ColumnAnyone with a love of Scandinavia will want to make these classic Swedish recipes.

Why is it that we “need” certain foods at certain times of the year?

I have been traveling for the last couple of months, and because of it have been far far away from my kitchen and usual Northern Hemisphere winter climate. The result has been warm weather and completely different food than I would usually eat this time of year.

The funny thing is, because of it, I practically forgot that it was December. My usual reminders just aren’t there, and I realized how important food is to creating the ambience of a certain time, a certain celebration. I think we all know this feeling. Food and tradition go hand in hand.

I am well aware that I wrote a column a few weeks back about when it comes to the holidays it doesn’t matter what food you serve; the point is that you’re together with friends and family and celebrating the moment. That being said, December isn’t December for me without my favorite classic Swedish recipes.

By the time you read this, I’ll be back in my kitchen, frantically baking all of these, to get my full dose of December all in one sitting, so I decided I would share a few of them with you. Consider it your official guide to eating like a Swede this Christmas.

God jul!

1. Pepparkakor

There’s nothing more Swedish this time of year than crisp pepparkakor, gingersnap cookies. But of course, often time is of the essence, which means that if you need a quicker version than spending the afternoon rolling and cutting out cookies, you can use the same traditional pepparkakor spices in a cake.

2. Glögg

Where would Swedish Christmas be without glögg? Actually, where would the entire month of December be? Nowhere. In fact this recipe might be the most important of holiday Swedish recipes. This mulled wine is consumed liberally this time of year, and when it’s cold and dark out, you know why. It’s as simple as wine, rum or vodka and a few spices.

3. Saffransbullar

Usually these saffron buns are made for St. Lucia day, but you can of course eat them at any time in December. A yeasty, sweet bread that’s turned bright yellow with saffron, they’re perfect with coffee or glögg. The taste of saffron is so indicative of this time of year for me, that last year I even made a gluten-free cookie recipe inspired by the same flavors and shape as these traditional buns.

4. Knäck

It’s hard to not get addicted to this Swedish toffee. They’re made in small individual paper liners, which makes them as good looking as they are tasty.

5. Sill

Yes yes, you can make your own pickled herring, or at least your own pickled herring sauce. No self-respecting julbord (the Swedish Christmas table) is complete without it. I am a personal fan of pickled herring in a mustard sauce.

6. Janssons Frestelse

Translated, this means “Jansson’s Temptation.” I don’t know what in this dish was so tempting for Jansson, but it’s certainly a classic. Basically it’s potatoes baked with cream and anchovies, or sprats. Trust me on this one.

7. Rödkål

This red cabbage dish was the one that as a child I couldn’t stand. Now of course, I insist upon it. The basics are red cabbage, apples, vinegar, onion and spices. The result is delightful and colorful.

Related on EcoSalon

Pepparkakor: Swedish Gingerbread Cookies

Mazariner: A Swedish Pastry Classic

12 Christmas Cocktails 

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Erik Forsberg

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Concerned about how your sourdough starter will fare when you’re on vacation? Drop it off at the sourdough starter hotel.

Sweden is known for baking culture. If you’re not baking your own bread, then you know a good bakery to get it from. The bread is usually dense – none of that fluffy, baguette stuff – and hearty. The stuff good quality, no-nonsense Scandinavian meals are made of.

So maybe it’s no surprise that in Stockholm, there’s a place to store your sourdough starter when you go on vacation. Yes, for a mere 200 Swedish kronor (about $30) a week the Urban Deli bakery on Södermalm will take your sourdough starter and give it all the love it needs while you’re off galavanting on vacation.

Åsa Johansson at Urban Deli told The Local about how the idea started as a nursery for sourdoughs. “Then we took it further and came up with the hotel idea. It was just for fun really, we didn’t think it was going to get this big,” she said.

As owners of sourdough starter know, having one requires some maintenance. To keep it active it needs regular additions of flour and water, and while a dried one can be brought back to life, the thought of letting a living sourdough starter die out is unthinkable to some. Plus, your travels may have you dreaming of baking, and this way, you get get a new crusty loaf started the second you return home.

The amazing thing about sourdough starters is that if you take good care of them, they can last a lifetime. And then some. In fact, the Urban Deli has a sourdough starter collection that it runs in collaboration with Josefin Vargö, a student at the University College of Arts and Crafts and Design, who came up with the idea for her masters project. A “living archive” so to say. They have one that comes from America and dates back 130 years.

According to the Living Archive website, “Anyone with a sourdough starter can take part and join the network. It investigates how to use existing platforms of knowledge to create new social relationships. The project is under constant development as new forms of information and contacts are established.”

Sounds like it’s time to pack our bags and take our sourdough starters to Sweden. Or if a plane ticket is too much, just send in your sourdough starter by post:

Josefin Vargö
Brännkyrkagatan 13b
118 20 Stockholm

Bon voyage little sourdough starter.

Related on EcoSalon

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You Can Ferment That: Foodie Underground

Image: Bev Sykes

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The Scandinavian spirit aquavit isn’t just for pickled herring and potatoes anymore.

Simple and clean are words often used to describe Scandinavian design, but it also goes for Scandinavian drink, particularly aquavit. Say the word “schnapps” and you might immediately conjure up visions of a sugary, peppermint-infused hot chocolate drink, but in Scandinavia, snaps is something completely different, and it’s hitting the United States.

Snaps is the name for a shot of strong alcohol consumed in conjunction with a large meal, traditionally at holidays like Christmas and Midsummer – think big dinner parties fueled by frequent shots of a slightly herbal drink – and the alcohol in question is aquavit. Until recently, aquavit was relatively unknown in the US; the kind of thing you were only familiar with if you threw down during a midsummer celebration with a few Swedes. 

Aquavit is a neutral spirit that’s flavored with herbs indicative of Scandinavian cuisine; profiles like caraway, dill and anise. And you thought fennel was just for hip farm-to-table restaurants.

In the United States you can buy imported versions like Norwegian Linie and Danish Aalborg, but stateside artisanal distillers North Shore, House Spirits and 45th Parallel all have versions based off of the classic methods of distilling and aging. The first one to enter the US aquavit market, it’s no surprise that Portland cocktail menus are taking advantage of House Spirit’s Krogstad Festlig Aquavit, my personal favorite.

For those of us that need a drink to pair with our rye bread and potatoes – don’t we all? – we can thank the rise of Scandinavian cuisine, as well as a general culinary obsession with craft distilleries, for moving aquavit beyond the Swedish party table and onto cocktail menus. A traditionalist would tell you that aquavit should only be consumed at the customary celebratory dinners and with subsequent dishes. But tradition is meant to be broken, and aquavit’s clean taste makes it a spirit that fits both in winter and summer, and makes it a prime mixing element for drinks.

Jacob Grier, lead bartender at Metrovino in Portland, Oregon, and maybe best known for his creation of bone luging, is such an aquavit advocate that last fall he put together an entire cocktail week devoted to the spirit. If it’s your first foray into the world of aquavit, his Aquavit Hot Toddy is a good place to start. Skål!

Aquavit Hot Toddy

• 1 1/2 oz aged aquavit (Krogstad Gamle)
• 3/4 oz Swedish Punsch
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 6-8 oz hot water
• star anise, for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a pre-heated mug and garnish with the star anise.

Image: Skånska Matupplevelser

The post The Rise of the Scandinavian Cocktail: Getting to Know Aquavit appeared first on EcoSalon.

Quintessential Sweden: Abba, pickled herring, meatballs… cinnamon rolls.

Sweden is equated with many things, but there is nothing as iconic as the cinnamon roll. In Swedish culinary culture, every cup of coffee deserves to be served with a baked good. This tradition is called fika and at its core is the cinnamon roll.

I don’t mean the cream cheese frosting topped, so-sweet-it-makes-you-cringe version that is served in the U.S., I mean the classic Swedish pastry, with a hint of cardamom and just sugary enough. In a country where cinnamon rolls are a staple in every cafe and bakery, and every respectable Swede has made their own batch at least once in their lives, it should come as no surprise that Sweden is in fact the cinnamon roll’s presumed country of origin.

The beauty of the Swedish cinnamon roll is in its versatility. Depending on your mood, you can switch out a few key ingredients for a completely different taste. Cardamom infused filling instead of the standard cinnamon and sugar mix for example.

October 4 marks Kanelbullens Dag (Cinnamon Roll Day) – an entire day devoted the the baked good. Since you probably don’t have the chance to sit in a warm Stockholm cafe on a crisp autumn day and order a kanelbulle from the counter, here are a few versions you can make yourself. Just be sure to serve with coffee.

Kanelbullar – Swedish Cinnamon Rolls

Makes about 30-40 buns

Dough ingredients:

• 2 1/8 cup (500 ml) milk
• 25g fresh yeast (or 2 envelopes dry active yeast)
• 2/3 cup (150 ml) brown sugar
• 5 7/8 cups (1400 ml) flour
• 2 teaspoons whole cardamom seeds
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 5 ¼ oz (150 g ) butter (at room temperature)

Alternative 1: cinnamon filling

• 4 ½ oz (about 125 g) butter (at room temperature)
• 1/3 cup (75 ml) regular sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Alternative 2: cardamom filling

• 4 ½ oz (about 125 g) butter (at room temperature)
• 1/3 cup (75 ml) brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons whole cardamoms
• (optional: 1 teaspoon cinnamon)

Topping

• One small egg (whipped together)
• Pearl sugar or sliced almonds

Prepare the dough: Crumble the yeast (if using dry yeast prepare it as required) in a big bowl. Heat milk until it is warm to the touch, about 100ºF (about 110ºF for dry yeast). Add the milk to the yeast and stir until yeast has dissolved.

Crush the cardamoms in a mortar and pestle.

Mix together flour, sugar, cardamom and salt before adding it to the milk and yeast mixture. Add in the butter in small cubes. Blend well, either by hand or by using a food processor. Knead it well for about 5-10 minutes.

Cover the dough and place in a draft free place and let it rise for at least 40 minutes.

Filling: Mix all ingredients for the filling to an even batter. It is important for the butter to be at room temperature so it’s easier to spread. 

Divide the dough into two pieces and using a rolling pin (or a wine bottle), roll each of them out separately to the shape of a rectangle (see diagram above).

Spread half of the filling onto each piece of rolled out dough so that it covers the entire area. Roll the dough up beginning with the long side. Slice the roll into about 20 equal sized (about 1 inch wide) slices and place them with their cut side up on baking sheet. Repeat above procedure with the last piece of dough.

Let them rise for about 30 minutes.

Note: You can also fold the dough as shown below which is more common when making the bun with cardamom filling.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and brush all buns and sprinkle pearl sugar or sliced almonds on top.

Bake them in the oven at 225ºC (about 440F) for 8-10 minutes.

This dough recipe was adapted from Mia Örn’s recipe on Kardemummabullar.

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Bringing meaning to the joy of eating.

When the “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” proverb is the only adage in your arsenal of food wisdom, it’s time to bulk up on new things to say. From Ireland to China and the likes of Helen Keller to Ronald Reagan, these 20 quotes will bring even more meaning and joy to the act of eating.

When I am eating I am deaf and dumb. –Russia

To eat is human, to digest, divine. –Mark Twain

Life is too short to drink bad wine. –France

Whose bread I eat, his song I sing. –Germany

Too many cooks spoil the broth. –Italy

At the table with good friends and family you do not become old. –Italy

If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one. –Mother Theresa

Fine words do not produce food. –Nigeria

If you are looking for a fly in your food, it means that you are full. –South Africa

Avoid fruits and nuts. You are what you eat. –Jim Davis (Garfield)

Who fasts but does no other good saves his bread but goes to hell. –Italy

There is no sincerer love than the love of food. –Bernard Shaw

He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors. –China

It is easier to halve the potato when there’s love. –Ireland

A piece of bread in one’s pocket is better than a feather in one’s hat. –Sweden

You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jelly beans. –Ronald Reagan

Give a man a fish, you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime. –China

The good Lord has changed water into wine, so how can drinking beer be a sin? –Belgium

Happiness rarely keeps company with an empty stomach. –Helen Keller

Food tastes best when you eat it with your own spoon. –Denmark

Images: B@ni

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Check out our article on 50 pick up lines for foodies

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Putting apple harvest to good use.

When the first Gravenstein apples start to fall from our tree in late August, I pull out this recipe, Brita Nelsons Äppelkaka.

I got it in 1970 from a friend (the cake’s namesake) when I still lived in Sweden. It is written with a ballpoint pen in a 2-ring blue recipe binder that was a must to take along when I moved away from Sweden in 1974. Even if I know how to make it from memory, I still look it up to have that bittersweet jolt of thinking of her and wondering what she does now.

The recipe is great all year round, but it’s best with the seasonal harvest of autumn apples. It can be made with equal success using halved plums or sliced pears but the apples are still my favorite.

Brita Nelson’s Apple Cake

Ingredients:

• 7 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup almonds or hazelnuts, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour, can be almond meal or rice flour for a gluten free version
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• a few drops of almond flavoring (optional)
• Peeled and sliced apples

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar (in food processor or by hand). Mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Grease a round baking pan, and coat with either almond meal or unsweetened coconut.

Spread batter into pan. Note: the batter is a little sticky, use a spatula and it’s okay if it doesn’t come all the way out to the edges.

Starting in the middle, place the apple slices side by side in a circular formation, then press them into the dough. This will also make the dough spread. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top if you so desire.

Bake 40 minutes at 360F.

Whipped cream on top is always a common way of serving cakes in Sweden… But it is good plain too! And if you’re going to be truly traditional, eat it with a small fork, NOT a spoon!

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series. 

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Every day is better with a new track.

Walk On By (radio edit) by El Perro Del Mar

Every day we bring you one track for a little musical inspiration. Have a track you want to submit? Email us at contact@ecosalon.com.

Image: El Perro Del Mar

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Every day is better with a new track. 

I was running by Alpaca Sports

Every day we bring you one track for a little musical inspiration. Have a track you want to submit? Email us at contact@ecosalon.com.

Image: Alpaca Sports

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Every day is better with a new track. 

Thus:Owls – White Night from Avalanche Productions on Vimeo.

Every day we bring you one track for a little musical inspiration. Have a track you want to submit? Email us at contact@ecosalon.com.

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A round-up of what we’re reading right now. 

If you think eating healthy isn’t economical, think again. Here are 11 ways to reduce your food costs and still eat well. [Via Organic Authority]

Obsessed with Scandinavia as much as we are? You’ll love this video of a Swedish travel adventure. [Via Traveling Greener]

Have a sweet tooth? Curb those sugar cravings the natural way. [Via Elephant Journal]

Arizona’s severe new abortion law goes into effect this week, here’s who it will affect and how. [Via The Week]

What exactly does Michael Phelps eat? 12,000 calories a day. [Via Gilt Taste]

Is 14 too young for plastic surgery? Even if the reason is to end bullying? [Via Refinery29]

Let’s focus less on looks and more on talent, it’s the Olympics after all. [Via Jezebel]

Forget potatoes, you should be making eggplant chips from here on out. Complete with basil yogurt dip. [Via Greatist]

Image: Per Ola Wiberg

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