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Forgotten NordGen Swedes Tasted by Gourmet Chefs in Stockholm

Date: 2018.10.08

One variety has been cultivated and inherited by at least three generations. Another is called Janne. Swedes of different kinds have been a crucial part of the Nordic kitchen for centuries. But not anymore. Though, among certain enthusiasts, the love of the swede lives on. Kålrotsakademin tried to spread the love of the swede through a gustation of NordGen’s Swedish swedes at the famous restaurant Rutabaga in Stockholm.

An apparent scent of swede welcomes the visitors to the beautiful restaurant premises next to Grand Hotel in Stockholm. Here, invited chefs, influencers, gourmet writers and journalists have gathered around the three tables holding 51 raw swedes. 50 swedes are from NordGen’s collections and the last one will probably be part of it soon. The participants chew thoughtfully, savour carefully and take meticulous notes on their white papers. The world’s largest swede tasting arrangement has begun.

“I think many of us remember the dry and over cooked swedes we were served in school. Perhaps we only think we can use them when we make turnip mash. But the swede can contribute with so much more. We want to give the swede a revival and we are well on our way already”, says Hans Naess who is a member of Kålrotsakademin, the society which is trying to increase the pride of the Nordic original kitchen.

Found on many of the best restaurants

Hans Naess relates to that many of the chefs he met have been surprised of how much the swede varieties differ in texture and taste. Many of the higher end restaurants have already started using the earlier rejected swede in their menus. The well renowned restaurant Rutabaga is one of them.

“We have among other things a swede drink made of raw rosted swede and swede aquavit. We also have a salad with pickled swede which is one of our signature dishes”, says Staffan Naess, executive head of the kitchen at Rutabaga. He is also very grateful for NordGen’s work with conserving the different varieties of swede.

“Without these seeds we wouldn’t have such a richness of different swede varieties. They would only exist in the history books. And there is such a great difference in taste, texture, colour and properties in all the varieties”, he says.

Fundamental resource

The chewing continues. Someone says, “this one wasn’t too good, it tastes as the one you buy in the store”. Someone else is surprised by the sweetness in the variety “Farfar”. A third is carefully optimistic about the variety “Klint Karin”. One of the swedes is actually just recently found, but all the others are part of NordGen’s collections, which Hans Naess calls a fundamental resource.

” We in Kålrotsakademin could never been able to find all these swede varieties ourselves. NordGens’ conservation work and knowledge is fundamental for us to be able to take the next step as we will try to cultivate larger quantities of the tastiest swedes. This is what many of the chefs need, larger quantities of the varieties they fall in love with. But since the seeds only exists in NordGen’s collections and aren’t sold by any commercial actors someone needs to cultivate them in a larger scale”, he says.

Amazing but forgotten raw material

One of the famous chefs that are interested in finding larger quantities of the best swedes is Frida Ronge, creative leader at the tributed restaurant Tak in Stockholm. She has, among other things, used swede to make gari for sushi.

“Personally, I believe the future lies in fermented and pickled swede and perhaps also using the raw swede to add texture to the food. It is an amazing raw material that has been forgotten for so long. That fact that NordGen has kept these seeds is just crucial”, she says.

Modern Root vegetable

The swede was first born in the 16th century as cabbage and turnip cross bred. But the interest for the vegetable has had its ups and downs during the centuries.

“Few plants have been both so celebrated and so dissed as the swede. During the 18th century it was the crop number one, every farmer was to grow swedes. But as the potato made its entrance the swede was less cultivated. However, this changed during the 20th century as everyone realised that the cows produced more and fatter milk if they were given swedes as fodder. The cultivation increased again”, says Matti Leino, also member of Kålrotsakademin and responsible for swedes.

“During World War II, the swedes were what kept many from starvation, not the least in Germany and France. I believe that contributed to the fact that no one wanted to eat them in the post-war era. Since the 1950’s, the swede hasn’t been very popular” he says.

Great advertising for Sweden

Now, Kålrotsakademin wants the forgotten vegetable to increase in popularity again. That fact that the gustation is arranged at a restaurant called Rutabaga is not a coincidence. The word is commonly used for swede in the US and is probably formed from the dialectal Swedish word Rotabagge. In Germany it’s called Schwedishe Rübe. In British English the name is Swedish turnip or merely swede. This charming root vegetable has, in other words, made quite the marketing effort for Sweden in the rest of the world.

The chewing declines, the papers are ready to be handed in and happy chefs, influencers, gourmet writers and journalists are starting to leave the premises, deeply involved in discussions about fields of application, cooking processes, texture and sweetness. The answers from the gustation will give Hans Naess and his colleagues an idea of which swedes that are most popular and hopefully lead to more people appreciating them. Nordic food is more in vogue than ever. Perhaps the swede could join the ride.