{"id":9439,"date":"2021-10-15T08:46:18","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T08:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=9439"},"modified":"2022-04-01T17:02:21","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T17:02:21","slug":"sweden-a-mushroom-loving-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/sweden-a-mushroom-loving-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden, A Mushroom-Loving Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: C. Bowen, Foraged Minnesota Mushrooms<\/p><\/div>\n

Do you live in a mycophilic or a mycophobic culture? These adjectives of Greek origin mean either mushrooming-loving or the latter, mushroom-fearing. Foraging for wild mushrooms is commonplace in Nordic, Slavic, and Baltic countries, yet it’s not a tradition that’s taken root with American immigrant culture. Swedish youngsters grow up learning how to safely identify at least one type of wild \u2018shroom without fail – the chanterelle, <\/span>and most likely a couple more. \u201cBut how do you know they are safe to eat? Aren\u2019t you scared you’ll pick something poisonous?\u201d says the American, with a furrowed brow.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>Growing up in mycophilic country has hindered me from flexing a part of my Swedishness, until now! I\u2019ve officially taken up foraging and I\u2019m happy to report that it\u2019s been going well. So well, that I have a copious amount of mushrooms to process. Do I dry them, how do I cook them? I\u2019ve turned to googling <\/span>Swedish resources to learn how to cook wild mushrooms, because, well, the Swedes excel in this category too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Identifiera och plocka svamp<\/em> – Identifying and Picking Mushrooms\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

The average Swede knows how to identify, harvest, and cook <\/span>kantareller <\/span><\/i>(chanterelles). As the weather cools and early autumn rains set in, people grab a bucket, don their rubber boots and flock to their favorite woodsy place for some s<\/em><\/span>vampplockning<\/span><\/i> (mushroom picking). But beware – asking <\/span>en svampplockare <\/span><\/i>(a mushroom-picker) about their kantarellst\u00e4lle<\/em> (chantarelle spot) can be a sensitive undertaking<\/a>. Most Swedes consider this <\/span>en hemlighet<\/span><\/i> (a secret)!
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The Swedish verb att plocka<\/em>, to pick, is conjugated like this:<\/p>\n

plockar<\/em> \u2192 plockade \u2192 har plockat
\npick\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2192 picked\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u2192 have picked<\/i><\/p>\n

Har du plockat svamp f\u00f6rut?<\/em>
\nHave you picked mushrooms before?<\/p>\n

Champinjon eller svamp?<\/i><\/span><\/h1>\n

Swedish students often mistake the noun <\/span>en champinjon \u2192 champinjoner <\/span><\/i>as the general word for “mushroom”. In fact, this noun of French origin refers to the commonly store-bought white button mushroom. Although there is also a wild mushroom called <\/span>champinjon<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>en svamp \u2192 svampar<\/span><\/i> should be your go-to umbrella term for \u201cmushroom\u201d in Swedish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Matsvampar<\/i> – Edible Mushrooms<\/span><\/h1>\n

Matsvampar<\/span><\/i> translates directly to \u201cfood mushrooms\u201d, essentially, mushrooms you can eat! Although <\/span>the <\/span>kantarell <\/span><\/i>typical takes all of the Swedish matsvamp<\/em> glory, <\/span>there are many, many more <\/span>matsvampar<\/span><\/i> to be discovered! Karljohanssvamp<\/em> (wild porcini) and trattkantareller<\/em> (yellowfoot \/or funnel chanterelle) are just as beloved and easy to identify.<\/span><\/p>\n

I follow the educator, forager, and wonder-cook Elle <\/span>Nikishkova<\/span><\/a> on her account<\/span> Elles Utemat<\/span><\/i><\/a> (Elle\u2019s Outdoor Food). She\u2019s constantly foraging and hosting workshops where participants prepare foraged outdoor meals over an \u00f6ppen spis<\/em> (open fire). She guests on TV4\u2019s Nyhetsmorgon every now and then, touting all of the <\/span>fantastiska<\/span><\/i> (fantastic) mushrooms that you can eat beyond the <\/span>kantarell<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>Watch Elle give these TV hosts a <\/span>svampquiz<\/span><\/i>! I was impressed by how well they did!<\/span>
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