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Six tasty spots for a Swedish meat feast

As a new pop-up champagne and hot dog concept bar opens in Stockholm, The Local brings you six affordable destinations for meat lovers across Sweden, alongside our weekly interactive culture and entertainment listings.

Published: 10 September 2015 08:14 CEST

Six tasty spots for a Swedish meat feast

Stockholm's new Korv & Bubbel concept bar. Photo: The Local

1. Korv & Bubbel (Sausages and Bubbles), Stockholm

Stockholm's Södra Teatern has just launched a range of salty sausages designed to be washed down with a dry glass of champagne. The new menu is being served exclusively on the first floor South Bar of the multi-levelled building, while the theatre's restaurant undergoes renovation work between September 9th and 20th. When The Local attended a tasting on Wednesday lunchtime we found the service slow, but the hot dogs were scrumptious and a perfect size to snack on during a business meeting or after work drink with colleagues. The Garden Dog apppeared a particular hit with guests, featuring a beetroot topping. All priced at 98 kronor ($11.60) these sausages aren't a steal, but Södra Teatern does also offer almost unrivalled views over the capital's old town for free.

www.sodrateatern.com

The launch of the new concept on Wednesday. Photo: The Local

2. Frick och Hagberg, Stockholm

Sweden's food truck industry swelled over the summer, despite plenty of wet weekends, with Frick och Hagberg scoring some of the tastiest reviews. Boasting a range of burgers made with organic Swedish beef and pork from Uppland and topped off with homemade mayonaise and fresh vegetables, if this wagon shows up in your neighbourhood, you won't be disappointed. Based mostly in the Stockholm area, you can follow the truck on Facebook to find out where it will be based over the next seven days. The team behind it also offer corporate catering.

www.frickochhagberg.se

A Frick och Hagberg burger. Photo: Frick och Hagberg

3. Bullen, Malmö

One of the highest rated traditonal Swedish food outlets in southern Sweden on Tripadvisor, Bullen is a cosy pub restaurant in Malmö offering a range of hearty dishes perfect for autumn and winter. Veal meatballs served with a whiskey cream sauce are a speciality here. Or try Bullen's popular house hamburger which comes with crispy bacon and melted cheddar cheese. The fried salted pork with onion sauce will also get your tastebuds bouncing. All main courses are around 200 kronor ($23.80)

www.bullen.nu

Bullen has a cosy atmosphere. Photo: Bullen

4. Gourmet Korv, Gothenburg

Top Sweden-based travel blogger Steve Vickers describes this west Sweden delight as lifting “Sweden's takeaway hot dog tradition to new heights” and we couldn't agree more. The wild sausage is one of the most popular snacks on the menu, packing in venison flavoured with cognac and juniper. Cheese with lamb chorizo or spicy garlic sausage are among the other popular choices. Lunch with a drink here should cost no more than about 80–100 kronor ($9-11).

www.gourmetkorv.se/

The outside of Gourmet Korv in Gothenburg. Photo: Steve Vickers

5. Meatballs for the People, Stockholm

Nestled in the heart of the trendy SoFo district on the hipster island of Södermalm, this restaurant offers not only some of the tastiest meatballs in the capital, but a very warm welcome too. At weekends you usually need to book ahead here, or there's a bar area with high stools where you can sip on a beer or cava while you're waiting. The Local recommends the meatballs with goats cheese as an especially yummy starter. Main dishes start from 179 kronor ($21). You can also buy take-out.

www.meatball.se

Meatballs for the People in Södermalm, Stockholm. Photo: Karl Ritter/TT

6. 7/11 and Pressbyrån, nationwide

No list about Swedish hot dogs would be complete without mentioning the bargain snacks sold at 7/11 and Pressbyrån (newsagent) stores on street corners and at train and bus stations around the country. While these sausages are about as far as way as you can get from fine Nordic dining, at around 15 kronor ($2.40) they are a handy option when you're short on time or cash and are pretty tasty too. If you're out partying with a group of Swedes don't be surprised if they grab one to help line their stomachs before heading out for the night, and another to soak up the alcohol on the way home.

www.pressbyran.se or www.7-eleven.se

A Pressbyrån store in Stockholm. Photo: Hasse Holmberg/TT

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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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