Brit Reacts to Swedish Food in Stockholm: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Dill Cured Salmon! | PRT 2 

As a Swede, the worst tapwater in Europe I have drank was in London. So much chlorine and some dry taste. In Sweden, we even have a competition between regional tap water makers where a jury from Svenskkranvatten ("Swedish tap water association) taste water to find the very best-tasting water that year.

Baltic herring, clupea harengus, is a smaller type of herring found in the Baltic Sea. It was once a staple diet of Stockholmers. I am 77 and I remember having, as a child, fried "strömming" with mash virtually every saturday, a fond memory. In older times strömming was really essential: "Without strömming, no Stockholmers". Througout centuries strömming has been abundant, but in later years, alas, it has becomen much rarer, possibly on the verge of being extinkt, due to commercial bottom-trawling for any fish in the Baltic, the catch not even being intended for human consumption, but to feed cats and dogs. I love animals, but every now and then i wish I had a couple of torpedoes at hand. I´d gladly use them. Fermented herring is quite a different animal. Though being the same species, clupea harengus, the end-product could not be more different. The fish, innards and all, is put into barrels with salt, less salt than needed to just salt it. Thus it ferments (a process akin to that used to make Worcester Sauce), and is eventually put into tins, still fermenting. It smells, some would say it stinks, and I cannot really disagree. But once you have learned to accept this minor inconveniance you eventually find something fish-like with a strong, but not really diagreeable taste. Once you´ve tried it you either love or hate it.. It´s akin to the Icelandic fermented shark. This odd food is served with "tunnbröd", raw onion, boiled poatoes -preferaby "mandelpotatis - a local varietyy and sour cream. Affectionados drink milk, the majority drink beer, My own story is as follows: I fell in love with a beatiful girl. Subsequently I was invited to the family summer house to dinner (and to stay overnight with the girl in a separate cabin, so it was acually a rather serious matter). The menu was set, firmly set: Surströmming, with all the trimmings. I realised that this was it. Sink or swim. I swam, and actually liked the meal - despite the lack of booze. Fifty years later, I still like surströmming. Hans Strömberg, Stockholm

You should try a thinbreadroll (tunnbrödsrulle) its like bangers and mash in a roll with lots of good fillings. Pretty much any corner shop will have a decent one.

O love stekt strömming (panfried herring) with mashed potatoes, peas and lingonberryjam

Meat of moose and deere and reindeere and hare is delicious. A long time ago up in the north of Sweden I bought a sausage made of bear meat and that was delicious too.

7:20 You can travel on that ticket for 75 min. within Stockholm area but i think it is 37 sek. now .

I would eat the salami like that, or diced up like snacks, but most people would indeed slice it very thin. The fried strömming and the surströmming is 2 completely different dishes, both traditional.

That herring wasn't fermented, it was just fried on a pan. Fermented herring is the single most disgusting food item we have in Sweden (yes, I've had it and I'll never have it ever again). I doubt it's even allowed to serve fermented herring (surströmming) in a public space like that since the stench will creep up and ruin the day for anyone even remotely close.

Yes, that chunk of salami should've been thinly sliced. And I'd say eating moose and reindeer is more common in the northern parts of Sweden, but we do eat it down here in the south as well. (I live all the way down in Skåne) Gamla stan literally translates to Old town, and it's such a beautiful and cozy part of Stockholm. I love wandering around there whenever I visit. I think Mark mentioned this in the first video, but Stockholm is basically 14 different islands that all connected by close to 60 bridges.

That's two stops with the subway from Östermalmstorg to Gamla stan. You don't really pay per stop though in Stockholm. If he bought a single ticket he can use that for 70 minutes as he chooses. I really have to say he has done great research on where to go to eat like a local. All great locations that are still here and are all good. The fermented herring is not traditionally from the Stockholm area but from the "Västernorrland" region. You can get it at supermarkets in Stockholm in and around August but you would be hard pressed to find it at any restaurant. Greetings from Stockholm

Pickled herring is the most common way to eat it in Sweden (I think it is horrible but most people love it and we have it for all holidays), fried is really good and fermented is an acquired taste. For the Swedish experience you should try all of them.

About the palate you were saying. Mark seems to have quite a wide palate. I dont recall many of his videos where you can tell that he does not like certain kinds of foods. He seems to eat almost anything and if its good, its good. I would not recommend the herring for a person that does not like fish that much :) I once also ate at the Korv specialist and can also recommend their baquettes. Really good stuff.

There are about 320000 Moses in Sweden and every year are about 80000 to 90000 shot. And ofcorse all goes to meat and to the plate. It is fantastic food! Good Speed!

Mark Weins is a pretty known foodie, he travels around the world trying local dishes, he pretty much always has this expression when he's eating lol The only negative I guess you could say about his approach is that he's very much an optimist and I don't think I've ever heard him say anything negative about any food he's tried. The tickets for the subway is for a specific amount of time, about 90 minutes I think, rather than distance.

Regarding sausages , you have a kiosk that sells quality sausages by the steps of the concert hall ( between Kungsgatan and the stairs ) at Hötorget .

That herring food stall is a fixture in central Stockholm. I used to work just a block away and on the late shift, a visit to the herring stall was a must, always passing by McD on the way. That freshly caught and fried herring, topped with onions and mashed potatoes is something I can still yearn for.

The hard part is when you have to wrestle the moose to the ground, and the taste I would say is abit rustik, but its nice meat all muscle no fat.

seen so many Mark videos, hes never ever sad a bad word

I'm pretty sure "Günter's" at Karlbergsvägen was the first her in Sweden who served sausages from all over the world in s baguette. He was a German and when he pushed the sausage in he said "The girls really like this part." And because I'm salty, I replied "But you can't even get it in!" And the stall selling "stekt strömming" is still there. It's not fermented though. Just freshly fished and butter fried. The most traditional way to eat it is on crispbread ("knäckebröd"). Fermented herring ("surströmming") is only eaten seasonally from the third Thursday in August, and they don't sell in public places like that, because it would make the whole square reek!

The fried herring is common on the east coast of Sweden and would be served on restaurangs in principle all over Sweden, but most commonly on the east coast north of Kalmar (Where the herring shifts name in Sweden from sill to strömming). The fermented herring is more common in northern Sweden and loved there. In the south there is a few people who like it. The fermented version also have a season starting in august and is popular for some weeks (in the north) where there are partys just because of eating the fermented herring (surströmmingsskiva=fermented herring feast). Some people in the north don't eat the fermented version and instead use the pickled herring which is also common in Sweden. The pickled herring was in part one. That was seasoned whit mustard. In Sweden there many types of pickled herring, at least over ten standard variants and more local flavours. Pickled herring (sill) is in used in every big holiday meals in Sweden, Christmas, Eastern, Midsummer and of course in every Smörgårdsbord.

Swedish berries are some of the best tasting ones because of the coldness. Swedish strawberries are soo flavourful and a must during summer.

The moose sausage is meant to be thinly sliced yes. I would put that on some bread maybe in thin slices but that is just me.

_Strömming_ is simply herring from the Baltic Sea caught north of Kalmar while it's called _sill_ when caught elsewhere. Since there's a lot more sea to go around to the west courtesy of the North Sea and the entire North Atlantic, most herring sold in Sweden is _sill_ rather than _strömming_. But Stockholm is on the east coast, so of course their local fishermen bring in the latter. _Strömming_ is traditionally served in a number of ways, but the most common these days is probably pan frying it fresh (or defrosted). Back in the day it was often put in barrels of salt for preservation, but since we don't need to do that anymore, few actually know how to cook it. I think you usually put it in cold water for at least 12 hours, likely changing it out a few times so that you got rid of as much salt as possible, and in the end you pan fried it. I'm not sure if you can get it pickled since I've only ever seen pickled _sill_ in grocery stores, but I'm from the western part of the country and never gone looking for that product when I've been on the east coast. Wouldn't surprise me though, we have plenty of locally produced pickled herring after all, so they must have it in the more easterly regions too. The fermented _surströmming_ ("sour herring") is even more regional, in fact it's only traditional along the coast of Norrland, whose southernmost point is a two-hour car ride north of Stockholm or so. Maybe 1.5, but definitely no less. In any case, it's a bit less traditional than fried (and possibly pickled) Baltic herring as it relies on canning, which is a relatively late invention. On the other hand, fermenting fish wasn't a new thing when _surströmming_ was invented by accident, which is how they knew that the fish was still edible when what should have been a batch of plain canned herring didn't turn out as expected. In any case, you can't serve _surströmming_ in a densely populated area. If you rent it's actually grounds for eviction, and even if you own your apartment you can be forced out. In suburbia it will make you the pariah of your neighborhood. The traditional way to prepare it is: 1. Open the can under water, like at the bottom of a 10-liter bucket. And make sure to lean away from it when doing so. 2. Rinse the fish _thoroughly_. 3. Serve in a flatbread wrap also containing boiled new potatoes, raw onion (preferably red, but yellow works in a pinch) and sour cream. Do not _ever_ open a can right out in the open and try to eat its contents straight up! Literally no one in Sweden who isn't trying to fool gullible strangers would do this, and even then it's usually heavily edited since there's no way they could actually do it without it all coming back up again very soon.

On the water here we get it from Mälaren (biggest lake in Stockholm) and we have lots of treatment plants to purify our waste water.

Gamla Stan (The Old Town) is very beautiful and full of Swedish history. If going there I would avoid the month of July when it is crowded with turists. Water...I guess it depends on what you are used to. I do not like the water down south, I live in a SMALL village up north with water supply from a fresh water well and even the water in our municipality town near by (where I am born and raised) taste a little odd to me now. Moose meat is a delicacy for many but in our house it is a staple food and when my kids became teenagers they refused to eat it. It is a very dry meat, there is no fat intermixed with the muscle fibers and it has a "wild" taste to it, especially from older animals witch does not appeals to everyone. I like the taste but ned a LOT of sauce to eat it. 😄 But boiled tongue or smoked heart is yummy! Fried and pickled herring is soooooo good! You have the taste of fish with a a little sour, but fresh, taste. I prefer to eat it on knäckebröd, hard bread, with the onion from the pickling liquid and no other disturbing flavors, but that is me. If I were you I should try the surströmming (fermented herring) too just because. I mean, it is famous and if people can eat snakes and insects when abroad why not fermented herring. I do it hardcore but if you put it on thin bread with boiled potatoes, onions, tomatoes and créme fraîche it will be easier to your taste buds.

In the east of Sweden the herring is called 'strömming' from the Baltic sea. You kan eat it panfried with a crust. In the west of Sweden it is called 'sill', mostly eaten pickled, from the North sea.

Public water in Stockholm comes from Lake Mälaren, the lake surrounding the weatern part of Stockholm, the eastern part having brack-water, since Stockholm is situated where the lake meets the Baltic sea. The drinking water, from the lake, is filtered through sand-beds, without any further ado, basically. Some chlorine is aded, not to clean the water, but actually to prevent algea and fungus growth in the water pipes. The water system is presently being renovated and extended, to meet the needs of a growing population, an odd fact bein that there are still some pipes in use, made out of hollpw tree-trunks. Another odd fact is that you can fill your glass of water in lake Mälaren, just outside the Stockholm City Hall, in the middle of the city, and drink it, since the water is basically the same you get from a tap. In lieu of a sand filter you might just as well use a coffee filter. Hans Strömberg, Stockholm

You are right it should be thin slices of the cured meat.

Yes Dwayne 👍🏼 this guy is a number one food lover.👏👏👏.sweds most buying fast food when we are drunk as hell so the taste is nothing we remember ha ha ha ha 🤯🤯 This guy can eat a shoe and It's looking So so good..lol

Portersteak done with moose is sooo god!!!

It was a while i read it, but the water in sweden is/was the 8th best in quality in europe. Food in sweden have a high level of quality and his reaction is most likely genuine, unfortunally the prices are a bit high because of it.

I think he was confused about the strömming. It's not fermented - that's the infamous stinky herring you sometimes hear about. This is just fried herring. It is good, I don't know if it's a can't miss, but if you like fish in general, I think you'd like it.

Fermented vision of the herring is crazy god

The funny thing about fermented herring is that doesn't taste bad at all, a almost mild sensation. But it smellc all so overly terribly bad! Close or hold your nose closed and TASTE it!

I don't eat fish, but yes the "Stekt Strömming" is still there, and is still highly recommended.

Kabanoss is a Polish sasuage. Thats how cultural diversive Sweden is, We got lots of foreign foods mixed up with swedish classical meals. Gammla Stan is the tourist main hub of Stockholm. Prices in Gammla Stan (old town) are more expensive to gain as much out of tourists as posible.

I just made a batch of pickled fried herring today. Its absolutly one of my favorites!

The fermented herring is an aquired taste for sure :D Pickled herring or fried herring like the one he had is very common and popular though. Subway fee is 39 SEK now for 90 min btw

Strömming not usually fermented, just fresh and fried in a pan :)

It is not mustard on the herring it is a sauce that is called hovmästare sås. it is mustard in the sauce but also sugar and oil and dill and vinegear and sometimes eggyolk. It is a common sauce on fried herring and on gravad lax. You shouk try both :) You fry the herring with a onion mix in between two slices of herring. And in stockholm they say strömming and in the south of sweden we say sill (herring) it is the same fish.

The subway here in Stockholm now cost 39 SEK (3.61 USD) for that you can travel as far as you like for 90 minutes. Or you can by a 24 hour pass for 165 SEK (15,27 USD) , 72 hours 330 SEK (30,54 USD) or even a 7 day ticket for 430 SEK (39,79 USD)

Yep, Mark has a completely different palette than many others. There are things I don't like but others love. moose is good. does not taste wild like deer. moose steak with boiled potato gravy and rowanberry jelly / blackcurrant jelly

Something you need to try is smoked moose heart, many people who hunt throw it out with all the other intestines, but it is amazing as a snack.

strömming/herring is not fermented Not my favourite ;) Stay away from the surströmming, just look at some videos of people trying it :D

Fried haring mashed potatoes melted butter and som lingonberries, classic 'husmanskost' very good!

I saw this video when it came out from Marks channel... I believe most of the food places are still there so you can try them out. Prices are probable about double today though.

Fermented Hering is good, but it's an aquired taste, I wouldn't suggest it

You are more than welcome to Gothenburg as well. Second largest city in Sweden. It’s called Little London. Guessing because it’s a similar feel and just as relaxed and friendly people as in London/UK. 👍🏻😄🥰

Strömming is common in the cities near the ocean but not to common in the inland. Also do not try Surströmming ! maybe 1% of the sweds eat that if even. i do recomend toast Skagen for sure

Cured meat we can have as small snacks instead of chips n stuff. Just something to chew on. It's amazing. To ur point about the ending.. bot for everyone.. the Rhybread(spelling?).. sometimes it can be overwhelming and Abit dry taking over the dish depending on where and who makes the dish. If food and if u wanna make a transition between Sweden and Denmark later I'd recommend my hometown, Helsingborg cuz in our culture we are both Swedish but since we are connected to Denmark in our culture at low age( alcohol in Denmark is 15 or 16, while bar here is 18 and ye systembolaget as u know is 20, we used to sneak over to be our naughty selves as youths), and boats going conveniently very often as a part of Swedish and Danish relationship culture. Smaller boats "sundsbussarna" preserves the culture alot better aswell as the happiness Danes and Swedes share as Nordic brothers share, while bigger boats are first and foremost a means of transport between countries.

We have one of the worlds best tap water .

the herring..if its fried, cooked ,fermented or whatever..its just awsome u just have to taste it rm

you should definately try the pickled herring, it´s no deep fried though we dont do that to food. there are lots of resturants to visit of course but that herring is one of the geniune sweidsh things you dont find anywhere else. That resturant he visited is located at the slussen bridge between gamla stan and the slussen underground station, it´s an institution in the stockholm culture. The pickled one is the most eaten compared to the fermented one.

Surströmming is the fermented one. Strömming is the fried version (not deepfried) with butter and oil. Strawberries In northern Europe (sry UK it's not true for you) are very sweet and flavorful. I've spent time in UK and currently live in Ireland, the strawberries here is a bad copy of how it should be.

That Kabanoss from that place is absolutely top notch. You need to go there if you visit Stockholm.👍🏼

never had surströmming, many swedes havent. but regular strömming. that i grew up on. my parents loved it so we hadit alot. al though i opted out until i was a teen and not as picky whi food. fis whit bones in it just was a big no no. as an adult though, its really good and a classic of old school everyday swedish food.

The kabanos is actually a Polish sausage, although it's quite popular in Sweden (and many other countries). The ones we get here are typically thin and firm, with a distinct garlicy taste. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabanos

Hi Dwaine! really love your channel. We actually dont eat that much fish. And definately not herring . maybe in the northern parts, but not in the south. keep up with the swedish videos. love El Sueco

Travelling to Sweden don’t forget to catch the ferry over to Gotland. It’s our biggest iland, great food, raukar and lots of medieval history.

Mark said it wrong when speaking about the herring. That specific herring wasn't fermented, it is just fried up herring.

The Kabanoss is originally a Polish sausage.

"Strömming" is probably the most usual and most easy fish to catch in Sweden (at least around Stockholm). I used to fish strömming as a child and I filled several plastic bags full of fish in just some few hours.

Nah... Strömming typically is not fermented, however, we do have surströmming as well which is the fermented variation which taste pretty briney, but stinks like a dumpster of diapers left in the sun and very fishy. xD Normal strömming can be cured in different ways with salt, herbs and spices, and it is very typical house food from gods knows how long ago... It is still the same type of fish as the surströmming, though. Traditionally, you'd eat strömming breaded and fried in butter and you eat it with mashed potatoes or fresh potatoes on the side with stirred lingon berries. Much like how you'd eat meatballs, minus the gravy. :) And there is not telling which is more traditional, strömming or surströmming, they're both very traditional. :)

We really have allot of food places in sweden and swedes are kind of open when it comes to food we bring back all kind of it when out

15:00 yes it is (stömming) but it's just breaded and fried. This is not (surströmming) that is fermented. i would not recomend surströmming but you have to try the strömming!! :D

You asked if that shrimp sandwich were expensive at heaven 23? It costed 26,50 gbp.

Yep, the Swedish tap water is one of the best in the world.

If you ever come to visit Sweden, do not, under any circumstance, try the Surströmming! It's puke inducing torture! There are videos on youtube where people try to eat it but pukes their guts out. It's rotten fish in a can. That's my advice, as a Swede! 😂

Günthers sausages. Oh man, I want to be there now.

Stockholm, Stockholm, Stockholm - I'm tired of hearing how wonderful this place is. Yes it's a beautiful city but if you want serious seafood, go to Göteborg and all of the the west coast. All the other fantastic foods he ate in Östermalmshallen and Hötorgshallen you can find - even better tasting - in for example Malmö

Yeah dont do the fermented (surströmming) that is not recomended for non-swedes. 😂

if you ever go to sweden try ölkorv

If you watch more of his videos he never says any bad things about what he eats you can see his face It's not that good sometimes.

Best taste to eat it with a slize of good bread!

Those he tested are actually really good :-)

Mark Wiens is used to asian food with all the uses of fish and fish sauces so I think he can handle most of what Sweden can throw at him.

I think normal sströmming is the more common in sweden while "sur strömming" is an outdated tradition (for most people) since it has a very (and I mean VERY) "special" taste and smell. :)

Strömming is very hit or miss, at least how its traditionally cooked; which is the fermented one

Moose taco is the best there is, but you become full very quickly ❤

both the fyed herring and the fermented herring(surströming) is tradishelan dishes i prefere the fryed herring whit mashed potatoes

You must come to Gothenburg. We have good food 😊

The fermented one is an aquired taste, it's smells really bad. But if you eat "Surströmming" with like potatoes,onion,creme fraiche and softbread it can be quite nice deppending on your tastebuds.

Just come m8t.. we love to have you

swedish (probably scandinavian) stawberries are just plain better.. since its a bit colder here, it takes longer to ripe, which gives it a much richer taste.... the strawberries just taste worse the more south you get in europe...

A fair warning... Dont let annyone fool you to try surströmming. Its infact fewer Swedes that likes it than the opposite.. Smell like poop and dont taste special... Theres so many more really good things to test out and enjoy than Surströmming. ( I will certainly get hate comment's now from all surströmming lovers.) But I say it annyway.. And annyway theres so much good and wonderful food instead you should try.... And yes my hometown Stockholm is wonderful in the summer time. You should absolutely take a boat trip out in the archipelago. And see some of the wonderful islands we have. Thats my tip. And as allways plan youre trip well before. Because you cant do all if you dont have like many weeks or so... And theres a lot to see...And yes ABBA museumand Vasa Museum is great..Frankly many good museums and the nightlife too...And yes quite expensive like London. But not as expensive as Norway...:) / J

I’d recommend you smoked makrill instead of stromming.

i think you need to try sur strömming :)

Huuuuh Yes Dwayne 👍🏼 if you going to Sweden trye or STEW "Kalops" It's a stew🍲 on moose meat boiled long time.⏱️.and swedish potatos,🥔🥔🥔, and pickled beetroot..🌰🌰🌰 It's my favorit food in sweden and i think we are alone on this stew in the world 🌍👍🏻 some times the restaurants cheating and take..inner thigh meat from cow 🐄🐄🐄 It's good to but this on moose meat is top of the top. And Dwayne you was 8 % viking After you have eating KALOPS so are you 25% viking...lol 🇸🇪❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️🇸🇪

I'm Swedish and I don't like strömming, There's nothing wrong with the taste but there are tiny little bones in the whole fish so it feels like having swallowed a hairball.

I don't eat meat, but what bothers me here in Sweden are hunters who get angry when the wolf takes "their" elk from them. It is better that the wolf eats elk than that hunters fill their freezers with elk meat.

swedish food is awesome, 10/10

13:13 I dont know if it is still their . That whole area is under reconstruction until 2025->

The herring is pan fried, not deep fried. Actually swedish cuisine isn't deep fried, in that case the dish origin from another culture. 🙂

It's not deep fried, just dipped in rye flour and then fried in butter.

But when are you coming to Sweden?

If someone open a can with fermented herring I'm sure you will puke when you sence the terrible smell.

He is only recommended the places and not the courses, he is ordering stuff he likes and/or sounds good to him, so its not nearly as sus as you make it out to be.

I think you should go to Göteborg instead =)

Too bad he didin´t go to the Vasa mesuem^^

Ströming truck have move too gamla stan