Thanks! Plantain tastes quite different depending on the level of ripeness. Green plantain (which is to say unripe plantain) is very starchy and has a pretty mild flavor that I think is more akin to potato than to banana. Green plantain is what you’ll see turned into mash, used to make the dish mofongo (which is… Read more

Thanks for reading! Read more

It’s sort of confusing. “Ground food” is basically a literal description and refers to food that grows underground, or at ground level. But (for reasons that couldn’t fully be explained) plantains are included in that group, even though they grow on trees. As for the johnnycakes, my research/reference materials say… Read more

Fixed! Thanks for that, and to everyone else who chimed in. We also fixed the fact that when I did the currency conversion rates I accidentally used Danish Kroner instead of Swedish. Dumb mistakes on my part which I am happy are corrected. Read more

1) That was amazing;
2) I’ve never seen that before, and;
3) If I had I absolutely would have found a way to make that the lede to this story. Read more

Hah, touché. I get what you mean about the food section. My experience is that they actually do have their own dedicated cashier and register within the food section, but that the service at IKEA is so unbelievably bad that it’s generally not manned by an employee unless you actually go and fetch someone. Read more

My personal favorite:

I hate to say this, but if you’re seeing the cash registers before the store it means you’re going in the wrong entrance Read more

I got asked a lot of questions about why we (Americans) think the Swedish chef is funny, and every time I thought about it it made me laugh. Probably not my most professional moments. Read more

Surströmming is sort of their equivalent of that. I’m not sure if the texture is quite the same as lutfisk given that it’s not cured in lye, but there are definitely videos online of people opening up the cans of Surströmming and immediately vomiting from the aroma. They’re sort of fun to watch, if you like videos of… Read more

Sweden’s candy culture is worthy of a stand alone article. I did learn that they simply call those “fish”, and not “Swedish fish”, which makes sense. Read more

The Swedish system does share some similarities, it’s just that Systembolegat is for the entire country, where in the US distribution laws vary state by state. Read more

It’s complicated. Packaged beer over 3.5% can only be sold at Systembolegat stores, but anything under that (which is classified as “folkbier”) can be sold in other shops. Systembolegat does carry craft beer, but friends in Sweden tell me that macro beer is still more popular, and that Systembolegat tends not to… Read more

Nothing says “psychopaths fly coach too” like a jar of fermented shark in an enclosed space Read more

As a Food Professional™ I’m going to respectfully suggest “hot wings” as a serious contender for this list. I was on a flight where someone brought on a styrofoam clamshell of hot wings, and we’re talking full wings: wingtip connected to the drummie, that were swimming in a slick of vinegar and hot sauce. Other than… Read more

For the sake of conversation and information, you’re describing textbook symptoms of alcoholism. The “eyeopener” is one of the questions on the CAGE questionnaire (which is a useful, it not particularly comprehensive tool), and your description is pretty spot on for someone who has developed significant tolerance and… Read more

Also tolerance! Read more