Ättika

This is acetic acid diluted to 24%, in many parts of the world sold as spirit vinegar, white vinegar or distilled vinegar. At a stretch you can supply it with light malt vinegar, but it will alter the taste of the dish slightly.

As this is a fairly strong solution you may not be able to get hold of the correct concentration. You will need to adjust accordingly, alternatively order the Swedish product on-line.

Lingonberries

Lingonberries feature hugely in the Swedish kitchen. Not as an ingredient, but as a condiment eaten with a variety of dishes – both meat, fish and on your morning porridge. They make excellent jam, but the easiest way to prepare them is to simply just stir the raw berries with sugar until it desolves.

I suppose it’s got something to do with ancient rights of public access to the wilderness, the fact that a majority of the Swedes up until recently lived, quite literally, by the edge of a forest, and that people quickly had realised that these were some kind of wonder berries. Rich in vitamins C, E and K, folate, fiber, potassium and manganese they have been called super-berries. In fact,there’s no need for us to go to the health food store to get Açai, Acerola or Goji berries – we just need to nip out to the nearest forest during berry season.

Lingonberries are believed to be one of the reasons Swedish sailors were popular with shipping companies in the days of the sailing ships. They practically never got Scurvy due to the fact that they brought jars of lingonberries with them on-board to supplement their rations with.

Speaking of berry season… You know how children in many parts of the world used to get days off school around harvest time to be home to help? In Sweden they had time off to help pick berries and could easily pick many kilos per hour.

If you can’t get hold of lingonberries, you can substitute them with cranberries.