God morgon!
Two weeks have passed as I was studying hard the beautiful Swedish language. I’m only on 6th lesson out of 20 now, but I dare to say I’m on a good path. And that’s the reason I decided to reiterate the concept from Wednesday (Stockholm) and try to acquire new vocabulary and skills by learning something new about Swedish culture. Furthermore it’s also fun, after all.
Today I decided to learn something about their cuisine. The 5th lesson was all about food and that’s when I came up with this idea. I mean, a lot of information was already stated in the textbook, but not enough, I want to know more, also even about some less widely known stuff. Actually, I have tried numerous Swedish dishes already, but since I’ve never thought I would take up Swedish language for real, I had no particular knowledge whatsoever about any of those meals. Curious where did I try them? Ikea, of course! I’ve always been a fan of our local Den Haag-Rotterdam Ikea, especially of their kitchen. Little did I know I’d encounter those meals somewhere else than on my plate.
So what I’m gonna do today is that I’m going to search some of the most typical Swedish dishes (no copyright infringement meant), try to translate all of the descriptions into Swedish and learn as many new words as possible. At the end of the article I’ll make a list of new words divided into categories, just like before. Now I’ll maybe create another list huh, based on my personal experiences with particular meals in Ikea. I have no idea what to expect yet, everytime I was dining in Ikea I was choosing the meals…well…based on photos on sandwich board, I never actually knew what it is. But that’s about to change, let’s begin!
Just like always, the first is gonna be the Swedish paragraph and then the English translation right underneath.
Knäckebröd är ett populärt bröd bakat i Sverige de senaste 500 åren. Brödet är också en av de vanligaste sidorna som folk äter tillsammans med en huvudrätt. Ovanpå brödet är vanligtvis skinka, smör, ost eller kaviar.
Crispbread is a popular bread baked in Sweden in the last 500 years. The bread is also one of the most common sides which people eat together with a main course dish. On top of the bread is usually ham, butter, cheese or caviar.
Varje land har sin egen specialitet, och Sverige har sin egen gröna prinsesstårta toppad med en ljusrosa sockerrosa. Den tredje veckan i september är officiellt veckotiden för prinsessakakan, eftersom den svenska prinsessan Märtha är född den 22 september.
Each country has their own specialty, and Sweden has its own green princess cake topped with a bright pink sugar rose. The third week in September is officially the week of the princess cake because the Swedish princess, Märtha, is born on the 22nd of September.
Saffronbullar är typiska under julperioden, som börjar på Halloween till nyår. En annan populär bakverk är kanelbullar, som förmodligen är en svensk favorit. Dessa kakor är typiska för kaffepauser och “fika”.
Saffron buns are typical during the Christmas season, which starts on Halloween until New Years. Another popular pastry are the cinnamon balls, which is probably a Swedish favorite. These cakes are typical for coffee breaks and “fika”.
Lingonen som ser lite ut som röda blåbär är bra för sylt. Svenskarna älskar dem i en rårörda eller råblandad sylt. Bären är mest känd som en skål med köttbullar och raggmunk. Du kan också hitta lingonen med lever och blodpudding eller desserter som ostkaka, glass och mousse.
Lingonberries which look a little bit like red blueberries are great for jams. The Swedes love them in a sweetened jams or raw-blended jam. The berries are most famous as a side dish with meatballs and raggmunk. You can also find lingonberries with liver and blood pudding, desserts like cheesecake, ice cream and mousse.
När du blandar potatis med lök, ansjovis och grädde får du Janssons frestelse. Det är ganska anmärkningsvärt att något så enkelt kan smaka så himmelskt.
When you mix potatoes with onions, anchovies and cream, you get Jansson’s temptation. It’s quite remarkable that something as simple can taste so heavenly.
Raggmunk är namnet på en svensk potatispannkaka. Pannkakorna är stekt i smör och du äter dem med stekt fläsk och – otroligt – lingonen.
Raggmunk is the name for a Swedish potato pancake. The pancakes are fried in butter and you eat them with fried pork and – unbelievably – lingonberries.
Kroppkakor är svenska potatisdumplings fyllda med lök, fläsk och bacon. Naturligtvis måste lingonsylt vara där också.
Kroppkakor are Swedish potato dumplings filled with onions, pork and bacon. Of course, lingonjam has to be there as well.
Gravlax eller torrkorkad lax marinerad i örter är också alltid på svenskt smörgåsbord.
Gravlax or dry-cured salmon marinated in herbs is also always on the Swedish snack table.
Gubbröra är en ägg-ansjojsalad vars färgstarka svenska namn betyder “gammalmans mix”.
Gubbröra is an egg–anchovy salad whose colourful Swedish name means ‘old man’s mix’.
Köttbullar med gräddsås är Sveriges nationella maträtt. Du får alltid dem med grädsås. Det första receptet var i en bok av den legendariska Cajsa Warg, publicerad 1755.
Meatballs with cream sauce are Sweden’s national dish. You always get them with cream sauce. The first recipe was in a book by the legendary Cajsa Warg, published in 1755.
Sill kommer i olika smaker – som senap, lök eller vitlök och dill – och du får dem ofta med potatis, gräddfil, gräslök, hård ost, kokt ägg och naturligtvis knäckebröd.
Herring comes in a variety of flavors – like with mustard, onion, or garlic and dill – and you often get them also with potatoes, sour cream, chives, hard cheese, boiled eggs and, of course, knäckebröd.
Svenskarna gör den internationellt kända Absolut Vodka, medan deras andra favoritskott är kanelkryddad Fireball. På vintern är populära, till exempel dryck glögg (kryddigt varmt vin) och dess variationer med vitt vin eller äppelcider. Att gå med en avslappnad måltid varierar alternativen från bra lokalt producerade viner till lättöl eller starköl (lätt öl eller stout).
Swedes make the internationally renowned Absolut Vodka, while their other favourite shot is the cinnamon-spiced Fireball. In winter are popular for example drink glögg (spicy hot wine) and its variations with white wine or apple cider. To go with a casual meal, the options vary from good locally produced wines, to lättöl or starköl (light beer or stout).
What did I learn?
- verbs: älska (love), blanda (mix), smaka (taste), vara stekt (be fried), vara fyllda (be filled), vara publicerad (be published), variera (vary), vara producerade (be produced), betyder (mean), vara marinerad (be marinated), vara toppad (be topped), vara bakat (be baked)
- adjectives: avslappnad (relaxed), varmt (hot), kryddigt (spicy), populära (popular), kanelkryddad (cinamom-flavoured), hård (hard), kokt (boiled), olika (various), färgstarka (colourful), legendariska (legendary), nationella (national), torrkorkad (dry-cured), otroligt (unbelievable), rå (raw), typiska (typical), ljusrosa (light pink), sockerrosa (sugar pink), egen (own), de senaste (the latest), bakat (baked), vanligaste (most common)
- nouns: en sida (side), folk (people), en huvudrätt (main course), en specialitet (specialty), en veckotid (week time), en prinsess (princess), en julperiod (Christmas time), ett nyår (New Year), ett bakverk (pastry), en bär (berry), lingon (lingonberry), en lever (liver), en blodpudding (blood pudding), en ansjovis (anchovy), en grädde (cream), ett namn (name – mentioning it here just because I never remember the article), en pannkaka (pancake), en bacon (bacon), en ört (herb), en gräddsås (cream sauce), en maträtt (dish), ett recept (recipe), en smak (flavour), en dill (dill), en gräddfil (sour cream), ett gräslök (chive), en vinter (winter), ett alternativ (alternative), en måltid (meal), Svenskarna (the Swedes), en variation (variation), ett skott (shot)
- other: medan (while), internationellt (internationally), alltid (always), naturligtvis (of course), himmelskt (heavenly), anmärkningsvärt (noteworthy), förmodligen (probably), eftersom (since), lokalt (locally), officiellt (officially), vanligtvis (usually), tillsammans (together), ovanpå (on top)
It hadn’t been as many words as last time, but I’m a little proud of myself anyway, I stepped out of my comfort zone yet again and spent an entire evening discovering new Swedish words regarding their cuisine (mostly) instead of watching series. Tomorrow I’m starting a new lesson about free time, I’m kinda curious. I’ll keep you up-to-date as always!
Have a great day!
NOT MY PHOTO, ALL THE RIGHTS GO TO THE OWNERS!
Asequibles 