Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 

Question: Do you have a good recipe for palt? I enjoyed some last summer in a small town near Råneå and I think I could make it but a recipe would give me more confidence. 

Response from Patric S. Lundberg: I am including below a repeat of a post I sent to the list some time ago. Since you have had palt from Råneå before, my (relatively) more southern recipe may not produce the same thing that you had then. Often, the palt further north will have the pork inside the palt much like kroppkakor (a light variety from the real southern parts). Either way, you can play with this as your basic recipe.

Lycka till, Patric.

• 1 kg white potatoes
  1 cup milk

1 tbsp salt
1 cup wheat flour
barley flour as needed

Grind the peeled potatoes in a meat grinder. Mix in milk, salt, and wheat flour. Add barley flour "until thick" - you want the consistency of overnight-dried oatmeal (yuck). Use a spoon and a ladle and make peach-sized lumps which are dropped directly into (rolling) boiling water (w/1 tbsp salt - in at least a 2 gal. pot). They need to boil for about 15-20 minutes, and are ready when they float.

Serve with strips of fried pork (a cut up meaty side-of-pork will do nicely), lingonberry[an absolute necessity] and cold butter on the side. Only milk (>1%) may be served at the meal. Expect children to eat 1/2-1 palt and really hungry adults to have 3-4. The above recipe should give you about 10-12 paltar.

Comment from Patric S. Lundberg: I can provide three variations of the traditional Swedish winter delight called glögg. This is a mulled wine served primarily around Christmas time, but is sure to raise the internal thermostat throughout a northern winter. I like to make it for winter outings, allowing for a little warmth when having romped around in the snow. There are different opinions about what goes into this concoction, to the point where every afficionado produces his/her own special product. My brother Joacim swears by his Tomtefars Glitterglögg, which is among the more potent, still drinkable variations I know of. Although I enjoy my brother's expertly interpreted potion, I have deviced two milder recepies. The Bardglögg came into being during my undergraduate years at college in New York State, while the more refined MADglögg is the result of intensive field trial here in Madtown, Wisconsin. Please enjoy these in moderation, especially if you haven't tried warm/hot alcoholic beverages before. Believe me, it goes right to your head...

>>> ScanFest@aol.com 12/28/02 11:37PM >>>

The bestknown recipe: 'lutfisk surprise'

1. Take one lutfisk.
2. Get rid of it.

Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 
From: Richard Hunger

Lutfisk is cod that has been soaked in lye and dried. It is then soaked in water and rinsed thoroughly and then baked and served with a white sauce. Soaking in lye and drying was an old method of preserving food.

Not one of my favorite dishes but very traditional for Christmas.

• From the Santesson Recipe Collection, Swedish Christmas Chemistry subdivision, comes "Lutfisk, a Culinary Catastrophe." Includes a chemical description and directions how to prepare. (Only in Swedish.)

It's not too late in the year to check ouit this web page. http://www.synaptic.bc.ca/ejournal/lutefisk.htm

Date: 23 augusti 1998
From: Phyllis Nelson <NELSON@GEORGE.BAKERU.EDU> 

One of my sons favorite is lutfisk for Christmas!

Datum: Sun, 23 Aug 1998
Från: "Bid" <adm.service@sverige.net>

Dear Phyllis ....

I have some difficulties to explain for some american friends the idea of eating lutfisk ... we use to have lengthly and wild discussions about why one would choose to hunt a jelly-like fish on a Could you, who speaks the american language more native than I do, explain how to eat lutfisk and why.

The discussions about surströmming is even worse ... I don't know if this shit smelling delicacy is familiar to you ?

Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 
From: Phyllis Nelson<NELSON@GEORGE.BAKERU.EDU>
Kansas 

Hej Birgitta.

You asked me to explain how to eat lutfisk. Frankly, I have never really understood the complaint about eating lutfisk. I do have to admit that our family didn't eat it on a regular basis when I was a child, but I think that was because there were so many other foods to eat. All my married life (40 years now) I have managed to have smorgasbord on Christmas Eve no matter where we lived or what our circumstances were. We started including lutfisk when my boys were old enough and curious about what it was and how it tasted. In the US I have only been able to buy it frozen. So I have not had the experience of soaking it or the long preparation that is time consuming. 

We eat a lot of fish of all kinds. I have sill A LOT during the year because it is my favorite. So I guess that is why lutfisk doesn't seem so strange to us. I have tried several different ways of cooking it. Sometimes I have baked it, sometimes boiling it in a pan of water but now I just cook it in the microwave after it has been defrosted. Because I am usually trying to get the meatballs done, the potatis korv cooked, the brown beans dished up while directing traffic for 18 adults and grandchildren, microwaving is a big time saver. As far as how it tastes - it is the mustard/white sauce that makes a big difference.

I have never heard of surstro:mming before it was mentioned on this list. So I have no idea of what I am missing. (?)

Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 
From: Bill Nilson <nilson@OpenMarket.COM>

Surstr:omming is fermented herring. They could never sell the canned stuff in the U.S. because the fermentation process makes the cans blow up so that they look as if there were some major botulism brewing. So it looks even more dangerous to eat, as if it weren't already. The Japanese have fugu (poisonous blowfish) the Swedes have surstr:omming.

Lutefisk is certainly in competition for the most popular list topic. I'll bet surstr:omming has been discussed before.

Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998
Comment from: Patric S. Lundberg

Lisa, you said, " ...nothing compares to the beauty of Norrland. Next time, however, I will try to remember to bring better mosquito repellent..."

There's always the one us natives use... Akvavit... ;-) Either the bugs croak or stay off of you - and if they don't, it's not like it will bother you...

Date: Fri, 06 Mar 1998
Comment from: David Curle 

>OKAY....So for us foreigners...what, pray tell, is Akvavit???? And, if it
>is a drink (I am assuming it is), is it nasty or good tasting?

Yes!

Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998
From: SGSTAndre <SGSTAndre@aol.com>
Sunnyvale, CA
Subject: Re: Akv-av-it vs. vodka (and Potato chips!)

I believe there is one more significant difference: Akvavait is potato-derived, vodka is grain-derived liquor!

(Therefore, in Denmark, De Danske Spritfabrikker is like "Lay's" in USA: a major purveyour of potato chips = the left-over product from akvavit manufacturing!)

A wonderful weekend to all ye' Swede-l'ers!

Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998
Comment from: Alexander Backlund 

aquavit (ä´kwe-vêt´) noun

"A strong, clear Scandinavian liquor distilled from potato or grain mash and flavored with caraway seed. [Swedish, Danish and Norwegian akvavit, from Medieval Latin aqua vìtae, highly distilled spirits: Latin aqua, water. See AQUA + Latin vìtae, genitive of vìta, life.]"
From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from InfoSoft International, Inc. All rights reserved.

Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 
Comment from: Jorun Feller

JoAnne wrote: " ... Akvavit... Scandinavian vodka with spices....sounds DEVINE! Bet it is ABSOLUTely delicious! IS it Absolut with spices and what kinda spices? Can one put the spices in a clear vodka at home and let them steep in there??? Ever tried it, anyone? Just thinkin."

Sure you can. My mother makes about 7-10 different "snapps" for Christmas and Midsommar. She uses dentist alcohol. It is 2 to 3 times as strong as regular store bought stuff. She then puts berries in the bottle together with the alcohol and let it stand for quite some time (one month at least). To get it drinkable she strains the liquid in a coffee filter and then also dilute the concoction to a drinkable %. We have had every single berry as a snapps. My favorite is still "röda vinbär" red currant. The drink looks like "saft" lemonade!? (without the lemon?!) Great stuff.

Hope this helped you, and good luck. (Don't do to many tastings, funny things happen!)

The following is from Patric Lundberg's Swedish recipes.

aQuaVitae
(Madison, WI - sommaren 1994)

750 ml Vodka or Grain alcohol (43%)
3/4 tbsp caraway seed
1/4 tsp anise seed
1/4 tsp fennel seed
optional:1/8 tsp whole cardamom

Crush all seeds and mix with the alcohol. Cap and let stand l for one month in a dark and cool place. Filter until the aquavit is clear (coffee filter works well). Chill. Drink.

Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 
From: George Nelson 

Alexander Backlund mentioned that the idea for kåldomar came from Turkey when Charles XII was there. I do not know the Turkish name, but the stuffed grape leaves in a Greek Restaurant are called "dolmades.," It is easy to see where the "---dolmar" part comes from. If you make them from cabbage (kål) that finishes the word!

Perhaps the Turkish word is similar to the Greek word.

Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 
From: Karl Jacobson 

The Turkish word for "stuffing" is Dolmá. From what I read the soldiers, of Charles XII, probably had little to do with introducing the dish. Likely it was brought by an entourage of Turkish creditors "visiting" Sweden from 1716 - 1732. Karl

Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 
From: Dwight Nelson

To all who are interested in recipe for Kaldohmar (stuffed cabbage)

1 head of cabbage, 
1 pound of ground beef
1 pound of ground pork
1/1/2 cups cooked rice
2 eggs
a little onion browned if; desired
seasoning to taste

Parboil cabbage whole.
When cool enough to handle, separate leaves carefully
Mix rice meat eggs and onion, adding milk if necessary to soften it. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. 
Roll a generous tablespoon ful of the mixture in each leaf of cabbage, and wrap carefully. Fasten with toothpicks or tie with thread
Place in a baking pan with plenty of butter and bake in moderate oven an hour ;or longer if ;necessary Should be a nice brown when done, Baste.
This recipe was from an old cookbook that was published by the The Dorcas Society of the Faith Methodist Episcopal Church, on the South side of Chicago, when the south side was predominately Swedish , probably 50 or more years ago. 

Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 
From: "Jorun Feller" jorun@gowebway.com

>Okay, in two sentences or less, explain fjormilk (I know the spelling is
>wrong, I just can't find the correct spelling where I am). I know what it is,
>but why do Swedes enjoy it? :)

Datum: den 19 april 1998 
Från: <PunkWalrus@aol.com>

It's a fermented milk product, sort of halfway between cream and yogurt. I have been told it is in the yogurt family, and it has the consitency of heavy cream. When I tried it when I was in Sweden, I found it tart and rather flavorless. I didn't care for it, but my family loves it, and puts it on their breakfast cereal.

Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 
From: "Alexander Backlund" <alexander.backlund@mailbox.hogia.net>

You mean "filmjölk"? It is very healthyto eat it, and it tastes good with sugar and cinnamon or with pieces of apple or banana. However, it is not one of my favorite dishes.