25 September 2016
The Roaming Chocoholic has arrived in the birth city of VOLVO – Gothenburg, Sweden. In no time at all, my Swedish colleague sets me off on yet another adventure by introducing me to the concept “fika”. Apparently, in the Swedish office in Gothenburg, everyone stops work and sits down for a “fika” at least once a week. Wow!
By definition, “fika” means “to have coffee”, usually accompanied by a sweet (or savoury) treat. And “fika” is ingrained in Swedish culture; almost sacred. Seeing that it’s so important, what do the Swedish do for sweets and more importantly, how do they eat their chocolates? Here’s a rundown of what I’ve discovered.
Goteborgspralinen
When in Gothenburg, do seek out Flikorna Kanold to savour Jeanna’s Goteborgspralinen or Gothenburg praline.
It’s dark chocolate ganache, covered in dark chocolate, with sprinkles of salt flakes on top. Perhaps hard to imagine how a few flakes of salt can elevate the taste experience, but it just does. The sweet and salty combination dances around in my mouth, as the smooth and rich ganache melts away. After your first, you’ll probably want more – which is why Jeanna sells them in boxes of 4s and 8s too.
As an accomplished chocolatier and businessperson, Jeanna is still going from strength to strength almost 20 years since she started handcrafting her chocolates in the basement of her original store in Victoria passagen (passage). Her mini empire has now expanded to include a store in Salunhallen (Market hall) and a cafe, all within a stone’s throw of each other.
Adelost
If you have an affinity towards blue cheese, then the adelost is for you. It’s Swedish blue cheese at its best. And at Flikorna Kanold, Jeanna has taken it one step further by incoporating it into dark chocolate ganache, and enrobing the ganache in dark chocolate.
The strong and savoury adelost, coupled with the mildly sweet and ever so slight bitterness of the dark chocolate, is a match made in heaven.
For the cheese and chocolate lovers amongst us, Jeanna also does a good goat’s cheese and honey dark chocolate ganache. Just a word of caution to the less inclined – the goat’s cheese is fairly strong!
Dammsugare
Translated into English, it simply means vacuum cleaner. However, to the locals, the word dammsugare (also known as the punschrulle or punsch roll) is fondly associated with a quintessential Swedish treat.
The traditional dammsugare comprises a mixture of crushed cookies, butter and cocoa, flavoured with a dash of punsch liqueur, then rolled in a layer of marzipan to form logs. To finish off, the ends are dipped in chocolate.
At Berzelii Choklad, this is just one of many chocolate treats that await you….provided you can find the shop. It’s tucked away on the first floor of a homewares’ shop, just a short stroll from Victoriapassagen.
Lingonberries
These are small and tart red berries, native to and found in abundance in Sweden and other Nordic countries. For a Swedish experience, try the lingonberry in dark chocolate ganache at Berzelii Choklad. The tartness of the lingonberry pairs surprisingly well with the bitter sweet dark chocolate ganache, creating the perfect balance of tastes.
Berzelii’s blackberry dark chocolate ganache is also worthy of a go, with its intense berry flavour, as is their version of the salted caramel ganache, dark caramel ganache flavoured with a triangle of maldon salt.
Chokladbiskvi
The chocolate biscuit, more popularly known as the Sarah Bernhardt, is yet another favourite treat that I’ve discovered. Named after the famous French actress of the 19th and early 20th century, Sarah apparently fell head over heels for this sweet treat while on a visit to Denmark. It was subsequently named after her. The Swedish too have developed a fondness for it and named it their chokladbiskvi (chocolate biscuit in Swedish).
The base, made of chewy almond macaron or meringue, is topped with rich chocolate butter cream. The combination is then dipped or enrobed in dark chocolate. Such sweet decadence. It’s no wonder Sarah was smitten from her first bite.
Daim
Daim is to the Swedish (and Nordics in general) what Hershey’s is to the Americans. You can find it at any supermarket and convenience store, at every train station and even at the airport. It’s crunchy almond brittle, coated in milk chocolate.
I had the pleasure of tasting what I would regard as the ultimate Daim treat, during morning tea at our Swedish office. Whipped cream sandwiched between two generous circular discs of crunchy almond brittle, the ends then dipped in dark chocolate. It’s the ultimate sugar fix for the mid afternoon slump. And if anyone knows what this is called in Swedish, please do let me know!
Suffice to say, based on my discoveries, the Swedish take their sweets and chocolates seriously too. So don’t underestimate the skills and creativity of Swedish chocolatiers and pattisiers. Seek these decadent Swedish sweet treats out and decide for yourself!
