the weekend has arrived. I mean, a Sandwich Cake is way too tasty to just be eaten a couple times of year! :p
Small Swedish Sandwich Cake. Suitable to eat at any time - all year round. :p
Collops, known as Kalops in Swedish, is one of my favourite Swedish dishes to eat during fall and winter. Mainly because it is such a warm, hearty and fulfilling dish, but also because it is so simple to make. Now Collops is easiest described as a Swedish beef stew. A traditional Swedish Collops consist of; stew beef, onion, water, flour, whole allspice, bay leaves and salt. However in Skåne, a county in Southern Sweden, they also use carrots as an additional ingredient in Collops. This version of Collops is called Skånsk Kalops in Swedish. It is also the version I prefer to make.
Another difference between a traditional Swedish Collops and a Skånsk Collops is that the beef in the traditional Collops should consist of pounded collops. Like in the photo above.
Whereas in Skånsk Collops thicker pieces of beef are used instead. Like in this photo. However both versions of Collops are usually served with boiled potatoes and pickled beets.
Now this dish was first mentioned in Sweden in Cajsa Wargs 1755 Swedish cookbook "Hjelpreda I Hushållningen För Unga Fruentimber" - "Assistant in Housekeeping for Young Women". Although why this dish was named Collops - Kalops, a name taken from the English language, is unknown. But regardless of how the dish got its name, it sure is a very simple dish to make.
So I will try my best to give an idea of how I usually make Collops. However I must warn you that my spice, water and flour measurements are usually spontaneous, therefore it is a bit hard for me to give exact numbers. But here it is;
Recipe Swedish Collops (Skånsk Kalops)
(4 people)
600 grams of stew beef
2 carrots
1 onion
water, flour, whole allspice, bay leaves and salt
1. Cut beef into stew size pieces.
2. Chop onion and carrots. The carrots should be chopped pretty thick.
3. Fry beef and onion in a pot with some butter/oil until beef has gotten some color.
4. Pour a thin layer of flour over the beef and onion, stir.
5. Pour in water so that it just covers the beef .
6. Season with about 1,5-2 teaspoons of salt, 10-15 whole allspice and 5-7 bay leaves. I also put in the carrots in this step, but they can be put in when about 30 minutes remain of the cooking time. It depends on how soft you want the carrots. Or how thick/thin you have chopped them.
7. Let simmer under lid for at least 1,5 hours. I prefer to let it simmer about 2-3 hours.
8. Taste stew a few times while it simmers to check if additional seasoning is needed, or extra water needs to be added.
9. Serve with boiled potatoes and pickled beets.
Enjoy! Or as we say in Swedish when we want to wish each other a good meal - Smaklig Måltid! :-)
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, known as Kåldolmar in Swedish, is a popular dish in Swedish households. I grew up eating them both at home and in school. And I actually thought it was an original Swedish dish but it turns out it is more like a Swedish twist on a classic Turkish dish. The difference being that in Sweden we stuff cabbage, instead of vine leaves, with mince and serve the rolls with brown sauce, potatoes and lingon berry jam, instead of yogurt or salad. However, it is not absolutely certain that this dish originates from Turkey either.
But the most common story in Sweden of how Stuffed Cabbage Rolls found its way here is the one where King Charles XII of Sweden brought them over from Bender. It is said that when King Charles XII in the early 1700s stayed in Bender, after the battle of Poltava and war against Russia. Either the king, or one of his soldiers, tasted Stuffed Cabbage Rolls for the first time. The recipe was then brought to Sweden. In fact this story is so deeply rooted in Sweden that every year on November 30th, the date King Charles XII died, Stuffed Cabbage Day is celebrated in Stockholm.
However, according to another theory this dish was brought to Sweden by people sent to Stockholm from the Ottoman Empire to ensure that Swedish loans were repaid. But no one really knows for sure. What is known though is that the very first written recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls in Sweden can be found in Cajsa Wargs 1765 edition of her Swedish cookbook "Hjelpreda I Hushållningen För Unga Fruentimber" - "Assistant in Housekeeping for Young Women".
Now I have never actually made Stuffed Cabbage Rolls from scratch, I think it is a bit too time consuming. I simply buy frozen pre-made Stuffed Cabbage Rolls and then finish cooking them. By doing this I do not have to boil cabbage leaves and stuff them with mince, boiled rice, fried onions, salt and white pepper. The time consuming part...But what I do do is to fry the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls in a frying pan on relatively high heat to get some color on them. Pour syrup over them and add meat stock. After that they just need to simmer under a lid for about 45 minutes before they are done. And I always use the remaining simmering liquid to make the brown sauce with.
I of course then eat them in the "Swedish Twist" way. With boiled potatoes, brown sauce and lingon berry jam. Very tasty and a perfect dish to eat this chilly time of year in Sweden. :p
Source: faktoider.nu
Kalles Caviar, or in Swedish - Kalles Kaviar, is the name of a classic Swedish sandwich spread which has been sold in Sweden since 1954. It is a mildly smoked caviar mostly eaten on sandwiches but also with eggs. It mainly consist of sugar salted cod- and pollack roe, salt, potato flakes and tomato puree.
Egg sandwich with Kalles Caviar.
According to Abba, the Swedish company that produces Kalles Caviar, 17 million tubes of Kalles Caviar were sold in Sweden in 2004 (Sweden has a population of about 9 million). In 2005 Swedes ate about 2.6 million kilos of Kalles Caviar, or about 173 million sandwiches with this spread. Some staggering figures considering that the original recipe for Kalles Caviar was sold to Abba in 1954 by a peddler for the sum of 1000 SEK or $157 USD.
At first Abba test sold a few unmarked tubes with the caviar in stores. These quickly became very popular, especially among young people. So on advice from their ad agency Abba decided to put a young boy with a popular Swedish name on the cover of the tube. The boy they chose was the son of Abbas director, Carl. Also known as Kalle. Hence the name "Kalles Kaviar" and the tubes final appearence.
Today a Kalles Kaviar 300 gram tube cost about 27 SEK or $4,25 USD in Swedish stores.
Source: Kalles.se(This is not a sponored post by the way...)
Besides being called Dammsugare - Vacuum Cleaner this pastry/coffee cake is also known in Sweden as Punschrulle - Punch Roll and Arraksrulle - Arrack Roll. Names it has been given in reference to its appearance and flavor. Although I'm sure it goes by other names as well.
The outside of this pastry is made out of green marzipan which has been dipped in chocolate. Inside is a mix of cookie crumbs, punch liqueur, butter and cocoa powder.
The tale is that confectioners in the olden days used to gather cookie crumbs from the floor ("vacuum") then mix in punch liqueur to cover up the taste of old crumbs. So the name Dammsugare - Vacuum cleaner of course refers to the practice of gathering crumbs to put inside the pastry. Punch/Arrack Roll refers the liqueur taste of the pastry (arrack is an ingredient in punch liqueur).
The origin of this pastry however is a bit unclear because several different confectioners have claimed they invented it or learned how to make it from some unknown confectioner. Which also makes it difficult to pin point a year or country of origin for this pastry. But the Dammsugare - Vacuum Cleaner is widely known as a Swedish pastry and it can be traced back to the early 1900s in Sweden.
Today this pastry is one of Swedens most loved coffe cakes and we eat millions of them every year.
The reason I even wrote this post is because I got treated to these home made Dammsugare - Vacuum Cleaners yesterday at my mums. She had never made them before so they looked a bit, ehum, well home made. Hehe. But they tasted great!!! So Thank You mum! :p
This Friday we celebrated Midsummer Eve in Sweden. So I thought I'd share some pics and info about what we traditionally eat and drink at Midsummer Eve.
Matjessill - Matie Herring is a given at the table and the most common type of pickled herring to eat at Midsummer Eve in Sweden. Although I prefer to eat "normal" pickled herring, the ones in jars. The difference between pickled Matie herring and "normal" pickled herring is that Matie herring is caught in early autumn just before the herring becomes mature to mate. This is when the fish has the right fat content, size and has eaten the type of food which gives it its special Matie herring flavour.
To wash down the pickled herring we drink snaps - shots. Preferably OP Anderson Aquavit. And you are supposed to sing snapsvisor - special booze songs before you drink each snaps, but I just drink. Lol!
Besides pickled herring at our Midsummer Eve table we have; smoked salmon, eggs, new potatoes, sour cream with chives and Västerbottenpaj - West Botnia cheese pie. Actually, West Botnia cheese pie is very Swedish food indeed. This is because its main ingredient is Västerbottenost - West Botnia cheese, a strong, hard, aged cheese which is only made in Burträsk in Northern Sweden. We also had veggie "meat balls" this year. :p
My Midsummer plate and drinks.
Finally, my favourite part, a Midsummer Eve MUST and classic dessert - Strawberry cake with Swedish strawberries!
In short, a traditional Midsummer food menu (in my opinion) should include some form of pickled herring, aquavit and strawberry cake. Simple and summery. :p
Read more about why and how we celebrate Midsummer in Sweden in my post: Midsummer Eve
I love licorice candy but have always been a bit skeptical towards licorice ice cream. However recently I tried a new licorice ice cream, and I must say that this is now one of my all time favourite ice cream flavours. Mainly because it has a good balance between salt and sweet, a combination I absolutely love. So it looks like it's going to be a very licorice summer for me. :p
Earlier today I had a strong craving for Prinsesstårta - Princess Cake. And because I could not find any valid reason to resist it, to the store I went! :p
And this the piece I bought. Not a whole cake, but a smaller version of a Princess Cake. Which is just as yuuummy!!!
I also thought it would be fun to share some facts about Princess Cake. So here we go:
- The first princess cake recipe was published in "Prinsessornas kokbok" (The Princesses cookbook), written by household teacher Jenny Åkerström in the 1930s.
- In her cookbook Jenny first referred to this cake as "Green cake". The name eventually changed into Princess Cake because her students, the princesses Martha, Margaret and Astrid (daughters of Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg) was said to have been especially fond of this cake.
- A classic Princess Cake is made of sponge cake, whipped cream, custard, mixture of whipped cream and custard, and covered with green marzipan. It's usually decorated with a thin layer of icing sugar on top and a red marzipan rose or something similar.
- Even though most Princess Cake recipes today contain jam, it was not included in the original recipe. A classic Princess Cake should also have whipped cream (not sponge cake) immediately below the marzipan layer.
- Each year approximately 500 000 Princess Cakes are sold in Sweden.
My sister turned 25 today, Happy Birthday sis! As usual, in exchange for gifts - there must be cake!!! Hehe. And cakes there were! First we had a veggie sandwich layer cake (smörgåstårta) which I was a bit skeptical towards. Mainly because I had never eaten a veggie version of this type of cake before. But I must say that it was insanely delicious! Even the "meat" pieces on it were tasty. So a huge YUM for that one!
The veggie sandwich layer cake.
Second cake was a home made chocolate cake. Also spectacular, but very heavy in consistency. Therefore I could only eat a small piece of it. However, I'm sure the large piece of sandwich layer cake I had before the chocolate cake could have played a some part in me not being able to eat as much as I would have liked to of it. Therefore this chocolate cake definitely also deserves a huge YUM!
I have finished 8 pages about typical Swedish food we eat in Sweden, plus an intro page --> Swedish food, where you can see which Swedish food I have written about. I have added this section under "About Sweden" in the menu. On each Swedish food page I have included some history about why we eat this in Sweden and how I like to eat it. On a few pages I have also shared some Swedish food recipes.
Before I introduce these pages I want to thank all of you who helped me with suggestions on which Swedish food I should write about. Luke you mentioned that "the British love the root vegetable called the Swede". I had never heard that expression before, so I looked it up. When I realized what it was, I can't say that I have ever cooked it. I don't even remember if I have ever eaten it, hehe. This vegetable is also called "The rutabaga" or in Swedish kålrot - cabbage root (literal translation). You can read more about it here.
Crysta Wille asked me about Krumkake. It took me a while before I understood that it was waffles, in Swedish våfflor. I have written a bit about our Waffle Day, which is when we eat waffles all over Sweden, on my Swedish traditions page. And because I'm going to expand that page as well, I'll include recipe and more info there instead. But for now, my new Swedish food pages are:
At the moment I'm working on adding pages about Typical Swedish Food in my About Sweden category. I will create an individual page for each Typical Swedish Food where I write a bit about why we eat this in Sweden. I will also include some history and common ways we/I prepare and eat this Typical Swedish Food.
A few of my Typical Swedish Food choices include (starting from the top left pic); Falun sausage - Falukorv, Smoked pork sausage - Isterband, Pickled herring - Inlagd sill and Potato-dumplings - Kroppkakor.
I would love to know if there is any special food item or dish you associate with Sweden and want to find out more about? You are very welcome to share your thoughts and ideas with me in the comment section. All suggestions are highly appreciated! :-)
My Christmas Eve in pics December 26, 2010 11:16 PM Tweet
What a lovely Christmas it has been this year! Tons of snow, lots of delicious food, yummy Christmas candy, great gifts and a nice visit from relatives. A truly enjoyable Christmas Eve celebration I must say. And what better way to convey my Christmas Eve than through pics. So here it is. :-)
Left pic: First I picked up my sister and Diva. Right pic: Here they come :-) And off we went to mum.
Left pic:Rice pudding for lunch. One of our traditions is to hide an almond in the rice pudding and whomever gets it win a lottery ticket. But I didn't get it this year :-( Mum did.Middle pic: Here we, me and relatives, are playing cards and drinking glögg-martini. Right pic: At 3 PM time for - Donald Duck "From All of Us to All of You". A deeply rooted Swedish tradition, lol! It's true, the cartoon first aired in Sweden 1960, and has ever since been one of the most watched TV-shows every year in Sweden. Last year, 2009, it was number three on the list over "the most watched TV-shows in Sweden" with 3 294 000 viewers. Hehe.
Left pic: After Donald, time for food preparations. It is always busy in the kitchen on this day. Right pic: Lisen hoping someone will drop something without knowing it, so she can sneak up and grab it.
Yay! Food time! Here is our julbord! On it is for example; Christmas ham, meatballs, pickled herring in different sauces, brawn, chipolata sausages, ribs and my favourite, Janssons frestelse - Janssons temptation. Janssons consist of potato casserole with onion, pickled anchovies, bread crumbs and cream. Sooo good!
Left pic: We start of our main meal with a snaps of Absolut vodka. Cheers!!! Middle pic: This is my first plate of food. Right pic: And here is my second, hehe.
Lisen wondering when she can have some.
Left pic: Between meals this is what we snacked on, Christmas candy, yum! My aunt makes the best homemade fudge ever (below right)!!! Right pic: Diva want some too!!!
Left pic: Finally time to unwrap all these gifts. Right pic: Lisen loooves getting and opening gifts, lol!
I like getting gifts too, and I got some, ehum, unexpected gifts this year. Like a tool box, which I thought was very unnecessary at first, but then when I got home I realized that it's probably better to have all tools, screws and such in one place. So it was a good gift after all. I also got a mini snow shovel for my car, unexpected but greatly needed now for sure, a calendar, face mask and some other stuff. But as always, my favourite gift to get is MONEY! Which I got this year, yay! And tomorrow I'm off to Kalmar to spend it all at this years big Christmas sale, yihaaa!!!
After we had ripped open our gifts we ate (forced down) some cake and then just chatted and played some games. In these pics Lisen and Diva looks pretty much how I felt after this day, stuffed and tired. Hehe. But it was a lot of fun and I had a wonderful Christmas Eve, as I'm sure they did as well.
1. Cut two potatoes into squares, boil for 10 minutes.
2. Cut sausage and onions into squares, put in frying pan and fry.
3. When the sausage and onions are almost ready, throw in the boiled potatoes and stir.
4. When everything is ready, move over to a plate. Quickly fry two eggs in the same frying pan and make sure the egg yolk is loose when served.
5. Serve with pickled beets or a salad. In the pic I have some tomatoes and homegrown chives :-)
Pytt i panna explanation
Based on the Swedish classic - Pytt i panna, or in English - Swedish hash.
/A.L
Swedish food on the menu September 12, 2010 19:17
I'm working hard on my Swedish pages, they will probably take a few more days. But I thought I'd give you a little preview of what's to come. So here are a few Swedish classics when it comes to food, with my personal touch of course. Meaning, this is how I eat it.
Above: This is called "falukorv" in Swedish, and it is a big sausage you could say. You usually slice and fry it in a frying pan, but it can be boiled whole as well (however I have never eaten it that way). I usually eat "falukorv" with milk stewed macaronis once a week. Sooo good!!!
Above: This is called "kroppkakor" in Swedish. It is a local dish made and eaten mainly here in south Sweden. Main ingredients are boiled potatoes, later pressed and mixed with flour and egg to form a ball. Inside is pork, seasoned with salt and crushed allspice, which have been fried in a frying pan.
There are two main versions of this dish, either grey or white "kroppkaka". You usually boil the grey one in water and eat it with melted butter and lingonberry. Whereas you usually fry the white one in a frying pan and eat it with a white sauce and lingonberry. I prefer the latter and it is the one featured in the photos.
/A.L
Crayfish party, sort of... August 5, 2010 21:04
Ok, not really a party but a premiere. Party just sound more fun, hehe. Today I ate my first crayfish of the year, a tradition in Sweden to devour the little buggers in August. They are really tasty, although it sure is a lot of work for such a little piece of meat...but worth it :-)
I also ordered an Iphone 4 today, however there is a couple weeks waiting period because of the high demand right now. Oh well, hopefully I'll get it before Apples Iphone 5 gets out...haha.
