Strawberry cream cake

Gräddtårta med jordgubbar

This cake is a midsummer classic. A glorious cream cake filled with fresh strawberries and served with more strawberries on the side. It is one of the highlights of summer in Sweden! There is no single recipe for the cake, but it always involved at least two layers, custard and lots of strawberries and cream! The cake base can be cooked in advance, leaving decoration to the last minute. More…

Welcome to SwedishFood.com

Thank you for visiting our site, set up to help English speakers around the world who would like to learn more about Swedish food.

All our recipes have been tried and tasted, include a clear summary, list ingredients in British and American units and include a photograph of the finished dish.

Happy cooking! John Duxbury

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Stawberries with elderflower parfait

Jordgubbar med fläderblomsparfait

Marinated strawberries with elderflower parfait is a popular dessert in the summer in Sweden when strawberries are in season. It is easy to prepare and yet looks good enough to grace any occasion. More…

Ice cream

Glass

Swedes love the sweet things in life. They are the world's biggest eaters of godis (sweets/candy) and Europe's biggest consumer of ice cream with the average Swede said to lick their way through a massive 13½ litres (28½ pints) of ice cream per year.

Swedes like all the normal range of flavours, with chocolate and vanilla being two of the most popular, but four flavours seem to be particularly Swedish, from left to right:

•  Saltlakritsglass (Salty liquorice),
•  Jordgubb och fläderglass (Strawberry and elderflower),
•  Kanelglass (Cinnamon),
•  Hjortronglass (Cloudberry).

I love them all, but my personal favourite is hjortronglass.

Crayfish with dill

Kräftor med dill

Kräftskivor (crayfish parties) are one of the highlights of the Swedish calendar and appeal to people of all ages. Traditionally the parties are held in August, but such is their popularity that Swedes often hold them throughout the summer.

The parties have been held in Sweden since the 1800s, but in the 1900s a plague almost completely wiped out the crayfish population. As a result Swedish crayfish are now rare and very expensive, so most Swedes pop down to their local supermarket and pick up a few boxes of imported ready-cooked frozen crayfish.

If you are lucky enough to be able to get some fresh crayfish, click here to see how to cook them.

Meatballs

Köttbullar

Köttbullar (meatballs), despite not always enjoying the best of reputations, we think that when well made they are hard to beat. Of course, our recipe is the best and will ensure that your köttbullar really are Swedelicious!

To enjoy good köttbullar it is important that they are served with gräddsås (cream sauce), pressgurka (pressed cucumber), rårörda lingon (sweetened lingonberries) and potatismos (mashed potatoes). More…

Pickled beetroot

Inlagda rödbetor

With a very harsh climate Swedes had to learn to preserve foods to see them through their long hard winters. Although this is no longer necessary, the Swedes have developed a great affection for the old fashioned ways of preserving, including pickling.

Beetroots are particularly sweet and benefit from being paired with something acidic, which is why Swedes have a long tradition of pickling them. More…

Open prawn (shrimp) sandwich

Räksmörgås eller räkmacka

Leif Mannerström, a famous Swedish chef, describes a good räksmörgås (open prawn/shrimp sandwich) as food for the gods and so eating one gives us mere mortals a taste of heaven. I might not go quite that far, but they are good!

Whenever I see a räksmörgås (also called a räkmacka) I find it impossible to resist buying one. Fishmongers in Smögen, on the west coast of Sweden, have hundreds of heavenly räksmörgås lined up on their counters just waiting to be enjoyed by hordes of holiday-makers. More…

Rhubar crumble

Rabarberpaj

One of my favourite dishes at this time of year is rabarberpaj (rhubarb crumble) served with vaniljsås (vanilla sauce). The topping can also be used with other fruit such bilberries (wild blueberries=, strawberries and apple etc. More…

Rhubarb and ginger jam

Rabarbermarmelad med ingefära

Rabarbermarmelad med ingefära (rhubarb and ginger jam) is almost like a chutney, although it has not got any onions in it, and so it goes really well with cheese. I recommend making some every year! More…

Sourdough bread in 3 days

Surdegsbröd på 3 dagar

This is my favourite white sourdough recipe! Three days may seem a long time before you actually have anything to eat, but I think the wait is worth it!

Essentially the method is the same as the "one-day" method, but the dough is refrigerated a couple of times, which improves the flavour slightly and makes the dough easier to handle. I particularly recommend this method if:
• You want freshly baked bread on a day when you are busy most of the day,
• You want freshly baked sourdough bread for lunch,
• Your kitchen is too hot, so you are worried about your dough being over-proved,
• You have had difficulties getting consistent results with the "one-day" method.
The disadvantages of this method are that you need to find space for the dough in your fridge and, of course, you've got to plan ahead! More…

Seeded rye bread

Rågbröd med frön

Rågbröd (rye bread) is very popular in Sweden. When thinly sliced it is perfect with cheese or topped with salmon or prawns. This version uses sunflower seeds and golden linseed as well as cracked rye and wheat to give it a fabulous nutty texture. It’s a really tasty loaf to be enjoyed slowly! Don’t worry it is not dry, it keeps well and it has a fabulous dark crust. More…

2017 Calendar

2017 Almanacka

For a calendar of the main festivals and food events in Sweden to look forward to during 2017, as well as a complete list of all namnsdagar (name days), click here.

Top 20 Recipes

Top 20 Recept

Kanelbullar (cinnamon buns) was our most popular recipe last year with köttbullar (meat balls) in second place and cholkladbollar (chocolate balls) in third place. For details of all our Top 20 Recipes click here.

Distinctive features of Swedish food

Swedish food has a growing reputation across the world. For instance, Jamie Oliver described Swedish food as "Big, bold, brave and definitely up there with the best in the world". But what makes Swedish food distinctive? Check-out our guide…

We have compiled a list of what we consider to be our Top 50 Classic Recipes. No two people are likely to agree completely on what should be included, but we hope you will approve of most of our choices!

I am are gradually producing a Swedishfoodpedia. Essentially this is a series of articles about food related events in Sweden and Swedish ingredients, especially those that might not be familiar to most readers. I have already assembled articles on many topics including:

• cloudberries (wonderful golden berries that grow in the north of Sweden),
• fika (a "proper" Swedish coffee break),
• lingon (lingonberries, an essential accompaniment to many Swedish dishes),
• surströmming (stinky fermented herring),
• Västerbottensost (the king of Swedish cheeses),

Many other articles are in the pipeline, but if there is anything you would like to know more about please let me know. To read existing articles click here.