Land of Volvos, moose, and fermenting herring!
By Stephen Brown
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - In a rare break in the clouds during a rainy Swedish summer, just when it looks safe to venture out for a breath of fresh air, the smell of rotten herring wafts over.
Sunshine is rare enough in the short Nordic summer and trying to enjoy it outdoors also requires a strong stomach in August when Swedes traditionally tuck into "surstromming"
The dish of fermented herring, rivals South East Asia's durian fruit, Iceland's buried shark or Norway's "lutefisk" as one of the world's most objectionable delicacies.
A peaceable people who otherwise care for the environment, fish-loving Swedes sit outside to open and eat a dish that is only deemed ripe for consumption when the tin containing it is buckled and bulging from the fishy fumes. The smell is so pungent that even neighbours and passers-by get a snootful.
"You can't sit inside and eat it because it smells so much," says a waitress at Sturehof restaurant, where the aroma from the herring served at tables on the pavement mingles with the perfumed ambience of Stockholm's poshest shops. [...]
Now then, that reminds me, I haven't had lunch yet. Be back in a bit.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at August 4, 2005 01:42 PMI'm the pickiest eater I know. I can honestly say that I ain't eatin anything that I can't get past the sight or smell of. So I just don't understand people that can. I work with a few though and we pick on each other constantly for the things that I will NOT eat and the things that they WILL!
Posted by: Tex at August 4, 2005 02:02 PMMe, too. About the worst thing I eat is collards, but somehow, I think it can't come close to rotting fish for pungency.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at August 4, 2005 02:05 PMAfter reading this I think I see why there are no Swedish restaurants competing with the Chinese, Mexican, Indian, and other ethnic restaurants around here.
Posted by: Stan at August 4, 2005 02:24 PMSmart observation, Stan.
I would eat collards every single day and lbs and lbs of them before I would touch an ounce of stinky rotten fish.
Posted by: sugarmama at August 4, 2005 03:21 PMMiss S.,
An acquaintance of mine actually gave me a whole JAR of "lutefisk" (although thankfully it was not a large jar). I never was able to get the first bite down--wound up having to throw the whole thing out.
I suppose he has a more cosmopolitan palate than I--he enjoys a wide variety of ethnic foods and particularly Central/Northern European--all the way from Scandinavia to Poland to Greece. If I recall correctly he eats lutefisk with rye bread.
Posted by: Stan at August 5, 2005 08:58 AM