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SWEDISH HABITS

What’s the tipping etiquette in Sweden?

Tipping is relatively rare in Sweden, but there are a few social rules to be aware of.

Published: 5 July 2023 14:51 CEST
Updated: 3 April 2024 15:56 CEST

beer glasses and a hamburger on a table in the evening sun

Is tipping necessary in Sweden? Here's what you need to know. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

In some countries not tipping is practically an act of war, while in others leaving cash can almost cause offence, so it’s a social minefield knowing whether to tip or not, and how much is acceptable.

It doesn’t help that there’s no clear consensus among Swedes themselves. It definitely isn’t as common as in many other countries, but a lot of people still feel that leaving a tip is a nice gesture. Others feel that a heartfelt tack så mycket (“thank you very much”) is worth as much as leaving behind a few extra kronor.

One thing to be aware of is that several Swedish trade unions are actually against tips – they say that this erodes their collective bargaining power and that it’s better for service staff to have higher wages and good working conditions than to rely on the generosity of customers which may fluctuate.

Sweden’s tourism board says it is “unlikely anyone will be offended” if you don’t tip, but says ten percent of the total bill is a “nice tip”. Alternatively, a common practice which the tourism board also mentions is to round it up to an even sum, for example by paying 400 kronor if the bill is 380 kronor.

It’s got harder to tip as fewer and fewer people carry cash in Sweden. It also isn’t uncommon for some restaurants to not even have a cash register any more and to only accept card payments.

An increasing trend in bars and restaurants is to hand the card machine over to the customer, asking them to enter the total amount they want to pay which allows them to add a tip if they would like.

In these situations, you’ll write in the amount yourself, so if the bill says 1,000 kronor but you wish to add a 10 percent tip, you simply enter 1,100 kronor. It’s entirely up to you whether you pay the amount stated on the bill or add a tip – regardless of your decision, no one is likely to make a fuss.

Some card readers or counter screens will also offer an opportunity to tip by percentage.

Tipping is generally more common in restaurants (and the posher they are, the more common it is), than it is in fast food places, cafés or bars, where staff will probably be more surprised if you tip than if you don’t.

It’s also more common to tip if you’ve had dinner at a restaurant in the evening than if you’ve had the daily lunch special at an often fixed rate.

EDITOR’S PICK:

‘Dagens’ lunch special – an unexpected window into Swedish society

Tipping is also rare in Swedish non-restaurant industries where leaving a gratuity would be normal in a lot of other countries. These include tipping a hairdresser, taxi driver or porter. Porters are in any case not very common in Swedish hotels, with guests generally expected to carry their own bags.

Sweden’s tourism board advises that “tipping for special services provided by hotel staff is fine, but is not expected and is simply a matter of personal taste”. It adds that taxi drivers “can be given a few extra kronor” and that “doormen at hotels and restaurants are tipped modestly”.

Whatever you do, Swedes are not exactly known for being confrontational, so even if you fail to leave a tip when it was expected, chances are you’ll never find out you made a faux pas.

Finally, it may be useful to know that the Swedish word for tip is dricks, a shortening of drickspengar (“drink money”), although you never hear this longer form. You can also use it as a verb: dricksa (“to tip”).

It’s related to the word dryck (“drink”: noun) and dricka (“to drink”: verb) and according to the late Swedish etiquette expert Magdalena Ribbing, it has its origin in the custom of giving a small amount of money to a service worker so they can buy a drink for themselves.

Do you have a question about Sweden you would like us to answer? Email [email protected].

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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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