Vaniljhjärtan and Semlor

I know time is over for both Fetisdagen and Valentin. But these pastries are tasty whenever!!

New recipes in Swedish food map! Vaniljhjärtan and Semlor. Please enjoy!!


http://www.lommabukten.se/pastries2.html

Semlor

1771 February 10 in Swedish History
The Swedish King Adolf Fredrik dies of acute food poisoning at Stockholm Palace after having eaten too much, most famously of the beloved Swedish dessert “semla”. Adolf Fredrik, who was born in 1710, is succeeded by his son Gustav, who becomes King Gustav III. Gustav, who at the time is in Paris, receives the message of his father’s passing during an opera visit a month later and travels to Sweden immediately.

 Picture:www.imagebank.se

During the winter months of January through March, you’ll find cardamon buns (called semlor) filled with thick almond paste and whipped cream, in bakeries and cafes all over the country.

February 12 is THE semla day (called fettisdagen) 2013, which means that it’s the last Tuesday before the 40-day period of fasting that precedes Easter in the Christian calendar. This is the excuse used to eat these sinfully delicious buns. It is claimed that semlor started to become popular in Sweden already in 1541.

The Swedish Fika

52 minutes. That’s what the average Swede spends on fika every day. Fika, for those of you who don’t know, means coffee and something little to eat (a cinnamon bun is classic fika food). Twenty-one of those minutes are spent on fika at work, and then 31 minutes on fika outside work.

There’s a difference among age groups, however: For those in the 15-35 age bracket, fika at work takes over 26 minutes, whereas those between ages 56-60, takes 18 minutes. Women take a three minute longer fika than men, though men take fika more often. There are also regional differences: Folks in Stockholm take the least fika breaks during the day—only 1.4—while people in the north say they take two fika breaks a day. It takes a lot for a Swede not to fika: One of five says they’d skip important household duties in order to fika. Thirty-four percent in the ages 15-22 said they’d let go of work in order to get their fika break. And now it has been revealed what Swedes talk about over fika: Almost 50 percent of the people asked said they’d rather discuss news, followed by family and relationship issues. Eight percent said they’d rather discuss vacation plans and just as many talk about sports. When it comes to gossip over the fika table, Swedes prefer to talk about their colleagues and celebrities. Fourteen percent said they gossip about their friends.
The topic of conversation during fika has of course lots to do with whom we have a fika break with. And according to the poll, most Swedes want to fika with their friends and family but avoid doing so with their boss. Less than one percent say they’d rather have a cup of coffee with the boss or the neighbor.

Article from : Nordstjernan.com

Gustaf Adolf´s day 6 November

 

Gustavus Adolphus Day is a theme day which is celebrated on November 6 in memory of Gustavus Adolphus's death in 1632, and is a public flag day in Sweden. Gustavus Adolphus was killed in the Battle of Lützen, which was the sixth november ac...

cording to the Julian calendar, according to the Gregorian calendar was the date of 16 november.

The day has been celebrated since the early 1800's and is still popular especially in Göteborg. To celebrate you are eating Gustavus Adolphus pastries. The day is also celebrated in Finland under the name Swedish day.

 

 

Gustav II Adolf was born in 1594. He was the son of Karl IX and his wife Kristina of Holstein-Gottorp. He married Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg who gave birth to a daughter who later would become Queen Kristina of Sweden.

His relations to the Swedish aristocracy were very good. The aristocracy had strengthened its power position after the death of Karl IX. For instance, the King had to consult the Council of Aristocrats before initiating or ending a war. During his regime, many aristocrats were awarded estates in conquered territories, and others were able to buy land, originally belonging to the state. The good relations between the King and the aristocracy created a stable political climate.

During Gustav II Adolf´s period as king, a number of new cities were built, among them the most important, Göteborg. Today you can se the statue of the king on Gustav II Adolf square.

As King, he immediately had to deal with a war against Denmark. In this war the Danes, among other things, occupied the fortress of Älvsborg in Göteborg. The Swedish state had to pay a ransom to get it back. During the 30 Years War, Gustav II Adolf personally led his troops in Germany. At Breitenfelt in 1631, he won a great victory in spite of numerical inferiority. However, one year later, in 1632 , he was killed in the Battle of Lützen. In the peace of Westfalia in 1648, Sweden was established as a Great Power.

Kanelbullens dag (Cinnamon Bun Day), 4 October 2012

Cinnamon buns are an almost daily feature of Swedish life, but they still have a special day on 4 October. The tradition of celebrating Cinnamon Bun Day is a rather new tradition - established in 1999 when the staff at Sweden's Hembakningsrådet (the Home Baking Council) were looking for a way to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Kanelbullens dag (Cinnamon Bun Day), 4 October 2012

In the link you also find a recipie to make your own kanelbullar! Enjoy with cold milk or coffe!

Seven kind of cookies

 

 

Everyone in Sweden knows about - Sju sorters kakor (Seven kinds of cookies)
The tradition has been known since the 19th century. In 1720, Stockholm already had 15 so-called “kaffehus” (cafés), where coffee was served with buns in a French manner. From time to time drinking coffee was prohibited in Sweden, and wheat wasn’t much harvested until the 19th century. When coffee again became legal to drink in 1822, it also became a custom to serve “småkakor” (little cookies), but the ingredients in those were usually too expensive for most people. During the 19th century more and more recipes for cookies came out and a certain competitiveness was developed between hostesses, which in turn lead to the seven kinds of cookies at each visit.

Text from: Nordstjernan.com

 I added some more recipes

 

To recipes