Sandwich with baltic herring and pickled onions - a recipe from Swedish cuisine, a fragrant and spicy sandwich made from black bread.
Food Recipes for Midsommar
What to Cook for Midsommar?
There's a wide variety of Swedish cuisine you can cook at Midsommar. For this holiday you can prepare various Swedish fish dishes - gravlax (dried salmon), pickled herring, various fried fish. For Midsommar, you definitely need to prepare desserts that include strawberries in the recipes - cakes, pastries and much more. For this holiday, salads are prepared according to various recipes, for example, beet salad, young potatoes are served with dill and butter, and bread and various crispbreads are always baked. At Midsommar you can prepare eggs stuffed with sprats, Swedish meatballs, cheese pie or serve sliced Swedish cheeses. The best drinks for the Midsommar holiday table are the traditional Scandinavian aquavit, as well as vodka and beer - in any quantity.
Summer Solstice Midsommar
Midsommar is a Swedish summer solstice celebration held annually in Sweden. The celebration of Midosmmar in Sweden can be equated with the celebration of Independence Day in the United States of America, so much attention is paid to the Swedes to celebrate this summer holiday. Midsummer usually takes place on the Friday after the summer solstice if the Swedes celebrate it in their homeland, or on Saturday if it is celebrated while in other countries. They prefer to spend Midsommar outdoors, in the form of a picnic - this is a celebration of connecting with nature, but if the weather does not allow it, it does not matter, the Swedes will still not refuse to hold this holiday by organizing a buffet at home. And like any other holiday, Midsommar is rich in its culinary traditions; a wide range of traditional Swedish dishes are cooked for this holiday.
Traditional Swedish Food Recipes for Midsommar
On Midsommar, the Swedes cook a wide variety of dishes that are rich in Swedish cuisine. But among all the variety of dishes that can be cooked for the Midsommar holiday, there are those that must be present on the festive table. Firstly, of course, these are Swedish fish dishes - pickled herring according to various recipes, fermented gravlax salmon, fried and other fish. The second integral attribute of the holiday are various desserts, the recipes of which must include strawberries - strawberries in general are the personification and hallmark of Midsommar.
In addition, the festive table must include such dishes as new potatoes, which are served with new dill and butter, Swedish meatballs according to various recipes, as well as beetroot salad, which is also considered an important element of the Midsommar celebration, bread and various loaves. In addition to all the listed Midsommar recipes, you can also cook boiled eggs stuffed with sprats, Swedish cheese pie, various types of salads according to different recipes, as well as cuts from various Swedish cheeses.
Akvavit - a Traditional Drink on Midsommar
Another integral part of the Midsommar celebration is the traditional Scandinavian drink Aquavit. Indeed, what is a holiday without strong alcoholic drinks? Aquavit is an alcoholic drink prepared from potato alcohol, which is infused with various spices - coriander, fennel, anise, cumin, cinnamon, dill and others can be included in the composition of Aquavit. The fortress of aquavit is usually 40-50%. Then Aquavit is aged in oak barrels of cognac or sherry, the aging period is very different - from 3 months to 12 years, respectively, the taste of this drink may be different.
But on Midsommar, not only aquavit is consumed, vodka also goes well with all Swedish dishes for this holiday. And it is quite natural that strong alcoholic drinks are not left without less strong ones - traditionally in Sweden a large number of different types of beer are consumed on this holiday. Sometimes Swedes drink wine in combination with aquavit or vodka, but they do it much less often, apparently due to the severe consequences of combining these drinks. But aquavit and beer on Midsommar are consumed by Swedes almost everywhere.