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[Olson]

My great-grandmother emigrated from Vimmerby Parish in 1882 and my father's family was also from Sweden.  I remember as a child in Minnesota some 60 years ago the foods that my mother prepared at Christmas time.  We always had lutefisk with boiled potatoes for the Christmas eve meal and I also remember helping her make lefsa. Swedish meatballs were also a favorite if we couldn't get lutefisk. My father and great- grandmother would chat away in Swedish at mealtime and my great-grandmother would read passages in Swedish from her old Swedish language bible.
 
I've decided that this year my family will have an old fashioned Swedish Christmas eve here in Virginia where I now live.  Lutefisk is not available so I'm planning (yes, I'm the cook) Swedish meatballs and lefsa.  And I'm looking for suggestions to complete the menu.  Come to think of it, I'm in need of a lefsa recipe.  Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
 
Merry Christmas from the Ronald Olson family.

[Inge Ledje]

Of course you should have lefsor from Småland. Here is a recepi originated from Tuna, next to Vimmerby:
1 thecup buttermilk (or sauermilk)
3 hg (= 10,5 ounces) wheatflower (really it should be half barleyflower)
1 egg
50 g (1,75 ounces) butter
1/2 thespoon hartshorn  
1 thespoon anise
1 thespoon fennel
Make the panncakes rather thin and bake them on both sides in a fryingpan.
Merry Christmas
Iris/Inge

[J. Lundgren]

My great-grandfather emigrated from Backaby in Smalland in 1865. A tradition that has been handed down in my family is Swedish pancakes. Each generation modifies the recipe, I am certain, and I wonder how close we come to the ones made in Sweden. We do not had a ready supply on lingonberries, so we eat them with other preserves. Could someone share a recipe or description of Swedish pancakes from that area?
 
Many thanks!

[Madelene Roos]

Hi,
are the pancakes your talking about the kind you bake in the owen with pieces of pork in? Or is it the thin one made in the frying pan??
Let me know and I'll see if I can find a local recipe.
 
Madelene

[J. Lundgren]

Hi,
 
The pancakes are the thin ones made in a frying pan. Thank you so much!
 
Judie

[Kay Engman]

Hi Ronald,
 
If you live in northern Virginia, you may be  
interested to know that lutefisk can be bought  
around Christmastime at the Finnish shop Memories  
of Finland on Route 1 in College Park, Maryland.  
It's just a half mile from the Washington beltway  
(going south).  They have ligonberries,  
cloudberries, coffee, chocolate and other goodies,  
too.
 
Kay Engman
Takoma Park, MD

[Bo G Dahlgren]

Do you know more about your family Lundgren i Smaland? I have ancestors called Lundgren from Kalmar in Smaland. I know that one of them, Lars Lundgren, was died i Kalmar 1812 and that he should have been born about 1759 but I do not know where. Have you any information about him?
 
I have a recipe for pancakes:
2½-3 deciliters of wheat meal
½ teaspoon salt
8 deciliters milk
4-5 eggs
½ deciliter butter
Mix all together and fry it on a pan as thin pancakes.
I think this is a common recipe in Sweden

[Bibi Gustafson]

This is a recipe I've been using a lot translated into American measurements:
 
1 1/4 cup wheat flour (not self-rising)
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups milk (at least 2 %)
2 eggs
(2-3 tbs butter/margarine)
 
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add the milk a little at a time and mix to an even batter. Add the eggs and mix well. For thin pancakes mix 2 tbs of melted butter into the batter. This procedure facilitates the frying - you only need to add extra lard in the pan for the first one.
 
Melt a little butter in a samll frying pan (about 8-10 inches). Pour batter into it to make a thin layer. Turn the pancake when the surface is stable and the backside is golden brown. Fold the ready-made pancakes on a plate - or stack them on a serving platter. Serve them with lingonberries or with sweet preserves or jam if they are served as a dessert.  
 
In our family we've never had lingonberries with pancakes. Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, or cloudberry jam is what we use. On occasion whipped cream is also added.
 
Best regards,
Bibi

[Bibi Gustafson]

I forgot, instead of cream we often use ice cream (vanilla). Could ímagine Cool whip would taste good with them as well.
 
Bibi

[J. Lundgren]

I thank you for the recipes! I will try them soon.. The recipe that has evolved in my family is quite vague. For each person you are serving, mix one egg, one cup of milk, a dash of salt and enough flour to make the mixture as thick as heavy cream. The pancakes are cooked on a cast-iron skillet that has no sides. It is about 10 inches across. The batter is placed in the center of the pan, then the pan swirled to coat the bottom evenly. When it is browned, it is turned over to cook, then folded over on a plate.  
 
This sounds like what you have, except that these are very thin...more like a French crepe that is cooked on both sides. It is funny how a recipe can change over three generations!
 
We love to eat them with fresh berries and sour cream. If those are not available, we eat them with preserves or jam, but prefer sour cream to whipped cream for some reason.
 
My great-grandfather was Johannes Magnus Calson in Sweden, but changed his name to Lundgren when he became an American citizen. I have no idea why he chose that name. He came from Småland, Jönköpings Län. His wife, my great-grandmother came from Ostra Hälsingland, Gävleborgs Län. I suppose she would have made the pancakes. Is there a regional difference?
 
Thank you again, Bo and Bibi!

[Linda Wickström]

Hi !
Swedish pan-cakes are thin, and most non-Swedes would compare them with the French crêpe. There are special pan-cake frying pans that has no sides ( my grandmother always used it), but now days most people use normal frying pans.
 
In my family we use to eat them with rasp or strawberry jam except for my dad that use lingon berry jam
 
/Linda

[J. Lundgren]

Hello again!
Last night I made Swedish pancakes from Bo's recipe. They were almost exactly like the ones I have made for years! I am surprised that they are still just like the ones from Sweden. It is such fun to be able to correspond this way and feel very much a part of Sweden, where many of my roots lie.
The one change we have made in the pancakes is to replace about 1/6 of the milk with buttermilk. It gives them a nice flavor.
 
Judie

[Bibi Gustafson]

Hello Judie!
 
I'm glad to hear you're successful with your pancakes. You cannot find buttermilk in Sweden, but I can imagine that gives a nice flavor to the pancakes. You do know that the classic combination with pancakes is yellow pea soup? On Thursdays traditional dinner food is yellow pea soup with pork and pancakes with jam as dessert.
 
When I was a kid my mom always made a smaller version of pancakes called plättar. They are the size of blinis but made the same thin way as pancakes. There are special cast iron skillets with seven indentions about 3-3.5 diameter.
 
Best regards,
Bibi Gustafson

[J. Lundgren]

Hello Bibi,
 
No, I did not know about the yellow pea soup. If you could, I would love to have a recipe for the soup as well as information about the preparation of the pork. It might be fun to make Thursday evening an immersion in our Swedish heritage.
 
One question. The recipe for Lefsor above includes buttermilk, yet you say that buttermilk is not available in Sweden. Is buttermilk an American term for something of a different name in Sweden perhaps? Here it is a cultured sour milk that is somewhat thick.
 
Thank you so much,
 
Judie

[Bibi Gustafson]

Hello Judie!
 
This is a recipe for Pea Soup I found in a book called Scandinavian Feasts by Beatrice Ojakangas:
 
(6-8 servings)
 
2 cups dried whole Swedish yellow peas or yellow split peas
2 quarts water
1 (about 1-1/2 pounds) smoked pork shank or hock
1 medium onion, sliced
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp marjoram
Salt and pepper
 
If using Swedish yellow peas, rinse and pick over the peas, place them in a large pot, add the water, and let soak overnight. If you cannot find whole Swedish yellow peas, substitute yellow split peas, which do not need to be soaked, but can be cooked immediately.  
 
Add the pork, onion, thyme, and marjoram. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until both the pork and the peas are tender, 1 ½ to 2 hours. Add more water if necessary
 
Remove and discard the bones from the pork. Cut the meat into cubes and return them to the soup. Season with salt and pepper.
 
Serve with mustard (if you can find stoneground, sweet mustard, otherwise use French's). The thickness of the soup can always be discussed. Some like it thick, like me and my children, you could almost eat it with knife and fork. Some like it thinner, like my husband. He adds liquid to his plate as you can always add but not take away liquids.
 
We lived in Florida for almost 6 years, and I tried this recipe (with split peas) on some of my American friends. They loved it. And my family approved of it, too.
 
I highly recommend B Ojakangas' book if you are interested in cooking Scandinavian style. She has done quite a bit of research and also tells you what you can substitute with when you cannot find the ingredients in the States. The ISBN # of the book is 1-55670-179-9.
 
Regarding buttermilk: it's the closest you can get to filmjolk but buttermilk is not as thick as filmjolk. Also, most milk products taste differently in the US compared to in Sweden as they are pasteurized at a higher degree. This adds shelf life to the milk but you loose quite a lot of the taste.
 
Best regards,
Bibi

[Harold Ek]

It's strange how some of things stick in your memory. I also remember my mothers thin pancakes well. I must add that I have been using an American recipe for crepes as a substitute, I'll try the recipies provided above.
 
Swedish meatballs were also one of the family favorites and for many years I've been enjoying my Irish wife's interpretation of the vague recipe she got from my mother. We were in Sweden last summer and was really looking forward to getting The Real thing, but much to my surprise at several restaurants I was told we only have them for children. But with some pleading I was able to get tham a couple of times, and enjoyed them greatly.
Harold Ek an American Swede

[Carina Rickard]

Hi there!
 
I had to say something, even though there isn't much to add.
In Swedish restaurants ( most of them ) you can order meatballs in some kind of children's portion. Sometimes you might eat them as adult ( without begging and seeming a bit odd ) if they are at today's menu . And of course, there is no smorgasbord ( a imagine you know the word ) of honour if there are no meatballs.
 
Anyhow the recipies ae changing a bit, lots of new spices and vegetables, onions and so on. I don't think you can eat the same meatball i two restaturants ( if they aren't made of half-fabricated meatballs - and in that case you'd better buy them in the local market and make them yourself . . . )
 
So, ordering meatballs in a restaurant seem a bit funny to us ( sorry if I'm stepping someone's toes right now ) or should I say, not so common ( if it's not at today's menu )
 
Sincerely,
Carina

[Tord Påhlman]

If you are interested in the Swedish cuisine in America, have a look at this website: http://www.imenu.com/gustaf-anders.htm

[Chris Troy]

Harold, There are two types of Swedish meatballs - the little ones for smorgasbords, which generally speaking are not served with gravy, and the family dinner ones served with the creamy gravy.  Both recipes follow:
 
SMALL MEATBALLS
 
3/4 lb beef, ground (not too fatty)
1/4 lb pork, ground
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 cup water and cream (how much of each is a personal preference)
1 tbsp onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
 
To fry:
 
2-3 tbsp butter (DO NOT substitute margarine or oil as it affects the flavour A LOT)
 
Saute onions in butter until golden brown.  Soak crumbs in water and cream, then add beef, pork, onion and seasonings and mix thoroughly until smooth.  Shape into very small balls (about 3/4-1 inch diameter), using 2 tablespoons dipped in cold water. Fry in butter until evenly browned, shaking pan continuously to make balls round.  Serve hot or cold as a smorgasbord dish.
 
DINNER MEATBALLS
 
1/2 lb beef, ground
1/4 lb veal, ground
1/4 lb pork, ground
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
3 tbsp onion chopped
1 tbsp Butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
 
To Fry:
 
2-3 tbsp butter
 
Gravy:
 
Pan juices
1 tbsp flour
3/4-1 cup cream or milk (Mom used 1/2 and 1/2)
salt and white pepper to taste
 
Melt the butter in a skillet and saute the onions until golden brown. Soak the bread crumbs in the milk.  Add the meat, egg, onion, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly until smooth.  Shape into balls (about 1 1/2 inch diameter), using two tablespoons dipped in cold water.  Fry in butter until evenly  
brown, shaking the pan continuously to make the balls round.  Remove each batch to a chafing dish keeping warm,  and clean the skillet with a  
little water, saving the pan juices in another pan, before cooking the next batch.  When all the meatballs are fried, mix the flour and cream, add to the pan juices, stirring constantly, and simmer 10 minutes.  Add more milk or cream if too thick and season with salt and white pepper.  Place the  
meatballs in a deep serving dish and pour the gravy over the top.  Serve with boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes or macaroni and vegetables.  May serve Lingonberries and/or pickled gherkins as condiments.
 
There are 101 variations on these recipes, each to someone's personal taste, but these are pretty genuine.  A few tricks to remember - lean beef is used - the mixture should be mixed by hand, not machine - white pepper, not black - butter, not oil or margarine - soft, partly dried white bread crumbs are better than brown dried - salt and pepper to your own taste - the onion should be very finely chopped.
 
The milk or cream is what makes the gravy a creamy colour, where ordinary gravy is made with beef stock and is much browner.

[DonaldCarlson]

I remember my grandfather from Tving Parish, Blekinge b.1868 telling me the Swedish word for meatballs was chitbulla.  As this was about 60 years ago, my memory could be failing, but I have seen no translations in this discussion.  What are the correct Swedish words for the two types of meatballs?  Thank you

[DonaldCarlson]

I also remember my aunt cooking lutefisk for my grandfather - The smell was really strong.  I was scared of salt cod for many decades....

[Tord Påhlman]

Köttbullar and pannbiff are the correct words.
Köttbullar is pluralis, köttbulle is singularis.
Pannbiff is singularis, pannbiffar is pluralis.
Pannbiff is similar to hamburger.

[Christian Andersson]

Hi Donald.
 
When I visited North Branch MN, a couple of years ago, they had lutefisk in the store in the middle of October already.
 
Didn't your grandpa mention anything about kroppkakor, Swedish potaoe dumplings?
 
I have an idea to put a page with some genuine recipes at Blekingerötter. What do you think about that?

[Christian Andersson]

Hi Mr Donald J. Carlson
 
I found some real tasty chitabulla for you:
 

 
Enjoy - Christian

[DonaldCarlson]

They certainly look inviting.  Also, the recipe idea is really a good one.  Thank you Christian

[Rita Deleski]

would some one write a reciepe for potato suasage, we always had it at the holidays but the older people who made it are gone and never wrote anything on paper. thank you   Rita (Peterson) Deleski

[Eva Cumner]

Hi Rita,
 
Here?s an address to a page with a recipe for potato sausage:
 
http://recipecircus.com/recipes/philocrates/Heirloom/Potatiskorv_Potato_Sausage.html
 
Regards  Eva

[Birgit Lindgren]

If you are looking for more recipes take a look at these websites
 
Links to Swedish Recipes and Food  
 
Birgit

[Lena Andren]

If you live in America you can taste the original swedish meatballs with lingon berries and poatoes at IKEA. Many times when I've been travelin' around the world I've been saved by the 'köttbullar med lingon' at IKEA.
Maybe you can get the recipie there if you ask.
 
Lena

[Margit Johansson]

Is there anyone in the US or in Canada that have their ancestors from the Northern part of Sweden and still eats the PitePalt, please let me know how you cook it nowadays. Even though my ancestors from that part of sweden lived hundred years ago I'm still cooking Pitepalt on special occations.
Really good, I promise.
 
Regards Margit