Meatballs, surstomming and crayfish

As I was about to remind you all that today Thursday the 23 August is the Day of the Meatball in Sweden, I realised that I forgot to tell you that the Surströmming premier was last Thursday and the Crayfish premier the week before that... August really is the time for eating and celebrating in Sweden. Maybe the Swedes are preparing for the cold winter ahead. (Which means spring is about to arrive here soon - yay!).


Anyway. Today is the day of the Meatball in Sweden and I urge you all to go home and make some yummy meatballs, with lingonberry jam and cream sauce - YUM!

Swedish meatballs must be prepared, above all, with love. This is why “Mom’s meatballs” are a widespread concept in Sweden, and there are many different favorite recipes. Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes, lingonberry jam, and sometimes fresh pickled cucumber.Traditionally, they are small, measuring one inch in diameter.

Surströmming (pronounced [sʉ̌ːʂtrœmːɪŋ], Swedish "soured (Baltic) herring") is a northern Swedish dish consisting of fermented Baltic herring. Surströmming is sold in cans, which may bulge after prolonged storage, due to the continued fermentation. When opened, the contents release a strong and sometimes overwhelming odour; the dish is often eaten outdoors.

A crayfish party is a traditional summertime eating and drinking celebration in the Nordic countries. The tradition originated in Sweden, where a crayfish party is called a kräftskiva. Crayfish parties are generally held during August, a tradition that started because crayfish harvesting in Sweden was, for most of the 20th century, legally limited to late summer. Today, the "kräftpremiär" date in early August has no legal significance. Dining is traditionally outdoors, but in practice the party is often driven indoors by bad weather or aggressive mosquitoes

Enjoy!