Focus on Sweden

Wild temptation

After visiting the old church in Gammelstad, we went to Margaretas Värdshus, a nice inn nearby the church with traditional Swedish cuisine, to fill up the bellies. The bellies gladly accepted some Vild Frestelse (Wild Temptation), which is a sort of pie containing mixed meat from bear, moose and reindeer. I have no picture with the pie, but you may admire the pepper used to spice it up.

Surströmming – the feat of endurance

During this trip I was introduced to surströmming, a special delicacy which I’ve been planning to try since I came to Sweden. Surströmming is fermented herring in a can. Reading more about it here will give you an idea of what it is, but it will not make you feel the smell. It basically smells like dead animal. Not recently.

Surströmming is traditionally eaten on a mix of boiled potatoes and onion, put on hard bread which was previously buttered. Keep a glass of beer nearby. The taste was quite all-right, but it was very hard to overcome the stench ordeal, so I gave up after one sandwich and a half. I highly recommend trying the surströmming, but don’t forget to open the can outside, or you’ll have to sleep over by some friends.

Lingon harvest

Lingonberries are another landmark of the region. Only by collecting the one in front of the cottage, in about 30 squared meters, we obtained about 5 kg of berries. Very good for pies. Actually, I’m eating some as I write this post.

Things you’re not supposed to eat

Besides McDonald’s, which seem not very welcome up here, Amanita muscaria is yet another thing you’re not supposed to eat up-north. Or anywhere else for that matter. It is said that the vikings used it for drugs. Probably the addiction was fed by the fact that it’s all over the place. I haven’t seen so many mushrooms in my whole life, as I saw in these 4 days in the north.