Since the early days of the
country, both climate and location have had a strong influence on Swedish food.
Sweden 's long coastline, rivers and lakes cause seafood to
be an significant part of Swedish cuisine, along with wild game in the North
and lighter fare such as vegetables in the South. Because nearly 15 per cent of
Sweden 's land area sits north of the Arctic Circle .
As a result, some of the
country's early inhabitants would preserve seafood, meat, fruit and vegetables
using methods such as dehydration, salting and curing. Berries were cooked in
preserves, vegetables were pickled, root vegetables were deposited in cold deep
cellars and bread was made to last them a long period of time.
Through most of Swedish
culture, Swedish merchants and aristocrats also imported products such as
English tea, French sauces and soups, and German honeycakes that would
gradually become part of the Swedish diet.
Wide areas of woods and
wetlands in Sweden provide an array of wild game, fruit and vegetables
such as mushrooms, lingonberries and blueberries. Lingonberries are small, red
and tart berries that develop abundantly in the northern region, ripening from
August to October.
Lingonberry jam, a staple in Sweden , is produced by combining lingonberries with sugar
and has historically become a way to add spice and freshness to hard foods such
as meats and stews. Chanterelle is the most precious mushroom in Sweden and is considered a delicacy, often served with meat
such as steak or onions that are fried.
For hundreds of years,
Swedish cuisine has been about traditional home food, or Husmanskost. Sometimes
found plain compared to other European dishes, Husmanskost once applied to the
most common Swedish cooked foods, such as porridge, but now contains more
appetizing dishes such as rich stews, seafood and roasts.
Other Husmanskost foods
include pea soup, potato pork and rutabagas, salmon, herring, meatballs, potato
pancakes and potato dumplings. Thanks to water over much of its land mass,
seafood is plentiful, and the Swedes have found countless ways to prepare fish,
such as marinating, smoking, or curing with dill and salt. Other than herring
and salmon, crayfish, eel are also
common.
Currently, Husmanskost has
been restored by Swedish chefs. The latest Husmanskost solution provides
conventional Swedish dishes with lower fat alternatives and the addition of
fresh ingredients. Swedish cuisine is inspired by many western foreign food and
dishes such as pizza, kebabs, hamburgers and Chinese and American dishes.
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