Blondes, reindeer, Abba, saunas, pickles, herring, smörgåsbords. Like our red buses, bobbies and afternoon tea, Swedish clichés have truth but not on a daily basis, so how many can Mike tick off on a foodie trip to Skåne county?
“SkÃ¥ne†(rhymes with corner) is 3% of Sweden’s area with 13% of the population. From Copenhagen airport it’s half an hour by train across the Øresund bridge into Malmo then a pleasant five minute wander to our hotel. Unlike trekking into London from Heathrow.
A Kooking Klass
Margareta Schildt-Landgren resembles a younger, more Swedish Mary Berry and like her, is a household name here with twenty cookbooks under her apron strings since training as a home economics teacher. She runs courses to inspire ordinary home cooks using seasonal local ingredients. Blonde = cliché = 1 tick.
Sliced apple is added to kale and a cream of whole grain mustard, Swedish smooth cottage cheese, and Attika Swedish pickling vinegar. Served with slices of smoked cockerel it is delicious. Pickling = cliché = 1 tick. Total so far = 3.
Michelin Star Sweden
Back to the cobbled centre of Malmo for a treat; dinner at Vollmers. Brothers Ebbe and Mats Vollmer started their 19th century townhouse restaurant six years ago and quietly collected two Michelin stars.
From the outset it’s theatre, beetroot snacks on individual wooden spoons are revealed, as aromatic wood smoke billows towards our nostrils when the glass cloche is lifted. Dishes are wistfully titled like’Childhood Memories – Cabbage, pig and sherry’ (more like Xmas memories for me). The menu records how far ingredients have travelled to the restaurant.’Bokskogen – Ceps leek and chervil’, only 1.8km, presumably by bicycle.
Three’100 year old’ glutinous bread lozenges come twined together like dynamite and are exactly that, but then ‘Den Hvide Dame’ – The White Lady appears, their incredible creamy/buttery ice cream churned until almost frozen. It steals the show. I also like that it has to be eaten that night, so the chefs get to share any leftover after their shift.
Off to market
Linda says there are 174 nationalities and 400 restaurants for Malmo’s population of 300k. Malmo’s
We scoff dried smoked pork sausage with peppercorn which the butcher hunts and cures and Hyby BlÃ¥, a gentle tasting soft blue cheese, then finally it’s time for pickled herring; 1 part salt, 1 part vinegar and 3 parts sugar on rye with salt, pepper and dill. This classic Swedish national dish = 1 cliché = 1 tick.
Farm to fork
Ängavallen farm is surrounded by flattened countryside. This is the organic dream of Rolf-Axel, who sounds like he should star with Vin Deisel, but is a sprightly 73-year-old dressed in farmers’ checks. “Climate and soil are our possibilities and our limitations here.†Rolf says as he serves dinner himself in their small restaurant for the lucky guests who stay in their 19 rooms.
Almost everything served is produced here: fruits, berries and grains to feed their sheep, cattle and pigs. They bake bread, cure meat, make sausages and produce cheeses and milk. It’s also sold from their little farm shop, the first in Scandinavia, to people who come from miles around.
A’v’ shaped electrode is applied to the base of the skull and 1.25 amperes kills them instantaneously without awareness. They don’t castrate either, so there is plenty of Swedish free love happening.
Waste not, want not
Hörte Brygga inhabits a small building on an inlet of Skane’s southern coast. Here owners Emma Andersson and Martin Sjöstrand, launched their unusual restaurant with a “zero vision†of food waste.
We enjoying salami from a cow the local farmer used to walk past everyday. “She was getting too old for milking so we took her and used her nose to tailâ€Â, says Martin. “We get produce then find recipes, not the other way around.†The wines are great too, particularly the smooth Syrah Mas Coutelou, On peut pas vraiment dire que 2015.
People donate vinyl for the restaurant’s old record player and Abba soon make a guest appearance – a tongue in cheek gesture for us brits, but we all enjoy a sing along. Abba = massive cliché = big tick.
Glamping in the forest
Beetroots go into the fire to roast as we wrap Perch in thick layers of newspaper to bury in a ground oven. We fry Halloumi style Nablusi cheese and mash parsnips with cheese and of course the staple in every Swedish meal: Kale, this time with cream, garlic, shallots and parsley. Kale is going on the list. = 1Tick
Back on the plane home and stinking of woodsmoke, I reflect that our experience has been a rich one with the focus on sustainable food and connecting people.
A total of six cliché ticks but I feel cheated: No reindeer smörgåsbord in a sauna.
Return flights from London Gatwick to Copenhagen start from £70 return with Norwegian www.norwegian.com. Malmö is a 35 minute train journey from Copenhagen airport across the Oresund Bridge.
Rooms at Hotel Duxiana Malmö start from £180 per night on a room only basis in a Grand Lit Double www.malmo.hotelduxiana.com
Rooms at Ängavallen start from £180 per night on a bed and breakfast basis, basis on two guests sharing www.angavallen.se/en/
For further information on Skåne, visit www.visitskane.com/en
For further information on Malmö, visit www.malmotown.com
For further information on Sweden, visit www.visitsweden.com