Dear Santa Posted by jennie on Dec 1, 2009 in Culture
It’s December, the new Swedish blog has officially been launched and the countdown to Christmas has begun. Let’s pay attention to all of the above and start off this huge task easily with a humble Christmas wish list. Unfortunatley I stopped believing in Santa (tomten) as a toddler when I caught our dog chewing at Santa’s mask. But if he by any chance is up there at the North Pole, surfing the world wide web and planning his route across Sweden – since the Swedish Santa actually knocks on your door and delivers the gifts in person on Christmas Eve (julafton) – it might be wise to at least let him know that I have left the country. And maybe, just mention what a Swedish person living abroad is missing the most. It’s not snow, it’s not the nordic light and it’s not our welfare system. It’s simply just comfort food.
Falukorv (Falu sausage)
Falukorv is the best Swedish sausage (korv) in the world and it origins from the Swedish city Falun in the county Dalarna. It’s a name protected sausage, very mild and made from smoked beef and best eaten simply with macaroni and ketchup. Or, If you want to add some luxury, grate som cheese on top. No fuss what so ever and I can assure you that practically all Swedish six-year-olds share my true love (kärlek) for this culinary treat.
Julmust (Christmas root beer)
December is not December without Julmust, the Swedish style root beer that the Swedes drink like maniacs around Christmas (and during Easter, when the name is changed to Påskmust – Easter root beer – and the logo goes yellow instead of read. Clever, isn’t it?). The original recepie was born 1910 and today, it’s said to be locked up in a safe with only one person knowing it to the full. 45 million litres of Julmust is consumed during December by the nine million Swedes. I really feel I should step up and help them out.
Hönökaka (Hönö Cake)
There is bread (bröd) and there is bread. And then there is Hönökaka. The Hönö cake origins from the beautiful island Hönö in Gothenburg’s archipelago and was originally made by fishermen’s families and farmers in the area in the 1940’s. It’s a flat, round and slightly sweet piece of bread that if it’s baked freshly, magically melts in yor mouth and contains something like 25 000 calories. Top it off with some slices of Falukorv and rinse it down with a glass of ice cold Julmust and… ah. It’s almost too painful to think about.
I know what you guys are thinking right now. “But what about that big blue and yellow flat pack furniture store that sells Swedish food? Stop whining and go shopping!”. Well, our local one are not selling Falukorv, the Julmust is always out of stock and Hönökaka is nowhere to be seen.
So, dearest Santa, dearest anyone. Just shout if you need my address. Or, if you have tried Hönökaka with Falukorv accompanied by Julmust. Agree/disagree?
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Comments:
Lynn:
This was so sweet to read! My partner & his family are from a small town close to Skelleftea & we just love spending Christmas up there!
The funniest thing for me as a foreigner was that ‘Julmust’ is also ‘paskmust’. They use the same drink with a different label but for Easter.
Also funny that Coca-cola lose the market to Julmust in December!
jennie:
Haha, yes isn’t it fun? Same same but different! I have acctually peeled of a Julmust label and found a Påskmust label underneath it…
Have a great Christmas where ever in the world you will be, but I bet the north part of Sweden is pretty spectacular at than time of the year… And absolutely freezing!
BM:
They do the same trick in Norway when Eventyrbrus magically becomes Julebrus over Christmas.
LA Swede:
Du glömde lussekatter och glögg.
I find Julmusk and Påskmust an interesting flavor, kind of like a less carbonated rootbeer. Drinkable but not my favorite.
I was hoping for Christmas in Sweden this year but no such luck. Maybe next year…
jennie:
@BM: This Aventyrsbrus, can you actually get in Norway ALL year around?! Wow…
@LA Swede: I I actually made my first set of Lussebullar ever in my life a couple of days ago. And even more suprisingly, they tasted good…
Cheers also for the nice comment on our presentation!
Merry Christmas!
Minty:
Im just hoping for a white christmas- would be my first ever!
Tom:
I will be having my first Christmas in Sweden this year as I am going to stay with my girlfriend’s family! (In Eskjö) I’m really excited and will be looking out for all these things now….
I had Påskmust last Easter so will be eager to try Julmust to taste the difference 🙂
I’ll also be hoping for a White Christmas, something we never get in England anymore!
jennie:
@Minty: Where in Sweden will you be? Hope you’ll get lucky!!
@Tom: Sounds excellent! Swedish Christmas are truly amazing, and totally different in every way compared to the English. Would happily add the Yule log, crackers and the burning Chistmas Pudding to the Swedish “Julbord” though, which I of course do.. 🙂
Where in England do you live?
Brenda:
Greetings from Jamestown, NY! I was interested to hear about Hönökaka….my grandmother used to make what the family called kaka bread (that’s a phonetic spelling, and probably a Swedish/English hybrid) which was a flat, sweet yeast bread made with white flour, no more than 1″ thick. It was pricked with a fork and brushed with melted butter before being baked to a lovely golden brown. I’ve often wondered where it came from, since I haven’t been able to find the recipe.
jennie:
Interesting! It sounds very similar to my beloved Hönökaka… I can write down the recepie for you, if you would like to try it? I have never baked it myself, so no guarantees, but it might be worth a try?
Tom:
@jennie Yeah i might try and take some Christmas crackers, if i’m allowed them on the plane! I live in Bristol and my gf is coming to live here too in the Spring, so I hope she doesn’t get too homesick.
I’m learning Swedish because I always wanted to learn another language fluently and this was a great opportunity for me! Also I think its fun to learn a language that isn’t the normal school ones e.g. French or Spanish.
jennie:
@Tom: That’s so funny, I live in Bristol too! And I also came to live with my boyfirend here a year and a half ago! Don’t worry, she won’t be homesick, Bristol is a great place and there’s a whole bunch of us Swedes living here. But tell her to stock up on falukorv and honokaka 🙂 So, do you learn Swedish on your own or take classes? Trying to get my bf to do the same… and whereabouts in Brizzle are you?
Tom:
@jennie Oh interesting! Yep she likes Bristol a lot and so do her parents who visited recently 🙂 I live in Clifton. Glad to know there are some other Swedes around for her then! She is a bit worried about getting a job, she is a physiotherapist. I hope she can find something good. Actually she used to play handball so wants to know if there are any teams in Bristol she can join?
I’m learning Swedish on my own, through films i’ve borrowed, and Wallander on TV, and of course chatting to my gf! Going ok so far! I would like to live in Sweden maybe in a few years so am enjoying this blog a lot finding out about the everyday details!
jennie:
I’m pretty sure she will! And tell her that she is more than welcome to contact me if she just want to chat to a fellow swede. I’m not sure about handball though, it seems like a non-existing sport in this country…
Happy that you enjoy the blog, please let us know if there is anything in perticular you would like to read about!
Carla:
Oj! Both IKEA stores in Toronto sold out of Julmust before I got out there, and I can’t find it anywhere else. le sigh! I’m hoping my guy will smuggle some over in his suitcase, I just love that spicy taste!
Brenda:
I would be delighted to try the Hönökaka recipe! This week I made inlagd sill. (It’s a measure of how strong the Swedish heritage is in this area that we can find things like salted herring in our local supermarket!)
beth:
when i was young i lived in wny, and we woould get korv from jtown. can anyone tell me the best place in jtown to get it now? i’ll be going up there in a couple wks and want to pick some up.