A trip to Scandinavia
The long and cold winters that characterize northern Europe have an undeniable impact on the uniqueness represented by Scandinavian cuisine on the world scene.
Scandinavia generally includes Norway, Sweden and Denmark, but sometimes Finland, part of Russia and Iceland, also belong to it, although there is a different term for this agglomeration, namely Fennoscandia.
The geographical context and the social ferment made up of periods of war, peace, unions and separations, have led to making the cuisine of the Scandinavian peninsula more or less homogeneous , based above all on fish, porridge, dairy products, smoked meat, on honey and berries .
The not very aesthetic and very pragmatic vein typical of the Viking origins has been preserved in Scandinavian cuisine, based on simplicity, economy, practicality: fish, veal, pork or elk meat, soups, fatty ingredients and a shortage of vegetables, tubers apart like the potato and rutabaga.
Scandinavian cuisine: typical dishes
Generally in the Scandinavian countries breakfast and dinner are the main meals of the day, while lunch is often only a snack to be consumed during the work break.
One of the typical dishes for dinner is kroppkakor: boiled or baked potatoes, stuffed with herbs, onion and minced pork, then seasoned with melted butter and berries, mainly with cranberries.
One of the most consumed meats is veal, which in Scandinavia loves to eat with a lot of fresh anise, often flavored to cover the creams that cover the meat.
Dill flowers are also used to season many crustaceans, including lobsters, which are generally eaten in the summer months. Staying with fish, a very common dish is gravlax, raw salmon seasoned with sweet and sour mustard cream and potato cream with - surprise! - anise.
Moose meatballs with sour cream, fried tubers and cranberries are eaten in a real restaurant, much better than what we need at IKEA.
If you are undecided between sweet, salty and acrid here is the dish for you: raggmunk, pork belly, on potato pancakes and sour cream covered with cranberry cream and caramelized onions : it sounds extravagant but it is an exceptional dish. Finally, we would add the souvas, touches of smoked reindeer in the best Viking tradition.
Read also The Danish method to live happily: hygge! >>
Where to eat (on the street or in a restaurant) in Scandinavia
Forget IKEA, the best of Scandinavian cuisine can only be tried on site, perhaps during a summer trip.
Don't limit yourself to the restaurants of the big cities, try the towns of the coast and the forests if you want to taste all the goodness of the local dishes. If you can, try getting to know the locals and try home-based food, often based on simple but tasty soups.
Not to be missed in Scandinavia
Scandinavian desserts, although heavy and not renowned as the best in the world, can have their say and have their unique characteristics. The same applies to less common meats such as elk and reindeer.
When done well, the sauces with berries on the meat have a unique and irreplaceable taste. Obviously you can't miss the salmon .
What to avoid in Scandinavia
Avoid the middle ways, especially if you are oriented towards saving: try the local cuisine or stay on the international cuisine, these modern countries are full of them. Scandinavian cuisine is good only in its original version and not exactly for tourists passing through.
Advice and curiosity
Although it is an injustice we can define Scandinavian cuisine as a mixture of Germanic and British cuisine, with pancakes, use of jams (such as roses), many potatoes and local meats.
But Scandinavian cuisine is much more and you can understand it from the incredible number of texts on local cuisine that you can find on the spot.