Where can we go to sample some “Old-country” experiences? What do they eat there? Menus in a “foreign language” can be an adventure.Sometimes, it’s good to know what to avoid when you travel!
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Swedish furniture giant is planning to put vegetarian meatballs on the menu in an attempt to cut down on its "carbon footprint".Customers who flock to the Ikea stores consume 150 million meatballs between their various stores each year, and the company's head of sustainability in the UK said the beef and pork content of its existing meatballs make them rather carbon intensive, and changes are in the planning. The Ikea meatball recipe has been tweaked!.
In 2013, Ikea temporarily pulled meatballs off the menu after it was revealed they contained traces of horsemeat. Following an investigation, the popular Swedish mealtime favorite was returned to its restaurants.“We had people begging us to put them back on the menu whatever was in them," said Yarrow. Apparently, the horsemeat appealed to some diners!
Food experts continue tweaking the recipe of its existing meatballs, and that a chicken meatball and a vegetarian alternative would be available for hungry customers in 2015.
In the meantime the company will continue selling its regular meatballs but stated they were striving to introduce lower carbon alternatives for the future.
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So, what’s expected, as different countries have different tastes?National dishes are part of a nation's identity and self-image.During the age of European empire-building, nations would develop a national cuisine to distinguish themselves from their rivals.Traditional food of Norway draws heavily on the natural resources of Norway and the Scandinavian region. Surrounded by water, Scandinavian cuisine includes lots of seafood. Popular traditional Norwegian seafood meals include Fiskesuppe (fish soup), Røkt Laks (smoked salmon), Sild (pickled herring) and Gravlaks, consisting of salmon fillets marinated in a dill mixture and served with mustard sauce.The largest Norwegian food export (in fact the main Norwegian export of any kind for most of the country's history) in the past has been stockfish ("tørrfisk" in Norwegian). The Atlantic cod variety known as
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Racks of stockfish drying |
And of course, everyone’s favorite..Lutefisk, right? Maybe not..
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Norway has excellent cheeses, but be careful around" Gamalost...Gamalost translates as "old cheese", a traditional Norwegian cheese. To make Gamalost", lactic starter is added to skimmed cow's milk, causing it to sour. After several days of souring, mold is rubbed on by hand and then allowed to cure for four to five weeks.Literally translated, it means "old cheese." Through the years, its been named "stinky cheese" among other adjectives. It has been claimed that a cook in a Norwegian family brought some home for a meal,but it stunk so badly that she couldn't even leave it in the trash--she had to bury it in the back yard.
If you buy it for a friend, Don’t forget it in the trunk of your car!
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And, what's cooking in Sweden?...................Historically, in the far North, meats such as reindeer, and other
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Sometimes, you better ask..
“What is this bludpudding?”Blodpudding is a black pudding
.Blodkorv Blood sausage made of pig's blood. Other than pig blood, the
ingredients include flour, pork, raisins and spices.The Swedish name
literally means "blood pudding". Sweetened and spiced, it is eaten with
lingonberry jam, and sometimes bacon.![]() |
Knäckebrod |
World travellers have to make some choices of local tastes. Adventerous tourist-diners may point to the menu saying “ I’ll try this. Whatever, it is”. Good luck.
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As in Norway, Swedish food is fairly plain. They don’t cook with a lot of spice.There are too many to mention, but everyone knows about Swedish meatballs! Happy dining!
When driving through Denmark, check out the sandwiches!
Denmark's open -faced sandwiches are excellent. Back in “the old days” Denmark was primarily a nation of farmers and fishermen and the Danish food traditions still reflect a culture of hard working people who need food that provides high levels of energy and nutrition. You must try Danish “sild!”. That’s herring and
pronounced “seel”.
Danes have a saying, that “the herring needs the snaps to be able to swim!” And “you can’t have just one snaps, you need two; one for each leg.” Snaps is a Danish and Swedish word for a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal.In Denmark, snaps will always be akvavit.
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Denmark has a long tradition of fishing, since it is surrounded by the sea, but again, Denmark is known for good cheeses. Their strong cheese is Gamle Ole ("Old Ole"- Ole is a man's name), a brand of cheese that has matured for a long period of time. It can be bitingly strong. It is often served in combination with sliced onion on Danish rugbrød spread with lard.One might also refer to Gamle Ole's pungency when talking about things that are not quite right, i.e. "they stink". Again, Denmark has something in common with Norway!
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For those of you who have enjoyed a Finnish sauna and are looking for something to eat...
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Sauteed Reindeer |
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In the summer and fall, it is still quite common to go picking berries straight from the forests. Wild raspberries, bilberries and lingonberries (cowberries) are found in almost every part of Finland. Every country has it’s traditional food and drink.
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There are WAY too many to mention for each country and I'm getting hungry!.
Enjoy, but read the menu carefully. You never know what’s cooking!
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