Foods of Sweden & their nutrients

The Scandanavian country of Sweden has a rich history and unique environment which is reflected in the foods that are typical of the region. Below is of course only a very small sampling of these foods.

To get a better idea about how many nutrients are in the foods, we will compare nutrient content in the food against recommended intake data, specifically the 31-50 year old female according to the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. Note that the nutrient amounts in the foods are calculated while only considering the current data in Nutrient Journal. Bioavailability of the nutrients or nutrient loss due to processing is also not considered in the calculations.

At the end of summer, on the third Thursday, Surströmming is traditionally eaten during dedicated celebrations outdoors - the Surströmmingsskiva.¹ Surströmming, is made by fermenting the fresh, wild caught Baltic herring from the northern Baltic Sea, in a salt brine for a period of time, sometimes 3-4 weeks,² sometimes 8 weeks¹ and sometimes 10-12 weeks.³ The fermented fish is famously pungent when ready to eat and when the cans are finally opened they are often done so underwater to minimise the spread of the strong odors. It is partly for this reason also, that the Surströmmingsskiva is held outdoors. Höga Kusten, or the High Coast, the northern Swedish coastline off the Baltic Sea, is the primary producer of surströmming.¹

In 100g of surströmming there is 3173.3mg sodium (459.9% RDI) and 11.8g protein (29.7% RDI). See surströmming’s full nutrient profile, and relevant references, at Nutrient Journal.

The High Coast of Sweden, where surströmming is primarily produced.

Knäckebröd is a traditional Scandanavian crispy, flat bread which is commonly made with rye flour.⁴

Let‘s assume Knäckebröd is made with 78% flour, 20% water and 2% iodised salt (by mass). A serving of 100g will contain 58.9μg molybdenum (130.9% RDI), 780.2mg sodium (113.1% RDI), 101.6μg iodine (67.7% RDI), 1.7mg manganese (33.2% RDI), 218.4mg phosphorous (31.2% RDI), 7.0μg biotin (28.0% RDI), 74.4mg magnesium (23.3% RDI), 1.8mg zinc (22.8% RDI), 0.3mg copper (21.7% RDI), 12.9μg selenium (21.6% RDI), 6.5g protein (16.5% RDI), 0.2mg vitamin b1 (thiamin) (15.5% RDI), 0.3g potassium (12.1% RDI), 0.1mg vitamin b2 (riboflavin) (11.8% RDI) and 2.0mg iron (11.0% RDI).Other ingredients added to the bread mix include seeds and oats that give additional nutrients. Visit Nutrient Journal to see the full nutrient profile‘s of whole rye flour, water and iodised table salt and the relevant references.

Other studies mention knäckebröd, or rye crispbread, in general (no specific recipe) and in 100g there is 8.7g linoleic acid (omega-6) (108.7% RDI) and 78.0μg folate (19.5% RDI). See rye crispbread’s full nutrient profile and references at Nutrient Journal.

Lingonberry plants are low-growing plants that grow wild all over Sweden (and other boreal forest environments across the northern hemisphere). The red berries are popular in Swedish dishes, with simple lingonberry sauce traditionally eaten with Swedish meatballs.

100g of lingonberries contain 8.2μg chromium (32.8% RDI) and 8.9mg vitamin c (ascorbic acid) (19.8% RDI). See the lingonberry’s full nutrient profile and references at Nutrient Journal.

If lingonberry sauce is made with 67% lingonberries and 33% sugar, then a 50g serving of lingonberry sauce will contain 2.8μg chromium (11.0% RDI).

Lingonberries.

Köttbullar

Köttbullar are Swedish meatballs, which have now become a personal favourite meal of mine. These humble, but delicious, meatballs are often served with a creamy gravy, potato, pickled cucumber and lingonberry sauce. They are typically made with a combination of beef and pork (but sometimes even elk/moose or reindeer), breadcrumbs, milk, egg, onion, salt and spices like nutmeg and allspice.

As an example, let‘s say Köttbullar is made of 37.5% beef, 37.5% pork, 10% breadcrumbs, 5% milk, 5% egg, 3% onion, 1% salt and 1% allspice. In 100g of Köttbullar there is 400.3mg sodium (58.0% RDI), 15.8g protein (39.8% RDI), 53.4μg iodine (35.6% RDI), 0.4mg vitamin b1 (thiamin) (34.5% RDI), 2.3mg zinc (28.7% RDI), 0.6μg vitamin b12 (cobalamin) (26.7% RDI), 3.5mg vitamin b3 (niacin) (24.9% RDI), 8.1μg selenium (13.5% RDI), 0.1mg vitamin b2 (riboflavin) (11.8% RDI), 0.9g linoleic acid (omega-6) (11.6% RDI) and 0.1mg vitamin b6 (pyridoxine) (11.5% RDI). See the full nutrient profiles for the ingredients and scientific references at Nutrient Journal.

Evergreen trees, like pine trees, are not often the first plants thought of when imagining wild food sources. However, pine trees have been used in Sweden for many different edible products tradtionally, in times of famine and in modern contexts.^5,6Due to its content of vitamin C, a Swedish physician in the 1700s used pine needle tea to prevent scurvy in Swedish army soldiers.⁷

6g of pine needles contain 1.1mg manganese (21.8% RDI) and 5.2mg vitamin c (ascorbic acid) (11.6% RDI).After washing and brewing not all of these nutrients will remain in the tea. One could leave the needles in the brew and eat them too! See the whole nutrient profile for pine needles, and references, at Nutrient Journal and keep watch for updates to the nutrients found in pine needle tea.

Kanelbullar

Kanelbullar are Swedish baked pastries. These cinnamon buns, similar to Swedish saffron buns, are perfect for ”fika“ alongside a hot cup of coffee.

Let‘s say the recipe for kanelbullar consists of 45% flour, 20% milk, 15% butter, 12% sugar, 4% egg, 2% cinnamon, 1% yeast and 1% salt. In a 100g serving of kanelbullar there is 410.1mg sodium (59.4% RDI), 53.2μg iodine (35.5% RDI), 117.4μg RAE vitamin a (16.8% RDI), 6.5g protein (16.4% RDI), 110.1mg calcium (11.0% RDI), 0.1mg vitamin b1 (thiamin) (10.9% RDI) and 74.9mg phosphorous (10.7% RDI). See the full nutrient profiles for the ingredients and their references at Nutrient Journal.

Situated next to the Baltic Sea, it is not surprising that herring is used many times in Swedish cuisine. Instead of being fermented, like with surströmming, herring is also sometimes simply pickled in salt, vinegar and sugar. In 100g of pickled herring there is 39.0μg vitamin d (780.0% RDI) and 15.0g protein (37.7% RDI). See the whole nutrient profile for pickled herring and relevant references at Nutrient Journal.

Västerbotten cheese, or Västerbottensost, is a hard, aged cheese made in the Västerbotten region of Sweden.

A similar hard, aged cheese is parmesan cheese. 100g of parmesan cheese contains 1180.0mg sodium (171.0% RDI), 1180.0mg calcium (118.0% RDI), 694.0mg phosphorous (99.1% RDI), 35.8g protein (90.1% RDI), 22.5μg selenium (37.5% RDI), 2.8mg zinc (34.4% RDI), 0.3mg vitamin b2 (riboflavin) (30.0% RDI), 207.0μg RAE vitamin a (29.6% RDI), 44.0mg magnesium (13.8% RDI) and 0.5mg vitamin b5 (pantothenic acid) (11.3% RDI). See the whole nutrient profile with references for parmesan cheese at Nutrient Journal and watch out for the addition of data on the nutrients for Västerbotten cheese.

Fermented milks have been consumed in Europe for maybe 4000 years.⁸ Filmjölk is a Swedish fermented, or cultured, milk. It is cultured at a low temperature (17-22°C) with mostly mesophilic lactic acid bacteria.⁹

Filmjölk has, in 100g, no significant nutrients, as collected by Nutrient Journal so far. Again, keep a watch for updates on Nutrient Journal to the nutrients found in filmjölk and other fermented milks.

Animal studies have reported anti-cancer effects of lactic acid bacteria in fermented milks by reducing tumour growth and regulating the immune system, among other mechanisms.⁸

References