Swedish Food Culture

On Monday, a local Stockholm paper reported the top three food choices of the city locals while on the go. The top three choices, in order, were Fast Food, Sushi, and Tex-Mex. There's no mention of Swedish food in that list, you'll notice (unless you count Max burger). This might surprise you, but it is relatively difficult to find a restaurant serving typical Swedish dishes in Stockholm - unless you're in a tourist area. Why is that? Swedes love exotic and international foods. Why eat "everyday food" when you have so many other choices?

Pizza was first introduced in Sweden in the early 1970s and it didn't take long before every corner was dotted with a pizza place or two. Swedes didn't stop there. Sushi also followed a similar trend. Immigrants brought over more food choices with them, particularly from the Middle East and Asia. Newer trends, like Tex-Mex and Chinese, are highly popular at the moment. As I mentioned earlier, tacos were not well known just fifteen years ago. Now, they're apparently everywhere.

Sweden's food culture reflects the culture's willingness to try new things and its progressive outlook on introducing new cultural elements into Swedish life. Swedes aren't afraid to try unusual or new foods and it has enriched the food culture.

You might even say there's a similar trend with meeting people from other cultures. Swedes enjoy chatting with people from other cultures. They are curious about you and will spend time getting to know about you and your local culture. This curiosity and interest for both international food and people is a hallmark of Swedish culture.

A few food choices from around Sweden:

American food is popular.

A kebab sandwich the size of my head. You'll find a lot of places selling kebab and falafel all over the country.

These food court choices are all international.

A pack of chips at the Subway near Friends Arena.

Greek is represented, too.

Bagels are currently trendy in the country.

A sushi place in a Malmö shopping mall.

Latin American, complete with silly cartoon character.