25+ Scandinavian Recipes • Nordic Comfort Food! (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular food in Scandinavia? ›

Common foods include bread, dairy products, potatoes, porridges, creamy soups, salted or smoked meats and fresh, salted or smoked fish. In the bigger cities, like Helsinki and Oslo, you'll find a large amount of international cuisine on offer. Typical Western food is also available in most places.

Generally, though, this is a hearty cuisine based on fresh, local ingredients. While Scandinavian cuisine comes with plenty of traditional dishes that immediately spring to mind—gravlax, cinnamon buns, waffles, reindeer, and aquavit—there's a sophisticated food movement now in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

Scandinavian food emphasizes simplicity, freshness, and a connection to the land and sea. Dishes often feature ingredients like fish, potatoes, berries, and dairy products, reflecting the resourcefulness of the people who have thrived in this challenging northern environment for generations.

New Nordic Food is food produced with care and with a focus on taste and diversity, forgotten varieties and breeds, old processing methods and new ideas in the kitchen.

An open-faced sandwich is a very common Scandinavian breakfast. It can be as simple as a piece of rye bread with butter and a slice of cheese, or you can spruce it up a bit with toppings like cucumber, apples, sliced egg, or bell pepper. Chopped chives or dill are never a bad idea.

The Scandinavian open sandwich (Danish: smørrebrød, Norwegian: smørbrød, Swedish: smörgås or macka) consists of one piece of buttered bread, often whole-grain rye bread (Danish: rugbrød, Swedish: rågbröd, Finnish: ruisleipä), topped with, for instance, cheese, cold steak, ham, turkey, shrimps, smoked salmon, caviar, ...

The Nordic diet emphasizes traditional, sustainable, and locally sourced foods, with a heavy focus on those considered healthy. Eat in moderation: game meats, free-range eggs, cheese, and yogurt.

In Sweden, a mixture of pork and beef is usually prepared, whereas Danes prefer pork and veal. In Norway, there's more regional variation, but beef is popular. In Sweden, meatballs are small – and in Norway, they're big.

What is a core food of the Scandinavian diet? ›

The ND diet is based on traditional foods consumed in the Nordic region (Northern Europe), and includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, low fat dairy, fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, herring) oats, barley, and almonds [36,37].

Norwegian breakfasts tend to revolve around the sea, with meals including smoked salmon, fish in various sauces and marinades (such as sardines in mustard or tomato sauce, or pickled herring), or smoked whitefish served with hard-boiled eggs or caviar.

Scandinavian cuisine emphasizes fresh, seasonal ingredients, simplicity, and a balance of flavors. While some dishes lean towards simplicity, others showcase complex flavors, particularly in traditional celebrations and festive occasions.

Scandinavians eat simple, hearty meals. They generally eat three meals a day, plus a coffee break. Breakfast is light and usually includes bread or oatmeal porridge, fruit, eggs, cheese, herring, or potatoes. Fruit soup is a popular breakfast item in the winter and is topped with cream and served with bread and cheese.

The three main cuisines of Scandinavia are Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian, each with its unique flavors and dishes that reflect the geographical and cultural diversity of the region.

A traditional lunch can take hours, and aquavit is enjoyed at regular intervals, of course. Popular dishes for a smörgåsbord include bowls of pickled herring served with rye and crispbread, beetroot and apple salad, meatballs, pâtés, and different types of cured and smoked salmon.

The Vikings needed all the energy that they could get in the form of fat – especially in winter. Meat, fish, vegetables, cereals and milk products were all an important part of their diet. Sweet food was consumed in the form of berries, fruit and honey. In England the Vikings were often described as gluttonous.