Some of our Favorite Swedish Foods & Beverages

Swedish Foods

They are traditional to this area of the upper Midwest and to this Amery area as well and regularly form the basis for events and celebrations year around. Amery was originally settled by Swedes with Norwegians and Danes coming shortly after. Our Swedish club here in town acknowledges and celebrates these traditions every month.

They do follow seasonal patterns and special holidays. During Viking/pagan times until about the 10th century there were celebrations of the norse gods as told in the sagas most all to guarantee good planting seasons and good harvests. Valborg at the end of April begins with bonfires and the party goes all night with food and drink

Probably the most widely known in the US is the lutfisk dinner which packs 700 or more people in for special dinners at churches and some restaurants throughout the area, lutfisk (lye fish) is an old method of curing cod fish so that people would have fish for the entire long winter. It seems only natural that the descendants of the Vikings, perhaps history’s greatest tough guys, would celebrate a food prepared with a caustic and highly dangerous substance. Lutefisk—codfish (fisk) preserved in lye (lut)—is both a delicacy and a tradition among Scandinavian-Americans, who serve the chemical-soaked, gelatinous fish with a warm and friendly smile. The usual season for these dinners starts in October and continues through Christmas. It is often presented at smorgasbords--- traditional accompaniments would be mashed potatoes often mixed with rutabaga, meatballs served with lingonberries, and crispbread. Click on PDF for recipes.