[Kitchen Talk]
A welcoming land of pastry orgies

Ambassador Lars Varg?and his wife, Eva. By Jeong Chi-ho

I’ve never lingered at a doorway as long as I did at the Swedish ambassador’s home in Seongbuk-dong.

The house wasn’t unusually flashy or large (there are bigger houses in the area). Yet it radiated a distinguished air. It was just different.

I was later told that the house was designed by Swedish architect Gunnar Mattsson. Furniture from Kallemo, designed by Alice Kunstova-Hedkvist, sat under works of Swedish art. It was all very Swedish: compact but graceful.

It made me think of a high-end IKEA. What better way to promote one’s country than to start with the house, the first thing any visitor will see? Probably costly, too, but it’s an investment that goes a long way.

Naturally, with the stage set so well I was excited to taste Swedish cuisine. I’d tasted Swedish meatballs, but otherwise I was in the dark.

We started off our meal with gravad lax, or dill-cured salmon. Thinly sliced, the raw salmon tickled my taste buds after a dip in a sugar and vinegar sauce with salt and ground pepper to give it a pleasant sting. This very simple dish is commonplace in Sweden, along with a wide variety of seafood. Swedish chefs are not shy about borrowing from other countries, says Ambassador Lars Vargo.

Though Swedes still love salmon, the ambassador said they began to use different kinds of fish as they traveled to places like Japan, where all kinds of fish are eaten. “It took off maybe 10 years ago,” said Vargo, who spent time in Japan before coming here.

The main course was a little more familiar: kottbular, or Swedish meatballs, served with potato puree and raw stirred lingonberries, which, had I not already tasted cloudberries courtesy of Norwegian Ambassador Didrik Tonseth, would have completely knocked me off my feet with their beautiful dark red color and unforgettable taste. Both varieties of berries are available in Scandinavia. Lingonberry sauce is often served with venison in Sweden. They shimmered like diamonds on the plate, adding a new and delicious dimension to the dish.

The meal was rounded out with semla, an open-top hollow cardamom-spiced wheat bun, stuffed with the scooped-out bread crumbs and a milk and almond paste and topped with whipped cream. It’s a very nice affair with coffee on the side.

The cut-off top served as a lid and was dusted with powdered sugar. Not at all diet-friendly, but it was just the right dish to complete the meal.

These spiced dessert buns called semla are a decadent Swedish treat.

“After Christmas, bakeries start to make these and they have all different kinds of inventions added, like blueberry. But people still want the traditional kind,” said the ambassador’s wife, Eva.

I could see why. There will always be another day for fasting. Today is for eating, or as the Swedes say, “Smakling maltid! [Enjoy your meal!]”

The ambassador’s wife lent me a book on traditional Swedish food (“Swedish Culinary Classics: Recipes with History and Originality” by Carl Jan Granqvist and Lena Katarina Swanberg), which said that Swedish coffee parties during the golden age of home cooking often became orgies of sweet consumption.

“This tradition lives on in Sweden. If you are invited to someone’s home for coffee, you always get a cinnamon bun, a cookie or a piece of cake with it,” the authors write.

This must be heaven! I am starting to think a column on Swedish cuisine might be the best idea that I will ever have. Who doesn’t love orgies?

The book says that Swedish cuisine has its roots in a needs-focused meal tradition, due to the harsh winter conditions that befall most northern European countries, but that its pastries are very creative.

Gravad lax, or dill-cured salmon, start the meal with a pleasant tang.

Marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Sweden and Korea, Ambassador Vargo wants to step up cultural exchanges, inviting Swedish artists and groups to visit.

Koreans may have an opportunity this year to see the Romeo and Juliet Choir, which was formed at the Royal Dramatic Theatre of Sweden in 1991 and has gained an worldwide reputation performing Renaissance music.

Also, in May, the Swedish Embassy is planning a jazz concert cosponsored by the Danish and Norwegian embassies. In April, the ambassador’s wife is planning an exhibition of her own artwork at the Dongin Gallery.

Sweden, set to take over presidency of the European Union this year, is also preparing an anthology of short stories from each member country.

“Hopefully that will come in September or October,” said the ambassador. “The process is almost finished as we have started the translations and identified all the stories that we want in except for one or two.”

Northern Europe is far away. It’s expensive to get there, and companies are looking for the right economies of scale to open up direct routes.

But the lack of Korean tourists to Sweden is certainly not because of the food. It just takes an adventurous spirits to taste these Scandinavian delights. And don’t forget: Dessert orgies!

By Brian Lee Staff Reporter [africanu@joongang.co.kr]