Scandinavian Food
TRADITIONAL SCANDINAVIAN FOOD HABITS
The fare of Scandinavia is simple and hearty, featuring the abundant foods
of the sea and making use of the limited foods produced on land. Most
Scandinavian cooking and food processing reflect preservation methods of
previous centuries. Fish was dried, smoked or pickled, and milk was often
fermented or allowed to sour before being consumed. Scandinavians still
prepare a large variety of preserved foods and prefer their foods salty.
Scandinavians are probably best known for their use of fish and shellfish,
especially the dried salt cod which is exported all over the world today.
Lutefisk is prepared by soaking the dried cod in a lye solution before
cooking. Other typical fish dishes include salmon marinated in dill, called
gravlax, smoked salmon known as lox and many varieties of pickled herring.
Common fruits and vegetables are apples, potatoes, cabbage, onions and
beets. Pea soups are a winter treat throughout Scandinavia, often served with
pancakes. Several varieties of berries – particularly lingonberries and wild
mushrooms are collected from local forests.
Meat, in limited supply, was stretched by chopping it and combining it with
other ingredients. Today the Scandinavians still eat many vegetables stuffed
with ground pork, veal or beef. The Swedes are known for their delicious
meatballs and the Danes for their meat patties called fricadeller.
Bread is also a staple food item and is often prepared from rye flour,
punched with holes and hung from the ceilings and dried. A thin round
potato bread lefser is cooked on an ungreased griddle and is eaten with
butter and sugar and folded like a hankerchief.
Desserts served with a coffee break or after a meal, are rich but not overly
sweet. Most are made with butter and also contain cream or sweetened
cheese and the spice cardamom. The Scandinavians use almonds, almond
paste, or marzipan in desserts as
The fare of Scandinavia is simple and hearty, featuring the abundant foods
of the sea and making use of the limited foods produced on land. Most
Scandinavian cooking and food processing reflect preservation methods of
previous centuries. Fish was dried, smoked or pickled, and milk was often
fermented or allowed to sour before being consumed. Scandinavians still
prepare a large variety of preserved foods and prefer their foods salty.
Scandinavians are probably best known for their use of fish and shellfish,
especially the dried salt cod which is exported all over the world today.
Lutefisk is prepared by soaking the dried cod in a lye solution before
cooking. Other typical fish dishes include salmon marinated in dill, called
gravlax, smoked salmon known as lox and many varieties of pickled herring.
Common fruits and vegetables are apples, potatoes, cabbage, onions and
beets. Pea soups are a winter treat throughout Scandinavia, often served with
pancakes. Several varieties of berries – particularly lingonberries and wild
mushrooms are collected from local forests.
Meat, in limited supply, was stretched by chopping it and combining it with
other ingredients. Today the Scandinavians still eat many vegetables stuffed
with ground pork, veal or beef. The Swedes are known for their delicious
meatballs and the Danes for their meat patties called fricadeller.
Bread is also a staple food item and is often prepared from rye flour,
punched with holes and hung from the ceilings and dried. A thin round
potato bread lefser is cooked on an ungreased griddle and is eaten with
butter and sugar and folded like a hankerchief.
Desserts served with a coffee break or after a meal, are rich but not overly
sweet. Most are made with butter and also contain cream or sweetened
cheese and the spice cardamom. The Scandinavians use almonds, almond
paste, or marzipan in desserts as