What the Heck is Quark Anyway?
Answers:
Q.5. Why should we love porridge?
A. When I think of porridge it conjures up a fairy tales and bears. So imagine what happens when porridge is made as a savory dish. Sort of a love child with risotto. Or with tons of the add ins. Well the answer is delivered all day at Grød (click if you'd like). I tried their amazing risotto and pea porridge. Damn!
Q. 7. Should you salt licorice?
A. All throughout Sweden we found a seemingly endless variety of artisan licorice. They dust it with cocoa and fruit powders. It surrounds almonds. And then they salt the heck out of it. Well here is where Roadboy drew thew line.
Roadboy's Travels © 2019
A short posting here to celebrate some of the foods Roadboy found interesting in his visit to Scandinavia.
In this post we will answer the following questions:
Q. 1. Is Scandinavian food all weird pickled gelatinous fish?
Q. 2. What is Quark?
Q. 3. What is that water bath for eggs on the breakfast buffet?
Q. 4. Can Roadboy get over bacon and eggs?
Q. 5. Why should we love porridge?
Q. 6. Is Smorbröd mankind's most perfect sandwich?
Q. 7. Should you salt licorice?
Q. 7. Should you salt licorice?
Q. 1. Is Scandinavian food all weird pickled gelatinous fish?
A. No. Get over that cliché. There are exciting culinary happenings going on under the midnight sun. Proof might be the four years in a row Restaurant Magazine pronounced Denmark's Michelin starred Noma Restaurant as the best restaurant in the world.
A. No. Get over that cliché. There are exciting culinary happenings going on under the midnight sun. Proof might be the four years in a row Restaurant Magazine pronounced Denmark's Michelin starred Noma Restaurant as the best restaurant in the world.
Q. 2. What is Quark?
A. I found quark in big bowls next to the yogurt on breakfast buffets. It had the velvety smooth consistency of heavy whipped cream and I noticed that younger people were piling it on instead of yogurt at the breakfast buffet.
Turns out quark is a soft dairy cheese. It is low in fat and calories (!!!!) and can be used in recipes to replace yogurt or cream. I added it to my bowl of yogurt and loved it. It is available in the US at Whole Foods.
Q. 3. What is that water bath for eggs on the breakfast buffet?
A. Although many breakfast buffets offered the usual 4, 8 minute and scrambled eggs, many had eggs in little jacuzzi water baths. Turns out they deliver eggs that are not really soft boiled and not really poached. They were just perfect.
Q. 4. Can Roadboy get over bacon and eggs?
A. Yep. While breakfast to an American is eggs and bacon, period, Scandinavian's graze from a dazzling array of fresh fruit and veggies plus yogurt for breakfast. After about 3 days I went straight for the big bowls of mango, vanilla, strawberry and traditional yogurt. To which I added flax seeds, muesli / granola, fruit purees, nuts and coconut flakes. It was so good!
I came home and immediately went to the bulk foods section in Sprouts to load up on goodies for my new found morning friend: yogurt.
I came home and immediately went to the bulk foods section in Sprouts to load up on goodies for my new found morning friend: yogurt.
Breakfast Buffet København
Q.5. Why should we love porridge?
Q. 6. Is Smorbröd mankind's most perfect sandwich?
A. Maybe. The Scandinavians have perfected elaborate open-face sandwiches (known as smorbröd). They were almost always topped with colorful eggs and greenery.
A. Maybe. The Scandinavians have perfected elaborate open-face sandwiches (known as smorbröd). They were almost always topped with colorful eggs and greenery.
Shrimp Smorbrod
Smorbröd at the Karl Fazer Cafe Helsinki
Salmon and Potato Smorbröd
Sort of a Swedish Bahn Mi
(I also loved Somersby ciders, especially their "cloudy apple")
Smorgastarta Sandwich Layer Cakes
Q. 7. Should you salt licorice?
A. All throughout Sweden we found a seemingly endless variety of artisan licorice. They dust it with cocoa and fruit powders. It surrounds almonds. And then they salt the heck out of it. Well here is where Roadboy drew thew line.
Should you salt it? For me the answer was an emphatic No! Although loved their traditional sweet versions.
Visiting an Artisan Licorice Factory
In sum; for me the food in Scandinavia was a pure delight; no GMO, no "better living through science" Frankenstein food (courtesy of the mad scientists of Monsanto and ADM).
I leave you with two more things relative to food in Scandinavia. One, they invented the Smorgasbord (which Las Vegas has ruined) and two, everyone should have the joy of enjoying the amazing smell of hot cardamon buns fresh from the oven! OMG.
Smorgasbord
Cardamon Buns
Roadboy's Travels © 2019
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