Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

  • Home
  • About
    • In the Press, Published Work and Interviews
    • PR and Disclosure Policy
  • Food
    • Recipe Index
      • Indian
        • C.K.P recipes
        • Curry – Meat, Seafood
        • Curry – Vegetarian
        • Sides
        • Chutneys
      • Healthy
        • Soups
        • Salads
      • Quick and Easy
      • Baking
        • Desserts
      • Meat
      • Seafood
      • Vegetarian
        • Salads
      • Vegan
    • Product Reviews
    • Events
  • Travel
    • UK
    • India
    • Around the World
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Kitchen
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Miscellaneous
  • Giveaways
  • Work with me
    • Meet interesting foodie entrepreneurs here

Scandinavian Cookery Class with Västerbottensost Cheese

June 1, 2015 by manjirichitnis 6 Comments

The mention of Scandinavian foods brings to mind fresh, light dishes and minimal use of ingredients, or at least that was my perception, and oh yes lots of fish. So an invitation to attend a Scandinavian Cookery Class, last fortnight was quite welcome. Courtesy of **Västerbottensost cheese – a premium hard cheese with a strong, aromatic flavour the dishes we were going to cook were all created using this cheese.

Scandinavian Feast wit  Västerbottensos
Scandinavian Feast wit Västerbottensos

Scandi blogger Bronte @Scandiwitchen – was on hand to introduce us to some of the most loved dishes of the region all made using – Västerbottensost, made to a 100-year-old secret Swedish recipe. This cheese has a unique taste and is favourite with the Swedish Royals, no wonder then that is considered the king of Swedish cheeses.

Västerbottensost Cheese
Västerbottensost Cheese

Interestingly this cheese can only be produced at the dairy in Burträsk in Västerbotten County, Sweden. Why? Well, they have many theories including a rather bizarre one. It is believed that the unique taste of this fabulous cheese could be in calcareous soil in Burträsk which is thought to be the result of an ancient meteor strike.

But the most famous theory is the legend of a maid who many think is the secret behind Västerbottensost. In 1872 a young dairymaid Ulrika Eleonora Lindström was distracted from cheese making by a romantic interlude. When she returned fearing that the cheese she left unattended would have been ruined only to find out that a new unique new taste had developed a year later. The recipe she documented is the well preserved and closely guarded secret behind Västerbottensost.

How Västerbottensost  was created
How Västerbottensost was created

Västerbottensost carries the distinguished title, “By appointment to his Majesty the King of Sweden”. This versatile cheese is not just perfect for the cheeseboard, or as a garnish but equally great when used as an ingredient in a variety of recipes and cuisines.

Bronte shared some useful insights into how the cheese is to be sliced using a special cheese slicer. Remember the Swedish know their cheese really well and it is common knowledge that the slicing of cheese and using the right kind of slicer for your cheese –  is something that MUST be done right! Now if that made you nervous reading imagine what it did to us while we worked with the cheese 😉 Thankfully there was plenty of wine kept handy to avoid any possibility of us not enjoying the session.

We worked our way through preparing a Swedish Västerbotten cheese pie, laden with copious amounts of cheese – of course, a raw courgette and rocket salad and the star dish Swedish meatballs and mash.

Raw Courgette Salad with Västerbottensost
Raw Courgette Salad with Västerbottensost

When the table was all set there was so much food and many beautiful and interesting sides. I was mostly in love with the cloudberries really while the rest of the bloggers relished the pickles and Lingonberry jam.

Swedish Västerbottensost Cheesy cheese pie and salad
Swedish Västerbottensost Cheesy cheese pie and salad
Scandinavian Feast wit  Västerbottensost
Scandinavian Feast wit Västerbottensost

After that fabulous meal, I left with lots of recipe ideas popping into my head. After all with cheese this versatile it is not difficult to think beyond the typical wine and cheese pairing. Of course, there is always the danger that one may end up devouring most of the cheese before it ends up in your pan – just keep a good bottle of Red handy while you cook – either you will end up too tipsy to cook or you won’t have any cheese left to cook with 😉

The King of Swedish Cheese -  Västerbottensost
The King of Swedish Cheese – Västerbottensost

REAL Swedish Meatballs made well are quite different from the Danish and Norwegian ones and of course way, way…. wayyyy better than the ones you would eat in say Ikea.

REAL Swedish Meatballs recipe:

Serves: 4: makes around 30 small meatballs

Preparation time: 1 hour, including resting

Ingredients:

  • 150ml meat stock (chicken works well)
  • 30g porridge oats or breadcrumbs
  • 350g minced beef
  • 250g minced pork (min 10% fat)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp. plain flour (or cornflour)
  • ½ medium onion, grated
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground all-spice
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper,
  • ½ tsp ground white pepper
  • A dash of Worcestershire sauce or soya
  • 2 tbsp. cream

 Preparation:

  1. Soak the oats/breadcrumbs in the chicken stock for a few minutes.
  2. Blend the ground meat together in a mixer with a good pinch of salt for a couple of minutes to ensure it’s thoroughly combined.
  3. Add the egg, flour, and spices to another bowl and mix with the soaked oats and grated onion, then add this to the meat mixture. You’ll have a sticky, but mouldable, mixture. Leave the mixture to rest for 20-25 minutes before using for best result.
  4. Heat up a pan with a small knob of butter and a drop of oil and shape one small meatball. Fry it until done and then taste it. The quality of meat you use will alter the seasoning required and this is a great way to ensure your meatballs have good flavour. Adjust the seasoning according to taste and fry another meatball to test it until you get it just right.
Meatball Cooking
Meatball Cooking
  1. Shape the individual meatballs in your hands – it helps if your hands are damp, even wet. Each meatball should be around 2½ cm in diameter.
 Meatballs ready to be cooked
Meatballs ready to be cooked
  1. Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan with a dash of oil and carefully add some of the meatballs – make sure there is plenty of room for you to swivel the pan round and help turn them so they get a uniform round shape and ensure they do not stick. Cooking time is usually around five minutes. Keep in a warm oven until needed.
  2. Serve with mashed potato, cream gravy, and a spoonful of ‘stirred Lingonberry’ (or store-bought Lingonberry jam).

Inspired to create some recipes with cheese? Browse through some of my recipes below for inspiration:)

  • Easy Ham and Cheese Tart Recipe
  • Indian Masala Cheese Omlette
  • Stuffed Marrow Bake

Tip: You can get Lingonberry jam in most specialty stores and also some supermarkets.

**Västerbottensost can be found at Waitrose, Ocado, and Selfridges,  approx at £19.90/ kg.

All this mention of Lingonberries reminds me of our fabulous adventurous holiday in Finland, why not have a browse through my posts here:

Make the most of your stay in Finnish Lapland with this list of exciting adventure activities to do. Akaslompolo has so much to offer other than skiing!

Fantastic Finland – Top 10 – To-Do list while Akaslompolo, Lapland

While in Helsinki for our first night in Finland we booked an amazing apartment for our one night stay. It was a massive apartment conveniently located for transport links and we had the whole apartment to ourselves:

Helsinki Plus Apartment Kallio in Finland – Overnight stay review

Tempted to fly to Helsinki? Dreaming of an escape from your routine to exciting Finnish Lapland? Check out my review post about our amazing stay at the Eco-friendly backpacker’s hostel in Lapland called 7 Fells. We stayed in a private log cabin which was like a huge private studio apartment fully equipped with its own kitchenette, a lovely breakfast table and a spacious shower-room and toilet:

Stay in a private log cabin in Finnish Lapland at an Eco-friendly backpacker’s hostel called the 7 Fells

*I was invited to be a part of this Scandinavian Cooking Class courtesy of Västerbottensost cheese. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. 

Filed Under: Events, Food Tagged With: @Scandiwitchen, Burträsk in Västerbotten County, By appointment to his Majesty the King of Sweden, cloudberry jam, Danish, king of Swedish cheeses, Lingonberry jam, minced pork, Norwegian, porridge oats, raw courgette rocket salad, REAL Swedish Meatballs, Scandi blogger Bronte, Scandinavian Cookery Class with Västerbottensost Cheese, Sweden, Ulrika Eleonora Lindström

Food,travel and lifestyle writer. Photographer.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

  • Baking
  • Breads
  • C.K.P recipes
  • Cakes
  • Chutneys
  • Cocktails
  • Curry – Meat, Seafood
  • Curry – Vegetarian
  • Desserts
  • Events
  • Featured Food and Drink
  • Featured Lifestyle
  • Featured Travel Adventures
  • Food
  • Healthy
  • Home
  • India
  • Indian
  • Kitchen
  • Lifestyle
  • London and rest of U.K
  • Meat
  • Miscellaneous
  • Product Reviews
  • Quick and Easy
  • Recipe Index
  • Rest of the World
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • Salads
  • seafood
  • Sides
  • Smoothies
  • Soups
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Featured Blogger on Great British Chefs

GBC_blogger-badge_150x300px    

Need a New Power Blender?

13076814_10154185434898293_7387808474266473605_n

Read Travelfortaste’s interview on Gourmandize UK & Ireland

 Sliceoffme interviewed by Gourmandize UK & Ireland

Travelsfortaste is Featured on Expats Blog

England expat blogs

Read Travelsfortaste reviews on Zomato

View my food journey on Zomato!
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Squaremeal.co.uk - Restaurant Reviews

About me

Writer and Photographer. Food,Travel & Lifestyle, Blogger and Digital Marketer. Read More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Easy Spinach and Pea Soup
  • Grenada Chocolate Festival – Festive Giveaway
  • Royal British Legion Centenary Cookbook – Cooking with Heroes
  • The Instagram Foodie Bag – Must have for all Food Photographers
  • Restaurant quality meat – Swaledale Online Butchers – a review

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT