folk • smak: the people’s taste Welcome to folksmak where we write about all things Scandinavian and Scandi-American! You can also expect a sprinkling of German and other Northern-European influences. We’re really interested in Scandinavian and Northern-European food, traditions, and cultural influences that manifest in the United States and hope we can share them!
The days between April 5, 2020 and June 22, 2021 felt like an eternity for us. We applied for Chad’s residence permit to move to Sweden in April of 2020 and received the positive decision the following June. Every “step forward” felt like a step back, but the relief we felt when we saw that [...]
A year or so back, a friend of ours invited us over for dinner and made delicious roasted carrots and parsnips with a pomegranate molasses glaze. Since then, we've been obsessed with pomegranate molasses and trying to find different ways to use it. A traditional Swedish limpa is a rye loaf subtly flavored with anise [...]
For a while now, we have been looking for the best way to incorporate our new bottle of Swedish Punsch into some baked good. This past weekend, we arrived at this take on a classic rum cake. We ended up altering the (amazing) recipe for a Caribbean Rum Cake from King Arthur Flour to accommodate [...]
A tried and true favorite of Swedes everywhere, Kardemummabullar (Cardamom Buns) basically represent the whole of Swedish baking. They even recently made an appearance on the Great British Bake Off where Henry made a version of cardamom buns as his signature festival bread... though they are more of a daily essential in Sweden. Cardamom buns [...]
Äppelkaka (Apple Cake) is a classic Swedish bake that’s popular throughout the year—although we especially love it in the fall! This cake is a lot like an American coffee cake but without so much sugar and much more apple flavoring. It’s so delicious and the perfect cake to share with friends or family over a [...]
In our last post, we highlighted how pervasive fermented foods are in Nordic culture and spotlighted Holly Davis' book Ferment as well as her instagram account @hollydaviswholefood. We'd love to share one more recipe from her book that is absolutely essential to any lover of Nordic food: pickled beets! If you've ever had the pleasure [...]
Fermentation is a key facet of Nordic food. From pickled herring to filmjölk to pickled beets, fermented foods feature frequently in the daily cuisine of Scandinavian countries. We first got turned on to fermentation and its many virtues from Holly Davis' book Ferment which is published by Chronicle Books. In this book, Holly offers an [...]
We bought some wonderfully tasty peaches at the Lawrence Farmers' Market last weekend—it is stone-fruit season after all—and had to think of a good use for all of them. They would be delicious just eaten plain or with vanilla ice cream, but that would be too easy. So, here’s my recipe for a peach and [...]
On Chad's first trip to Sweden, the first meal that Emma's family made for him was Swedish pancakes (pannkakor) and pea soup (ärtsoppa), but the second meal I had was pyttipanna. Pyttipanna translates loosely as "shit in a pan" or simply "hash." Writ large, this dish is simply a combination of whatever leftovers you might [...]
This chokladkaka (chocolate cake) is absolutely to die for! It's incredible with just the right amount of vaniljsocker (vanilla sugar) to make it interesting. Chokladkaka is a Swedish classic and is a common treat for fika. I baked this one in particular for my godmother's birthday. Since she loves chocolate, this was definitely the right [...]
