Due to Sweden’s large north-to-south expanse, there are regional differences between the cuisine of North and South Sweden. Sami culture, while fresh vegetables have played norwegian fruit soup larger role in the South.
Swedes have traditionally been very open to foreign influences, ranging from French cuisine during the 17th and 18th centuries, to the sushi and caffé latte of today. The importance of fish has governed Swedish population and trade patterns far back in history. For preservation, fish were salted and cured. Salt became a major trade item at the dawn of the Scandinavian middle ages, which began c. Sweden’s long winters explain the lack of fresh vegetables in many traditional recipes. Both before and after this period, some new Germanic dishes were also brought in by immigrants, such as people related to the Hanseatic League, settling in Stockholm, Visby, and Kalmar. Swedish husmanskost denotes traditional Swedish dishes with local ingredients, the classical everyday Swedish cuisine.
The word husmanskost stems from husman, meaning ‘house owner’, and the term was originally used for most kinds of simple countryside food outside of towns. Sweden is part of the vodka belt and historically distilled beverages, such as brännvin and snaps, have been a traditional daily complement to food. Swedish chefs, such as Tore Wretman, have presented modernised variants of classical Swedish dishes. Swedish traditional dishes, some of which are many hundreds of years old, others perhaps a century or less, are still a very important part of Swedish everyday meals, in spite of the fact that modern day Swedish cuisine adopts many international dishes.
Internationally, the most renowned Swedish culinary tradition is the smörgåsbord and, at Christmas, the julbord, including well known Swedish dishes such as gravlax and meatballs. In Sweden, traditionally, Thursday has been soup day because the maids had half the day off and soup was easy to prepare in advance. Potatoes are eaten year-round as the main source of carbohydrates, and are a staple in many traditional dishes. Not until the last 50 years have pasta or rice become common on the dinner table. There are several different kinds of potatoes: the most appreciated is the new potato, a potato which ripens in early summer, and is enjoyed at the traditional midsummer feast. The most highly regarded mushroom in Sweden is the chanterelle, which is considered a delicacy.
The chanterelle is usually served as a side dish together with steaks, or fried with onions and sauce served on an open sandwich. In August, at the traditional feast known as kräftskiva, crayfish party, Swedes eat large amounts of crayfish, boiled and then marinated in a broth with salt, a little bit of sugar, and a large amount of dill weed. Swedes chose not to use these sweet toppings. However, orange marmalade on white bread is common, usually with morning coffee or tea.