Swedish Language Blog

You might have heard strange rumors that everybody in Sweden drinks milk. Even adults. This is actually true. We have cow milk drinkers, soja milk drinkers, rice milk drinkers, oat milk drinkers and many more as well. Most students drink milk with their school lunches, and for the students who are lacto-intolerant there are special alternatives as well. The Swedish word for milk is MJÖLK, not to be confused with the Swedish word mjöl which means flour.

People grow up with milk, from the time they were toddlers they just keep on drinking it, even when they move away from home and have their own family. But not only is drinking milk a part of Swedish culture, the whole idea of cows and farmers is quite an important part of elementary school.

Many classes get taken on tours of cow farms, they get to make their own cheese and butter as well as learning about how the cow works. Fun facts about the members of the cow family as well as how cows have four stomachs.

Dairy companies have worked very hard to engage the Swedish population in milk. Lots of events are organized in the springtime when the cows get let out to graze. In Swedish that is called Kosläppet. Cow in Swedish is called ko and släppa ut means to let out. The dairy companies give out free glasses of milk and sometimes even free cinnamon buns. All through may these kosläpp take place.

It isn’t uncommon for the back of milk cartons to be very educative, with themes of everything from outer space to 3 signs that spring is coming. The following pictures are of some of the milk cartons this spring. Practice that Swedish!

It is kind of nice to have the autumn around, when you realize how much you have missed some dishes or ingredients. Try to get the maximum out of the seasons while desperately waiting for the summer. It´s plenty of chanterelles out there in the forests and you can do a whole lot of stuff with them. Besides the easiest and most classic Swedish way to eat them is to fry them in butter in a frying-pan and put it on a toast for breakfast or dinner, but you can also make meat balls look-a-likes or prepare a delicious soup.

Funnel Chanterelle Balls

1 dl dried funnel chanterelle, parboiled

1 dl textured soy protein, soaked

1 small onion

1 clove garlic

dark soy sauce

salt

pepper

Chop the onion and garlic and fry them in the skillet for a while, add the parboiled chanterelles and cook them for a while. Blend the mixture with a hand blender and then mix in the soy protein. Add a dash of soy sauce and spices. Shape the dough into balls and put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Roll the balls in breadcrumbs and fry in skillet with oil until cooked through.

Chanterell soup:

• 1 lbs fresh Chanterelle mushrooms, cut in ½ inch pieces (or 1 cup of dried chanterelles)*
• 1 onion, chopped
• ¼ bunch of parsley
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 quarts of beef or chicken stock
• ½ cup of sherry
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• Salt
• White pepper

Roughly chop the chanterelles into ½-inch pieces. Chop the onion and parsley stalks, saving the leaves for garnish. Melt the butter in a big saucepan and sauté the chopped onion until translucent. Add the chopped parley stalks and chanterelles and sauté for additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms and mix well. Pour the stock into the pot stirring constantly – you may use less stock for a thicker soup if desired. Bring to boil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the soup simmer for 15-20 minutes without the lid, let reduce uncovered for longer for stronger taste.

Let the soup cool down a bit and mix in electric blender until smooth. Pour the blended soup back into the saucepan and add sherry and heavy cream. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Pour in soup bowls and garnish with finely chopped parsley.

* If using dried chanterelle, crush the mushrooms and soak them in warm water for two hours. Squeeze mushrooms dry before frying them in the pan. Keep the liquid and use it to replace part of the stock.

Now that is something amazing, 17 kg/person a year. I’ve heard that Swedes eat most candy in the world. In Swedish there is something called smågodisätande (candy snacking might be a good translation?) and this sums the Swedish way of “candy-thinking” up quite well. Just a little bit (often turns into a whole lot more) often. All food stores usually have a whole wall lined with “pick-and-choose yourself” candy, bulk candy that is. The candy bags are huge, the little candy shovels are just getting bigger and bigger making it hard to just buy “a little”.

According to an article written in the Swedish newspaper DN (Dagens Nyheter = The daily News) a study comparing the recommendations done by WHO (World Health Organization) on the yearly sugar intake and the actual amount that Swedes do eat was done. The results showed that Swedes eat more than 50kg of sugar/year on average, three times what WHO recommends, and 25 % of that sugar is from candy.

It is not only children who eat candy (though in Sweden we have a word lördagsgodis which means saturday candy and is usually taught to mainly children, but nowadays not many people stick to that I don’t think). This is a considerable change to what people did about ten or even eight years ago. Yet again on average Swedes eat 3hg of Godis (candy) per week, what does the extreme consumer eat then?

Many Swedes associate holidays/special events with candy now, for example Easter (Påsk), Halloween, New Years Eve (Nyårsafton), Fredagsmys, Lördagsgodis and even at times like Christmas (Jul) and Midsummer (Midsommar). Candy is for many a great way to relax and give yourself a treat after a hard day of work, the problem is that people eat it all to frequently and in to big amounts.