Finnish sticks — a very Swedish cookie?
Is it not weird how one small detail in a recipe can reveal so much about the time in which it was written? The thought hit me as I was sprinkling chopped almonds over the tray of the shortbread cookie Finnish sticks, or “finska pinnar”. I had to chop up a...
Semla — the mighty Swedish Lenten bun
The Swedish Lenten bun is mostly known as a semla — or semlor in plural. You may know it by its other, more sinister name: Kingslayer. “Fat Tuesday should be prohibited and the Lenten bun forcibly expelled from Sweden, as it has committed regicide”. At least that’s...
Saffron cake—not just for Saint Lucia’s day
One of the favorite topics for rants in Sweden nowadays seems to be the Swedish postal system. Not without cause, but that kind of complaint is far from new. In 1918, a reader writes to newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, complaining about thefts in the postal system. The...
Swedish saffron buns for St Lucy’s Day
What’s the best way to lure in new visitors? With saffron buns, of course. Or, lussekatter, as we often call them in Sweden. At least, that’s the trick that Skansen pulled when it wanted to establish its new Christmas market in 1906. You see, the...
Simple and delicious Hasselback potatoes
My parents’ kitchen still has a wooden spoon that looks more used than the others. It’s the family’s “Hasselback spoon” — it was simply the perfect size and depth for creating delicious hasselbackspotatis, or Hasselback potatoes. Put the...
Hej och välkommen!
My name is Isabelle. Here at Swedish Spoon, you’ll find Swedish food history, tried-and-tested recipes, and a lot of obsessing over great butter. You can also expect some travel tips.