How To Be Swedish

First of all, is there a more accurate measuring stick of great writing than to use alliteration in the title? I didn’t think so. I’m often asked about the food in Sweden and, for the record, I think it’s pretty good. It’s not like Italy or somewhere that you would visit specifically for the cuisine experience, but I’m a meat and potatoes kind if guy, so I dig the food here, barring a few exceptions like the pizza.

One thing I’ve noticed is that they have some really delicious sauces. Like that brown sauce that is typically served along with lingon berries on the infamous potato and meatball dish. It’s like a gravy but it’s got that little special something about it and it’s fantastic. Or that bearnaise sauce they put on hamburgers in good restaurants, also top notch. I’m no chef so I’m not able to go into any specific descriptions on particular sauces and the spices or whatever that are in them, all I can say is that I’m very impressed with the variety of tasty sauces I’ve sampled here on a wide range of foods. Whether it be chicken, beef or fish dishes served with rice or potatoes or whatever, the sauces are always a little bit different and almost always very enjoyable. But that usually ends when it comes to pasta. The standard topping for spaghetti seems to be ketchup. I don’t understand how the Swedes can concoct the most delicious sauces for all these other meals, but then go totally white trash on their pasta. I’ve been told that ketchup is made from tomatoes, just like the sauces I would prefer on pasta, but I don’t see them drinking a glass of grape jelly with their meal, which would be a similar analogy. Anyways, kudos Sweden, to your many fine sauces, but I really think you can do better than Felix ketchup on your fettuccine.