Lussekatter- symbol of St Lucia day throughout Scandinavia

 

Lussekatter – Saffron Buns of Light and Tradition

Among all the foods connected to St. Lucia Day, lussekatter stand in a class of their own. With their golden color, gentle sweetness, and rich aroma of saffron, they have become one of the most beloved symbols of the 13 December celebration throughout Scandinavia.

The shape: A curling symbol of light

The most common shape is the classic S-form, called lussekatt or katter. The spiral ends represent the turning of darkness toward light, and raisins (one placed at each end) are traditional. Many families create their own shapes—crowns, wreaths, or stylized animals—but the symbolism remains the same: light in the dark Scandinavian winter.

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Traditional Lussekatter Recipe

This is a classic Scandinavian recipe, suitable for home baking. It yields around 20–24 buns.

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Ingredients

For the dough:

• 5 dl (2 cups) whole milk

• 150 g (¾ cup) butter

• 1 g saffron (typically 2 small packets)

• 50 g fresh yeast or 1 packet (11 g) dry yeast

• 1½ dl (⅔ cup) sugar

• ½ tsp salt

• 12–14 dl (5–6 cups) wheat flour

• Optional: 2 tbsp sour cream or quark for a softer dough

For finishing:

• 1 egg (for brushing)

• Raisins

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Instructions

1. Warm the milk and saffron

• Heat the milk gently until lukewarm (not hot).

• Melt the butter in a separate pan and pour it into the milk.

• Crush the saffron between your fingers or in a mortar and stir it into the warm liquid for maximum color and aroma.

2. Activate the yeast

• If using fresh yeast: crumble it into a large bowl and pour over the warm milk mixture.

• If using dry yeast: mix it with a little of the flour first, then add the milk mixture.

3. Add sugar, salt, and flour

• Stir in the sugar and salt.

• Add flour gradually, stirring until the dough begins to form.

• Knead well—about 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a mixer—until the dough is smooth and elastic.

4. First rise

• Cover with a clean kitchen towel.

• Let rise for about 45–60 minutes, or until doubled in size.

5. Shape the buns

• Divide the dough into small pieces and roll each into a long rope.

• Form each one into an “S” shape by curling the ends in opposite directions.

• Place a raisin in the center of each spiral.

6. Second rise

• Place the buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

• Cover lightly and let rise again for 30 minutes.

7. Brush and bake

• Preheat oven to 225°C (430°F).

• Brush the buns with beaten egg.

• Bake for 8–10 minutes, until golden and fragrant.

8. Cool and enjoy

Allow the buns to rest on a rack. Serve warm with coffee, hot chocolate, or gløgg.

Recipe found here → Lussekatter-symbol of St Lucia Day throughout Scandinavia

Ten Thousand Swedes ran through the Weeds

 I am Swedish on my Dad's side and Norwegian on my Mom's. You Swedish cousins will have to forgive me for this post! 

My Norwegian grandmother, who I was very close to, always said. "You are half Swedish for sure but if anyone asks you, just tell them you are Norwegian. Ten Thousand Swedes ran through the weeds chased by one Norwegian."

As a kid I always thought she was serious! Today I came upon this poem, that I never knew existed, and it gave me a laugh and better yet, memories of my loving Norwegian grandmother and my snus loving Swedish grandfather!

“The Battle of Copenhagen”

Ten thousand Swedes ran through the weeds,
chased by one Norwegian.
Ten thousand more ran to the shore
in the battle of Copenhagen.

Way, way back in history,
back when the world was new,
Norwegians searched all over,
to find some snus to chew.

They fished for Lutefisk and Torsk,
it helped to make them strong,
and you and me, we know a Norsk,
cannot do nothing wrong.

But Swedes and Danes were envious
of Viking trips and raids.
The Viking shields and helmet horns,
made all those folks afraid.

Throughout the world the Vikings sailed,
to Ireland and to France.
The even found America,
one afternoon by chance.

My grandpa says, and he should know,
the Swedes made up the minds.
To beat the Norsky Vikings,
and kick a few behinds.

But history, so grandpa says,
show that the Norskies won.
They clobbered all the Swedes and Danes,
and made it lots of fun.

Ten thousand Swedes ran through the weeds,
chased by one Norwegian.
The dust from the weeds,
made snus for the Swedes,
and they called it Copenhagen, 
E. C. Stangland

Actually, the two Battles of Copenhagen in recorded history involved the British, not the Swedes. This poem seems to be more like folklore than actual history. Such English language rhymes might have originated in the American midwest, as a way of differentiating Norwegians from Swedes, according to James P. Leary in Wisconsin Folklore.

I couldn't tell you what I had for lunch yesterday but for some reason I do remember that Grandpa Kallman only used Seal brand snuff. 

Oh how grandma Lydia hated that snus!

    Stolt till hälften norsk och hälften svensk,

A strong Nordic influence on the English language

 An interesting read in a past issue of the Swedish American Genealogist. Our English, it seems, was directly influenced by the Viking raiders of the Norse lands. Many words common to use English speakers can find their roots and similiarity to the Nordic tongues. Thanks? to our Scandinavian ancestors prefering  to raid, pillage and ultimately settle in the English isles.

click here for →          The Literal Heritage of the Vikings

Tor, the Norse god of thunder
Thursday - torsdag

 I knew of Thursday and the connection to the Norse god Thor, the god of thunder. This article also lists some of the many common English words and places with Viking roots. Words similiar to common Norse words of today.

Klassick Ärtsoppa - Classic Swedish Pea Soup

Thursday in Sweden is the traditional time for pea soup and pancakes. Every Thursday. Obviously not everyone has pea soup on Thursdays but it has been a tradition since 1577. The story is that in 1577 King Erik XIV was imprisoned and on a Thursday was fed pea soup laced with poison. Every Thursday thereafter the Swedes had pea soup in his honor. An additional story is that it began before the reformation when Sweden was still Catholic and the country filled up on pea soup to prepare for meatless Friday. I don't know if I buy either explanation. 

The soup is traditionally made with yellow peas and mustard. I have tried the yellow pea variety and in spite of my love for most all soups, yellow pea soup just didn't do it for me. Here is the better option, using dried green peas.

Klassick  Ärtsoppa

INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups (1 pound) split peas
• 4 cups water
• 8 cups ham broth with meat 
• 2 large white onions, diced
• 4 cloves chopped garlic
• 4 carrots, diced
• 6 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces
• 2 T oil or bacon grease
• 1 tsp margoram
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp blackpepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Pour 4 cups boiling water over the peas and allow to soak for an hour
2. In a large stockpot brown bacon until crisp and with a slotted spoon remove to a paper lined place to drain. Discard all but 2 T of fat.
3. Saute onions until tender in the fat and then add garlic, carrots, marjoram, thyme and pepper and cook another 5 minutes
4. Drain and rinse the peas and add half of them to the stock pot
5. Add the ham broth and simmer (covered) for 15 minutes
6. With an immersion blender process until semi[smooth
7. Add the rest of the peas and simmer another 15-20 minutes (uncovered).
8. Add ham and bacon and heat through, seasoning with salt to taste.

Now, this, is a good Swedish pea soup. I got the recipe off this blog ↓

Charlotte Lund's culinary concerto

This gal is a bit more ambitious then I. She cooks down a ham broth by purchasing a ham in bone. Me? "Better than Bouillon" ham (or vegetable if you cannot find ham flavored) and adding leftover ham from a previous meal. 

smaklig måltid,

FYI - I am really a soup lover and I have an additional blog with my favorite recipes. If you are interested here is a great recipe for German lentil soup compliments of my German mother in law↓

Linsensuppe - German Lentil Soup

Midsummer in Sweden

Midsummer in Sweden – a cherished tradition. The successful midsummer never-ending lunch party formula involves flowers in your hair, dancing around a pole, singing songs while drinking unsweetened, flavoured schnapps. And downing a whole load of pickled herring served with delightful new potatoes, chives and sour cream.

Glad Midsommer!

Recipe: Swedish cinnamon buns

Time to get baking! Tomorrow, October 4th is Cinnamon Bun Day. Recipe above on You Tube.

I have read that the average Swede consumes 10.3 kilos of coffee a year. That's 23.7 pounds! Wow, I thought hubby and I consumed a lot.  Coffee IS the best to go with sweet cinnamon buns though.

your fully caffeinated cousin,

ALLA HELGONS DAG -All Saints Day

October 31st is the ancient day for recognizing the coming of winter. In pagan days of old it was believed that all the evil spirits, goblins and imps ran away to the depths of the earth at midnight October 31st to escape the cold of the coming Scandinavian winter. Tricks and mischief are played by these evil spirits, goblins and such on people leading up to midnight to make up for the cold  months when they will be in hiding. Halloween, as we know it here in the U.S. has only been celebrated as we do since the 1990's in Sweden. In Sweden, this year, October 31st is more importantly, Alla helgons dag or All Saints Day. 

Alla helgons dag is a solemn day of remembrance when lighted candles are placed in cemeteries to remember friends and loved ones who have passed away. A far lovelier, more meaningful way to herald in the coming winter, don't you agree?

Stay warm, 

Stay safe, 

Stay well, my cousins,

Lutefisk and St. Patrick

 The coming of March reminds me that soon it will be St. Patricks Day! A yearly celebration with corned beef, cabbage and beer. We don't have a drop of Irish blood within us so why?  It seems what they say is true, "Everyone is Irish on St. Patricks Day". Being a proud Scandinavian, I cannot deny my own heritage so I thought there has to be a link with St Patrick that gives us a cause for celebration also.

 Our thing (God help us) is lutefisk. That slimy smelly lye-soaked cod that we Scandinavians love to hate. Well, some of us actually do like? it.  I just read an article that links us Scandinavians to St. Patrick. An obscure legend has it that St. Patrick gave us lutefisk!

No one knows for sure the origin of lutefisk. Both Norwegian and Swedish Americans claim it originated in "their" country. Although rarely eaten in Scandinavia today, lutefisk dinners are all the rage in the church basements and Scandinavian heritage clubs of the Midwest. Maybe lutefisk, love it or hate it,  binds us culturally and reminds us who we are and where we came from.

So back to St. Patrick.
One of the legends is that St. Patrick invented lutefisk in an attempt to poison Viking raiders in Ireland with the lye-soaked fish. But did it kill our tough Viking ancestors? No!!!  Instead they loved it and declared it a delicacy! I am sticking with this cool story, never mind the fact that St. Patrick lived centuries before the Vikings attacked and plundered Ireland.

So in honor of St. Patrick, who gave us lutefisk;

 I am still going with the traditional corned beef and cabbage, however. I HATE Lutefisk.

Click the link below for that interesting article which tells all about lutefisk

↓

Scandinavians’ Strange Holiday Lutefisk Tradition:
People in the Old Country won’t touch the stuff, but immigrants
to the American Midwest have celebrated it for generations

20 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE MOVING TO SWEDEN

I ran across the post "20 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE MOVING TO SWEDEN". Although I don't intend to move anywhere at this stage of my life I have always been a bit interested in how many Swedish or Scandinavian customs have culturally been taught and carried over to me, the grandchild of Swedes.

click here→  20-THINGS-TO-KNOW-BEFORE-M0VING-TO-SWEDEN

As it turns out, a few of the "Swedish" habits are mine. Late in life but Yes, I drink lots of coffee, lots of meeting up with friends mainly for breakfast or a quick lunch but "FIKA" does sound like a wonderful custom to adopt. I also just hate it when people are late and I do drive my hubby nuts about getting somewhere on time "Really Ranae, we will be sitting in the parking lot for 20 min!". Take a number and get in line, I love that. Nothing worse than line hoppers and pushy crowds. I shop early and only on weekdays to avoid crowds that drive me nuts (not a long trip). But other customs? I would never ask a guest to take off their shoes. I would almost rather have their shoe dirt than their smelly feet or see a skanky toe sticking out from a holey sock on my rugs. "Lagom"? Nope, I am way more American there, a bit loud and easily excitable, talking with everyone I meet. I do like the casual dress and first name thing though.

Well, I guess I am 50/50 or so but should I ever make another trip to Scandinavia again I certainly would study a list like this. I would hate to have folk think of me as another loud, pushy, angry, ugly, arrogant American. We have enough of those already. 

Wouldn't kill me to try to learn a bit of Swedish too. Jag ska nu köpa några nya strumpor.

    Tack så mycket,

Happy Cinnamon Bun Day!

Did you know that there is an official Cinnamon Bun Day Website? 

Who Knew?

Check it out. Bake some buns. Make a pot of strong black coffee. 

Have a FIKA with friends and family!

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CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE OFFICIAL CINNAMON BUN DAY WEBSITE!

Swedish Midsummer. What is it?

SWEDISH MIDSUMMER CELEBRATION 101

"A Swedish Midsummer is 'endless' summer with sun,fun, great food, flowers, dancing and joy ... a piece of Swedish culture to be proud of."       ---- NORDSTJERNAN June 29, 2017

click on↓

SWEDISH MIDSUMMER 101

an article by Nordstjernan with links to recipes, celebrations in America etc.

FETTISDAGEN

Next Tuesday is FETTISDAGEN or Fat Tuesday. 

The day before the beginning of Lent is celebrated in Sweden with what else?

SEMLOR !!!!

Click  HERE for the recipe and get baking this weekend.

for all sorts of Swedish goodies check out all the different recipes 

that can be found on one of my favorite blogs

↓   ↓   ↓   ↓   ↓

SWEDISHFOOD.COM - Swedelicious Recipes

**p.s. I cheat, my hubby does all the baking in our house. I do the eating. 
Explains the chubby cheeks and the big smile, yes?**

Kanelbullens dag (Cinnamon Bun Day)

**this is a repeat of last years tribute to Cinnamon Bun Day because you can NEVER tire of Cinnamon Buns!**

Cinnamon Bun Day - Kanelbullens dag

Today, October 4,  is Cinnamon Bun Day - Kanelbullens dag! Today, in bakeries and convenience stores all over Sweden you will find baskets of warm cinnamon buns, or Kanelbullar, as these tasty swirls of pastry are called in Swedish.

"Cinnamon buns are an almost daily feature of Swedish life, but today, 4th October, is their special day. The tradition of celebrating Kanelbullens dag is however only seventeen years old – though it fits in perfectly with Swedish culture and tradition: there are a number of other days in which pastries play a significant roll, such as Fettisdagen (Fat Tuesday) when the nation eats semla.

Cinnamon Bun Day was established in 1999 when staff at Sweden's Hembakningsrådet ("Home Baking council") were looking for a way to celebrate their fortieth anniversary.

The idea behind the creation of the day was to celebrate Sweden's home baking tradition by highlighting a traditional and much-loved pastry. The autumn harvest is high season for baking in Swedish homes, so it was an ideal time of the year for a festive day with a baking theme.

Finally, very much in keeping with Swedish culture, it was considered important that the tradition should be something that everyone can participate in - a goal which has easily been reached: go into any bakery in Sweden today and you will find Cinnamon rolls in abundance!"*

My husband Otto, our family baker, is THE expert at Cinnamon Buns. Ya sure, ve know dat he isn't Svedish. You have to admit though that the Germans DO know how to dine well! Here is the recipe he uses.He found it on allrecipes.com and says "there is no better". The only difference is that Otto uses all butter, never a bread machine and doubles up on the cream cheese frosting. And boy, do we LOVE them!

"Clone of a Cinnabun"

 ►►►CLONE OF A CINNABUN - VIDEO RECIPE◄◄◄

Happy Cinnamon Bun Day! - Ranae

*from the University of Stockholm

click "more to read" for written recipe

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