Food culture: BATTLE AMERICA vs. SWEDEN
One of the most common things people ask you if you're an expat, living in a new country, is what kind of foods you like or dislike in the new place and what kinds of food you miss the most from your old home. In many ways I was surprised to discover that I missed certain things and not other, it didn't always coincide with what I had anticipated before moving.
For instance, I would never have guessed that I would like US Asian food more than US pizza. US pizza focuses too much on the bread and the crust for my tastes, and I would much rather eat a Turkish/Swedish kebab pizza fusion back in the old country than the crusty creations in the west (not counting Chicago pizza, which is like a pie of pure DELICIOUSNESS). Suffice to say, in Sweden the Turks and the Kurds have taken over the pizza business, after the Italian immigrants from the 50's left to do other things.
It also needs to be said, that the US and Sweden share a broad common area of food culture in a more prominent way than most would think, but this post will focus a little on the differences.
But back to my lists:
Things I really MISS from Sweden and that are hard to get here in the US:
kaviar
A paste of smoked cod roe and spices. Every swede knows what it is, and it's a standard ingredient on breakfast tables everywhere. You put it on egg for instance:
pickled herring
Herring that is pickled in either acidic brine or creamy sauce. A million different flavors exist (the one on the picture is with vodka and lime). Jars with pickled herring exist in the stores in the US, but they are like a pale comparison to the real thing.
saft
Explanation behind the link above.
dill chips
meatballs
(Thank god Ikea is coming to Colorado, I hear they sell ready made meatballs. I go crazy from making my own whenever I have a simple craving for a meatball sandwich)
julmust (Swedish holiday soda)
rosehip or blueberry soup (thick Swedish fruit soups, in every store, by the milk, sigh...)
crayfish with flavor. Sweden love their crayfish and crayfish parties so much, they even made a stamp with them:
When I first came to the US I sampled pre cooked shrimp and was amazed at how bland the shellfish tasted compared to back home. I still to this day haven't been able to solve this mystery. In the US, I buy and carefully cook really really expensive shrimp and crayfish to be able to get close to the experience I have back home. I think part of the solution is to keep the babies in the shell for as long as possible. De-shelled nuggets are very common in the US.
Swedish crayfish are cooked with TONS of dill, and Swedes eat so much they have to import it from Turkey or China:
(I do adore the spicy creole crayfish too)
Rice porridge (ready in every Swedish store, all year around)
Swedish things I DON'T miss at all: semi sweet Swedish bread, so called "limpa" and shrimp salad on your damn hot dog.
Things I really MISS from the US that are hard to get in Sweden:
Salsa verde or tomatillo Salsa
There are thousands of different flavor nuances and grades of heat to this delicious kind of salsa, which is green!
Buffalo wings
beef jerky
There's reindeer jerky in certain Swedish stores, but it's horribly expensive. Beef Jerky exists in every store and gas station in at least the Western US, fabulous!
Cheese cake ice cream
a strange invention that sounds weird but is divine!
smoked nuts (they're everywhere, and you don't have to smoke them yourself!)
caramel popcorn
An American classic!
Not a food product, but I would really MISS breakfast restaurants and breakfast cafés. Places that serve all kinds of breakfast foods, both cold and warm, lean and fatty, and are open from the break of dawn. Such places do exist in Sweden, but they are rare, while in the US it is a common form of diner/café culture.
Things I WOULDN'T miss at all: barbecue sauce on ribs, sugar cured bacon and ham (bleh!)
Both countries have equal strengths on cheeses and yogurts, Sweden is way ahead on the candy, and the US is way ahead on any product containing peanuts or peanut butter. Prices on food are closer to each other than most think, but booze is cheaper in the US.
The US is way ahead on dips. Sweden is way way ahead on flavored sparkling water. On booze: well, the US has some excellent wines produced in their country, but while they do have local beer breweries making nice beer, when it comes to the big brands, they really do often taste like piss. Swedish big beer brands are much better, but the country has an old tradition with beer, which can be traced back to the bronze age in Scandinavia, before the viking era even. But alas, the country is too cold to produce any wine of significance.
So, all in all, the verdict?
Hell if I know! All I know is that I'm now a scattered person, unable to be satisfied on either continent!
Also, in case you've missed it: REGULAR ORDINARY SWEDISH MEAL TIME. Brutal northern Swedish young men cooking classical Swedish dishes in a brutal way. (warning: they are very messy and speak "Swenglish")
jedispice tipped me off a few weeks ago, and apparently these young brute-geeks are all the rage over the international web now. Aaah, the bare necessity student apartment environment in the background of these vids, how I remember thee...
For instance, I would never have guessed that I would like US Asian food more than US pizza. US pizza focuses too much on the bread and the crust for my tastes, and I would much rather eat a Turkish/Swedish kebab pizza fusion back in the old country than the crusty creations in the west (not counting Chicago pizza, which is like a pie of pure DELICIOUSNESS). Suffice to say, in Sweden the Turks and the Kurds have taken over the pizza business, after the Italian immigrants from the 50's left to do other things.
It also needs to be said, that the US and Sweden share a broad common area of food culture in a more prominent way than most would think, but this post will focus a little on the differences.
But back to my lists:
Things I really MISS from Sweden and that are hard to get here in the US:
kaviar
A paste of smoked cod roe and spices. Every swede knows what it is, and it's a standard ingredient on breakfast tables everywhere. You put it on egg for instance:
pickled herring
Herring that is pickled in either acidic brine or creamy sauce. A million different flavors exist (the one on the picture is with vodka and lime). Jars with pickled herring exist in the stores in the US, but they are like a pale comparison to the real thing.
saft
Explanation behind the link above.
dill chips
meatballs
(Thank god Ikea is coming to Colorado, I hear they sell ready made meatballs. I go crazy from making my own whenever I have a simple craving for a meatball sandwich)
julmust (Swedish holiday soda)
rosehip or blueberry soup (thick Swedish fruit soups, in every store, by the milk, sigh...)
crayfish with flavor. Sweden love their crayfish and crayfish parties so much, they even made a stamp with them:
When I first came to the US I sampled pre cooked shrimp and was amazed at how bland the shellfish tasted compared to back home. I still to this day haven't been able to solve this mystery. In the US, I buy and carefully cook really really expensive shrimp and crayfish to be able to get close to the experience I have back home. I think part of the solution is to keep the babies in the shell for as long as possible. De-shelled nuggets are very common in the US.
Swedish crayfish are cooked with TONS of dill, and Swedes eat so much they have to import it from Turkey or China:
(I do adore the spicy creole crayfish too)
Rice porridge (ready in every Swedish store, all year around)
Swedish things I DON'T miss at all: semi sweet Swedish bread, so called "limpa" and shrimp salad on your damn hot dog.
Things I really MISS from the US that are hard to get in Sweden:
Salsa verde or tomatillo Salsa
There are thousands of different flavor nuances and grades of heat to this delicious kind of salsa, which is green!
Buffalo wings
beef jerky
There's reindeer jerky in certain Swedish stores, but it's horribly expensive. Beef Jerky exists in every store and gas station in at least the Western US, fabulous!
Cheese cake ice cream
a strange invention that sounds weird but is divine!
smoked nuts (they're everywhere, and you don't have to smoke them yourself!)
caramel popcorn
An American classic!
Not a food product, but I would really MISS breakfast restaurants and breakfast cafés. Places that serve all kinds of breakfast foods, both cold and warm, lean and fatty, and are open from the break of dawn. Such places do exist in Sweden, but they are rare, while in the US it is a common form of diner/café culture.
Things I WOULDN'T miss at all: barbecue sauce on ribs, sugar cured bacon and ham (bleh!)
Both countries have equal strengths on cheeses and yogurts, Sweden is way ahead on the candy, and the US is way ahead on any product containing peanuts or peanut butter. Prices on food are closer to each other than most think, but booze is cheaper in the US.
The US is way ahead on dips. Sweden is way way ahead on flavored sparkling water. On booze: well, the US has some excellent wines produced in their country, but while they do have local beer breweries making nice beer, when it comes to the big brands, they really do often taste like piss. Swedish big beer brands are much better, but the country has an old tradition with beer, which can be traced back to the bronze age in Scandinavia, before the viking era even. But alas, the country is too cold to produce any wine of significance.
So, all in all, the verdict?
Hell if I know! All I know is that I'm now a scattered person, unable to be satisfied on either continent!
Also, in case you've missed it: REGULAR ORDINARY SWEDISH MEAL TIME. Brutal northern Swedish young men cooking classical Swedish dishes in a brutal way. (warning: they are very messy and speak "Swenglish")
jedispice tipped me off a few weeks ago, and apparently these young brute-geeks are all the rage over the international web now. Aaah, the bare necessity student apartment environment in the background of these vids, how I remember thee...