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Could this be Sweden’s most vegan-friendly city?

Malmö may be famous for its falafel, but there’s more to its vegan offering than everyone’s favourite fried chickpea balls.

Published: 8 November 2018 09:09 CET

Could this be Sweden’s most vegan-friendly city?

Bageri Leve in Malmö serves up mouth-watering vegan fika. Photo: Bageri Leve

Meander around Malmö and you’ll notice the city has no shortage of places to eat.

In fact, Malmö is home to some of Sweden’s top restaurants, with everything from traditional Swedish köttbullar to authentic Syrian cuisine and, OK, more than a handful of falafel restaurants.

But there’s something unique about Malmö’s foodie scene, and it isn’t just the ubiquity of Middle Eastern restaurants.

“Malmö’s vegan food scene is really diverse,” says Björn Gadd, who runs an Instagram account dedicated to vegan grub in the city.

“There’s something for everyone here whether you want ethnic food, cheap eats, or fine dining.”

But has Malmö always been famous for its vegan-friendly fare?

The short answer is “no”, say Björn. It wasn’t that long ago that Malmö’s vegan scene was less of a scene and more a couple of coordinates on a map.

Start planning your vegan odyssey to Malmö

“When I moved here 12 years ago there were only two vegetarian restaurants in Malmö,” he recalls.

Fast forward 12 years and there are now no less than 169 restaurants listed as ‘vegetarian-friendly’ on travel and restaurant review website TripAdvisor. For such a compact city, that’s a lot to choose from!

From cool Kafé Agnez, a multiple award-winning organic and vegan cafe, to The Vegan Bar, a burger kitchen with an entirely meat-free menu, people come from far and wide for a bite of Malmö’s famed vegan fodder.

A post shared by The Vegan Bar (@theveganbar) on Nov 7, 2017 at 12:45am PST

But the transformation didn’t happen overnight.

“It was definitely gradual,” says Björn, talking about the city’s metamorphosis into a giant vegan smörgåsbord.

Word began to spread that Malmö’s chefs were pushing the boundaries of standard vegan cuisine, and soon anyone with a predilection for meat-free meals came flocking to the city.

“Now there’s a really big crowd of people here who want to eat vegan food,” says Björn.

But for him, the true mark of a vegan-friendly city isn’t the number of exclusively vegan restaurants, but the number of regular restaurants serving vegan dishes. And not just the same old vegetable ragu or mushroom burgers that have become standard ‘vegan alternatives’.

“I’d say in the last five years it’s become the norm that mainstream restaurants in Malmö serve great vegan options too,” says Björn.

For example, he recommends recently-opened Mutantur, the brainchild of Skåning chef Alexander Sjögren, once the Swedish competitor in the Bocuse d’Or, the world’s most prestigious gastronomic competition.

“Sjögren opened his new place just a few weeks before Christmas. There are about 25 a la carte dishes and a third are always vegan,” praises Björn.

It’s refreshing and rare, he says, for one of Sweden’s top chefs to put just as much thought into the meat-free options on a menu.

Another of Björn’s favourite lunch spots is Pink Head Noodle Bar in Malmö’s Saluhall which serves three options a day, with one or two always vegan (or with the option to be made vegan).

A post shared by Vegan Foodie (@veganfoodnerd) on Jun 20, 2017 at 9:36am PDT

“The noodles are handmade in front of you and the sauces are amazing. I definitely suggest trying it if you want to try something new and a bit different,” he says.

Of course, no visit to a Swedish city would be complete without trying out the local fika. And in Malmö, even the cake and pastries are vegan- friendly.

Plan your foodie trip to vegan-friendly Malmö

“Bageri Leve has become really big on the vegan scene in just a few months,” says Björn, referring to the bakery which opened in February 2017.

“They have a really exciting menu which changes every week. I have a lot of friends that go every Thursday to try the new doughnut flavour, which is always really different, like lemon and thyme for example.”

Didrik Persson, one of the two co-founders of Bageri Leve, explains they saw a demand for vegan fika but wanted to move away from the current ‘raw food’ fad sweeping Scandinavia.

Vegan doughnuts at Bageri Leve. Photo: Bageri Leve

“We started making vegan fika because we saw lots of people wanted pastries and not raw food. To bake with plant-based ingredients is in line with our company’s environmental thinking, so it was a win-win!”

And it’s certainly paid off, says Didrik, explaining the response has been hugely positive.

“I think it’s because if you eat a vegan diet you miss a lot of the food like the pastries you could eat before. We’re baking traditional pastry but it’s vegan-friendly, so you can eat a semla or doughnut instead of trendy ‘raw food’”.

The bakery introduces a new plant-based doughnut every Friday, as well as serving different vegan breads, tartlets, and buns every day. It’s just one of many spots around Malmö where foodies can get their vegan fix in the city.

But don’t fear if you can’t get a reservation for a restaurant you’d hoped to visit while in Malmö. Björn reassures tourists that they’re never more than a few metres away from another vegan must-visit.

“Malmö is a small big town. You can walk everywhere, so if you don’t get a table at one restaurant just walk 100 metres and you’ll find another great vegan spot!”

This article was produced by The Local Client Studio and sponsored by Malmö stad.

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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