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Foraging for Sweden’s autumn delights

As the chill of autumn starts to sweep across Sweden, food blogger Maia Brindley Nilsson offers some tips about how to find some of the culinary treasures hidden in Sweden's forests.

Published: 13 September 2011 14:37 CEST

Although it’s already felt like autumn for a good while in parts of Sweden, the season has now truly arrived meaning a wealth of Scandinavian foraging fun.

You don’t even need to venture into a misty Swedish forest to partake of the best this season has to offer. If you are willing to dodge spindly spiders, potentially donate a pint of blood to the mosquito population, and get a little mud on your boots, gather up your foraging gear and prepare to reap the benefits of Sweden’s September bounty.

Lingonberries

Lingonberries are perhaps the most important berry in Swedish food culture. They grow wild in most of the country and are ripe for the picking just now. Look for the low-lying, scrubby bushes in forests near blueberry bushes.

Once you have the berries it will take a minimum of effort to transform them by cooking 3 parts berries with 2 parts sugar and one part water for 10-15 minutes. Once you have made your own lingonberry preserves, you may never go back to the store bought stuff.

Chanterelles (kantareller)

The tasty mushrooms, also known as forest gold (skogens guld), are the most elusive of the fall foraging foods mentioned here. I think they are called forest gold for several reasons aside from their color and cost. You often have to ‘dig’ for them in the brush, and it’s almost as if they are on gold rush claims.

People protect their chanterelle picking spots with great secrecy almost to the point of ‘I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.’ When you know a good spot, you keep it to yourself. This is a stellar year for mushrooms with the long stretches of wet weather punctuated by an occasional sunny day.

If you cut the stems rather than plucking out the root you can potentially come back to forage your claim again within the same season (typically July through October). Try to find them before the leaves start to change colors because once there are gold leaves on the forest floor too it becomes that much harder to find the true forest gold.

Chanterelles are one of the easiest mushrooms to forage because they are so distinctive but be aware there is a look-alike that although not poisonous could make you pretty uncomfortable. Look for chanterelles where coniferous and deciduous forests meet, in Beech forests, on the edges of trails, and near lime-rich deposits.

They are ‘social’ mushrooms so if you find one, there should be more. Keep digging. And if you find the mother lode, keep an eye out over your shoulder for any claim jumpers. The classic way to serve them is as a starter, simply sautéed in butter and served on toasted French bread rubbed with garlic.

Elderberries

Swedes are well known for loving flädersaft, which is made from the blossoms of the elder bush, but the berries don’t seem to get much attention. Every time I harvest them in my urban neighborhood the characteristically keep-to-themselves-Swedes are curious as to what I am doing.

I have been asked several times what I plan to make with them and people often remark they had no idea you could eat them. Well, yes, you can. They have a deep, distinctive grape-like flavor and are purported to be excellent at warding off the flu or helping to speed your recovery if you’ve already got it. You do have to be a bit careful with elder bushes because the leaves and stems of the plant are toxic and some people have adverse reactions to eating the raw berries. You can make a variety of things with elderberries including pies, jam, or my favorite, elderberry syrup to enjoy on your American style pancakes, drizzled in your filmjölk, or even diluted for drinking. They can even be popped into some vodka to steep into a port-like liqueur.

You want to wait until the berries are a deep, almost black color and are hanging heavy on the bush. The easiest way to harvest them is to snap off the ‘umbrellas’ and take them home. They are quick to pick, but time-consuming to de-stem so sit down with a good movie and use a fork to ‘comb’ the berries from the stems.

Rose hips (nypon)

Rose hips are the fruit of wild rose bushes. Rich in vitamin C, they are ripe for the taking from the end of August through September although their flavor is enhanced if you can wait to pick them after the first frost. There are loads of hairy seeds inside that need to be removed depending on what you are making since the little hairs can irritate your digestive system. I find the seed removal to be way too much work so I prefer to make a rose hip jelly, or seed just a few of them to infuse honey with the earthy flavor of rose hips.

Sea Buckthorn (havtorn)

Foraging for this berry is not for the light-hearted. Using surgical scissors to snip the branch-hugging vibrant berries one-by-one while dodging some substantial thorns is no easy task.

It takes a good chunk of time to harvest enough havtorn to do anything with but they are packed with fifteen times more vitamin C than oranges. Their popularity has grown in recent years as havtorn has become recognized for its healthful antioxidant properties in both food and beauty products.

Although picking them is tedious, cooking them is divine as they give off an exotic aroma somewhat like passionfruit.

Havtorn bushes can be found growing on the rocky Swedish coastlines. It’s ideal to pick them after the first frost but alternately you can pop them into your freezer for an hour to reduce their acidity. Havtorn jam is a scrumptious accompaniment to cheese.

Although I admittedly get a little anxious about what might come crawling out of my foraging bag once I open it up at home, that hasn’t deterred me yet. Gathering your own food and transforming it into delectable dishes is a gratifying tribute to nature.

Impress your family and friends with not only with your cooking but your inevitable foraging stories. Just keep in mind that whatever you decide to forage, whether it’s elderberries in your neighborhood or lingonberries in the forest, forage in moderation.

Wildlife depends on these food sources. We don’t.

Maia Brindley Nilsson is a designer and food enthusiast based in Malmö, Sweden. Her food blog semiswede is “sort of about Sweden, and sort of not.”

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How to grow your own fruits and vegetables in Sweden

Know your growing zone

Sweden is split into eight different growing zones, known as växtzoner in Swedish, with one being the mildest zone in the far south of the country and eight being the harshest, in the far north.

The easiest way to figure out which zone you live in is to search your address on a digital growing zone chart like this one from the Swedish Garden Association.

There are two “bonus” zones too, which you’re unlikely to see on plant labels: zone zero, which refers to extra mild conditions in zone one, like a sheltered south-facing garden or the climate inside an unheated greenhouse, and the fjällzon or zone nine, which is found in mountain regions.

Lots of fruit trees can handle snow, for example, but not all of them will survive the winters in harsher, colder zones.

“Apple trees or fruit trees will survive snow,” British gardener and cider maker John Taylor, known for presenting Swedish gardening show Trädgårdstider (Garden Times), told The Local.

“You can grow all kinds of apples, pears, plums, cherries, we can grow edible quince in southern Sweden, so there’s a bunch of fruit trees which will survive, but it depends what rootstock they’re on – that’s called grundstam in Swedish,” he explained.

“There’s one rootstock called B9 that survives down to minus 40, because it’s from Russia, then there’s another called M106, and that probably doesn’t want to live in the depths of Norrland.”

Buy plants local to you

An easy way to make sure the plant you’re planning on buying is going to survive in your zone is by sourcing it from a local plant nursery or garden centre, as they won’t sell plants that can’t handle the local climate.

“There’s a nursery in the north of Sweden and Finland called Blomkvists, they sell lots of fruit varieties which will survive up there,” Taylor said. “You can grow pretty much anything you want up there, just as we can [in Skåne, southern Sweden], but it will be different varieties that taste different and will survive the frost.”

You won’t be able to grow Mediterranean fruits like lemons or oranges in Sweden unless you bring them inside during the winter, although you should be able to grow peaches or nectarines in most of the country.

“The further up in the country you go, the further north you are or the further away from the coast, the harsher the climate becomes, so you might need to have them on a south-facing wall or in a greenhouse,” Taylor said.

Think outside the box

Although the growing season in Sweden may be shorter than it is further south, there are still a number of crops from warmer climates that do surprisingly well.

“People don’t really grow cucumbers outside here, I don’t think they realise that you can actually grow them outside,” Taylor said. “Tomatoes, too. You don’t need a greenhouse, you just stick them in the ground, they’re basically a weed – you’ll get so many you won’t know what to do with them.”

Sweetcorn, for example, performs well in a Swedish climate, Taylor said, although Swedes more often grow it as a feed crop for pigs.

You can also test things by trying to build a microclimate so you can grow things that are one or even two growing zones away from yours. Usually this is done by providing shelter from the wind and the weather using fences, hedges or by planting near buildings, as well as providing protection during the winter.

And if you’re pushed for space, look into companion planting, where you can grow multiple plants which complement each other in the same space.

One example of this is the “three sisters”: corn, climbing beans (or peas), and squash. The corn provides a support for the beans or peas, which anchor the corn in high winds while fixing nitrogen in the soil, while the squash’s large leaves provide shade for the soil, preventing it from drying out.

Don’t be put off just because you don’t have any outside space

Thinking outside the box applies to balconies too.

“If you’re in a built-up area, you will get reflected light from other buildings, so even if you’re on an east-facing balcony, you should be able to grow a lot of stuff. North is a bit more tricky, but east and west are probably better than south as you’re not getting hammered by the sun all day,” Taylor said.

You should be able to grow things like tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers, but it’s important to get hold of good soil and replenish it each year, so your plants have enough nutrients.

“Anybody with a balcony can grow pretty much the same that you can in a garden, you just have to get the soil up there and you always have to fertilise, the soil becomes nutrient deficient after one season.”

“But if you’re prepared to get the soil up on your balcony you can grow anything, even fruit trees. They will be smaller and stunted, and won’t give as much fruit – I’ve done it myself – so don’t see it as an obstacle, see it as a possibility.”

Kale and tomatoes growing on a balcony. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Take inspiration from Swedish growers

Thinking outside the box doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore what all your Swedish neighbours are doing. If you’re not sure what to plant in your garden or what fruit and veg you should try to grow, take a look at what other people who live near you are growing.

You might also come across some crops you’ve never tried before which work well in a Swedish climate, like Alpine strawberries (smultron), honeyberries (blåbärstry), wild garlic (ramslök) or sea buckthorn (havtorn).

This doesn’t just apply to varieties, but also where you plant them in your garden. Some crops need full sun, some work best in shade, and others, like asparagus, can grow tall and cast a shadow over your garden.

“You want a south-facing location for all fruit, and berries – check out what your neighbours are doing,” Taylor said.

If you don’t want tall plants to cast a shadow over other crops, see if you can plant them at the northernmost edge of your garden, while making sure that sun and soil conditions are still optimal. Blueberries, for example, need acidic soil to thrive, meaning you will probably need to amend your soil if planting in the ground, or even plant them in containers.

Think about what you want to do with your harvest

This may seem obvious, but it’s important to plant what you like to eat, too. If you hate the aniseedy, licorice-y taste of fennel, why bother growing it?

You should also choose the variety of crop based on what you’re going to use it for. Do you want to make pickles with your cucumbers, or are you going to eat them on salads? Do you want cherry tomatoes for snacking on, or big beef tomatoes for making sauces?

“Think ‘what am I going to do with my harvest’,” Taylor said. “Am I going to juice it? Am I going to preserve it? Am I going to make cider with it, for example?”

Apples, for example, can range from sweet eating apples to tart cooking apples, so make sure you do your research before you commit to buying an apple tree. Most varieties exist in English-speaking countries, so you should be able to search the name of the variety online and find some information in a language you understand, if you don’t speak Swedish.

“Patience is a virtue,” he added. “A lot of fruit trees are going to take two or three years, or even more, to give a harvest. So you have to have patience.”

Learn to deal with the Swedish weather

Many areas of Sweden along the coast or in the south of the country can get windy, which you’ll have to learn to deal with.

“How to deal with the wind? You can’t,” Taylor said. “We cannot affect this, we are powerless.”

“What you have to do is plant them in areas where there’s less wind, usually behind large buildings.”

Some plants simply won’t survive the wind, so either you plant them close to buildings, protect them, or accept that you’re restricted in what you can grow.

Make sure to provide supports for crops which will grow tall, like sunflowers, peas, beans and sweetcorn, and tie these down well or bury them deep in the ground, so summer storms can’t blow them away.

Listen to the full interview with John Taylor in The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers. Out on Wednesday, May 8th.

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