Swedish Culture (Part 5) - Food and Nature
Autor: Thaís | Publicado: 2017-07-25T21:48:00-04:00


Foods and nature

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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Swedes are open mind to accept new cultures live together
in their country; however they also preserve their culture.&nbsp; Some eating habits and traditions can be
found nationwide. But there are many others found only in certain localities.
How, for example, a special type of cheese produced and consumed only in the
cities to the border with Finland. Both in Sweden and in Finland is possible to
find this cheese that is sold in small cubes and people put into the cup of
coffee, after have drunk the coffee, have eaten the cheese which will be
softened.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Practically in all Sweden is possible to find people in a
Fika (like a snack), eating Kanelbullar (cinnamon rolls) with a big
cup of coffee, generally without sugar and milk (but there is the disposal of
those who want). These cinnamon rolls (small breads) are typical of the country
and appreciated for a big part of population. They are one of the touristic
symbols of the country and, in consequence, very consumed for tourists too.
There is no way to go to Sweden in order to know the culture and not experiment
one. Besides to cinnamon, there is other ingredient that makes human olfaction
recognizes them, it is the cardamom.




Kanelbullar (cinnamon rolls)






&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Prinsesstårta (princess cake) is a typical cake from Sweden and much appreciated especially at birthdays, weddings, baptisms and other festivities. Originally made with green topping, round and with edible flowers. Nowadays it is possible to find with other colors and shapes, including cupcake. It is certainly one of the jewels of Swedish cuisine.




Princess Cake






&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dinner is the most important meal of the day, in second
position is breakfast and lastly the lunch. Sometimes, people do not have the
custom to have lunch, they just have a snack in this time of the day. Since the
majority of the work schedules starts around 8 a.m. and finishes around 17
p.m., with three intervals. One for Fika,
generally 10 a.m.; other for lunch, which is around one hour; and, the last
one, for other Fika, generally 15
p.m. Rules of the country regulate that, in general, people should work eight hours
every day. Of course, there are some professions require other schedules, like
policemen and doctors in hospitals. &nbsp;










Fika


&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No doubt, feeding the country is based on potatoes. There
are potatoes is the majority of dinners. There are a lot of dishes made of just
accompanied with potatoes. Generally, foods are raw in salads. They eat a
variety of beans in salad. Meats are little consumed, the most common are beef,
reindeer, moose, fish and salmon.






Always potatos!




&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Due to country climate, a big part of foods are imported,
especially in winter. So, in supermarkets are showed below the name of the
products, their origin. For instance: bananas from Costa Rica, olives from
Greece and lemons from Brazil. Although the high per capita income, food is the
most expensive area in Sweden, because of it, the shopping is moderate. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Swedes are very worried about keeping their health in a
good condition, because of this so much cares in food and practice sports in a
regular way. 



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Swedish people have a special relationship with sun
and nature. The relationship with sun is because of they have very long winters
and some days are almost completely dark. Therefore, if it is a sunny day, even
temperatures below 10°C, it is possible to see Swedes (especially those who
lives in the north) taking “sunbathe” worn with jackets. 






Sweden






There
is a law which allows walking through the forest without you need an
authorization to enter. In a practice way, people are free to walk through the
forest and make a Fika without need
authorizations, but they need to preserve the place, of course. This is a way
that government has found to guarantee what Swedes like so much: walk in the
open air. 

Due
to the influences of pagan religions, until today, Swedes preserve the respect
for nature and conserve a good part of their forests. 



Swedish
humor also is influenced by seasons. So, spring is considered, for a lot of
people, the happiest season in the year, since plants are bearing again, flowers
start to blossom, animals appear – especially the birds – and people are going
to have all summer with a lot of sunny hours to have fun. 



In
summer happen big parties outside and it is possible, for example, enjoying
beaches in the West Coast, which are warmer than the East Coast. The biggest
and most important popular party is Midsommar
(summer solstice, or midsummer), that is celebrated nationwide with typical
food, dances and folk music. 










In
autumn, landscape starts to change and takes an orange tone and when Swedes see
plants “are dying”, they start to be sad, downcast. In winter, especially in
the north part of the country, life becomes harder, due to darkness, the amount
of snow and cold. Of course, there are winter sports and activities. But, the
majority of Swedes prefer summer.&nbsp;






Winter in Sweden&nbsp;