Swedish Cuisine

The Swedes prefer simply prepared but heavy and rich in fat food. Because of the fact that the country is full of lakes and rivers, the tourists can find on the restaurants’ and cafes’ menus a lot of dishes, cooked with fish and sea-products. Salmon is the most popular; it can be smoked, marinated or cured with dill and salt. No other country in the world can compete with Sweden in the number of fish recipes. Meat also plays the leading role in national cuisine of Sweden. Cold meat, sliced beef, stuffed veal or smoked reindeer from Lapland are eaten throughout the country. It is a fact that due to the long winters the traditional recipes lack fresh vegetables. As in other Scandinavian countries in past time in Sweden the turnips were very popular, but step by step they were replaced by the potatoes.

Among the national specialties the following should be enumerated: Smorgasbord (pickled herring with boiled potatoes), Kottbullar (small meatballs), Gravlax (specially prepared and marinated salmon), Isterband (sausage made of pork and potatoes), Inlagd sill (herring pickled in salt, vinegar and spices). The Swedes prefer to drink Akvavit, chilled with smorgasbord. The flavors can be different, from practically tasteless to sweetly spiced. Vodka is also popular, as well sweet cider.