The earliest mention of cardamom dates back to Vedic times, around 3000 BC in modern day India (Charles).
Known as the Queen of Spices, cardamom is known for its pleasant aroma and was added to soups and bread and was used to freshen breath (KP).
Referred to as "Ela" in Sanskrit, cardamom was used in combination with other ingredients in sacrificial fires that solemnized Hindu weddings (KP).
References to cardamom have also been found in Ancient Greek and Roman texts, where it was enjoyed by the upper class as perfume and as an aphrodisiac. Cardamom was also used medicinally to aid digestion and thus became an important aspect of why the Greeks and Romans imported large quantities from India (KP).
About 1,000 years ago, the Vikings found cardamom in the bazaars of Constantinople and introduced it to Scandinavia. Today, Swedes consume 60 times as much Cardamom as Americans do and 18 times more per capita than the average country, including it in mulled wines, fresh pastries, and stewed fruits (Rae).
Red: Distance from Sweden to/from Constantinople (modern day Istanbul); Blue: likely route the vikings travelled by sea to reach Constantinople
Iron, wood, 9th – 12th century. Sweden. Gift of Ivar Thord-Gray Though often thought of as assailants, Vikings were excellent craftsmen and merchants, perhaps explaining why they were the ones to introduce cardamom to Scandinavia.
Daniel Serra, a culinary archeologist focusing on Viking and and Medieval food, says this interpretation of how cardamom arrived in Scandinavia is not plausible. Instead, he offers that Scandinavians were most likely introduced to cardamom from the Moors, a Muslim people with Arab, Spanish, and Berber roots (Miltner).
Cardamom first appeared in a Scandinavian cookbook around 1450; those recipes are almost identical to that of the Moors'. From this we must conclude that the Scandinavians were very heavily influenced by Moorish recipes and traditions (Miltner).
Serra speculates that perhaps the reason why cardamom and other spices stuck in the Scandinavian region is because of geography. Serra describes Scandinavia as being "on the fringes of the continent" and therefore "clung" to medieval food longer than the rest of Europe (Miltner).
Two traditional Moorish recipes, both of which include saffron, another popular spice in Scandinavian cooking (Bute)
One particular pastry, Kanebullar (cardamom buns), is one of the most popular pastries in Sweden. My mother's recipe has been in our family for many generations and I grew up eating them often.
Swedish Cardamom Buns (kanebullar):
1 package fresh yeast
18 TBSP unsalted butter; 8 of the TBSP at room temperature
2 cups milk at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 TBSP ground cardamom
1 tsp kosher salt
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1 cup pearl sugar
Directions:
Place yeast into a bowl.
In a small saucepan, melt 10 tablespoons of cold butter. Add milk and remove from heat. Once lukewarm, add mixture to the yeast.
In another small bowl, combine the sugar, cardamom, and kosher salt. Add this sugar mixture to yeast mixture and mix until smooth.
Add the flour, ½ cup at a time, to the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until flour is fully incorporated.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth, light, and pliable. Return the kneaded dough to its original bowl and cover it with a damp kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a damp, draft-free place for 45 minutes.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Halve the dough with a knife and roll the first half into a 24 x 15 x 1/8-inch rectangle. Spread half the softened, room temperature butter in a thin layer over the rectangle with a blunt knife, being careful not to tear the dough. Sprinkle half of the remaining sugar-spice mixture over the dough.
Starting from one long side, roll the dough tightly, ending with the seam side down. Cut the roll into 1½-inch sections. Place each section into a muffin liner, cut-side-up. Place on a baking sheet or keep in muffin tin and brush each one with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with pearl sugar and bake in a 400°F oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
My mother's kanebullar with saffron, a traditional addition for Christmas
Saffron is another spice that is not native to Sweden but rather it is believed to have originated in Iran (Charles).
This recipe, published in the New York Times on December 8, 1963, details a traditional kanebullar recipe. It also includes a recipe for Swedish glogg, a traditional Christmas drink that also has cardamom.
Interestingly, another traditional Christmas recipe is risgrynsgöt, or rice pudding. It is no coincidence that this is another recipe with a Middle Eastern-Indian influence. Despite its prevalence all over the world today, rice is traditionally from Asia and was traded in order to reach other countries (Nicander).
As was the case with many other nations at the time, during the 18th century Sweden aspired to profit from trade with other countries--specifically, East India. In 1731, the Swedish East Indian Company (SEIC) was established and it lasted until 1813. Though it was established for economic purposes, the trade between Sweden and India certainly had an influence in Swedish culture and cuisine. Interestingly, the SEIC was created purely for commercial reasons and there were no colonialist or expansionist conquests, which was quite progressive for the time (Benner).
The headquarters of the SEIC were located in a Swedish harbor city, Gothenburg due to its proximity to the sea (Nicander).
In the 1700s, Indian teas, silks, and porcelain were shipped to Gothenburg because of the SEIC
Today, cardamom can be found in almost every bakery and home across Sweden. One of the most common ways to enjoy a Kanebulle is with your "fika," a cup of coffee. Except in Sweden, "fika" is used as a verb as well as a noun, and it describes a concept of setting aside time to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee and a tasty pastry, either alone or with friends (Sinopoli). In addition to cardamom and other spices, aspects of Indian and Middle Eastern culture have left their mark on Swedish society and have been fully incorporated into Swedish and Scandinavian life. Despite its Indian origins, Swedes have found a way to make cardamom--and other non-Scandinavian spices--uniquely Swedish an apart of everyday traditions, such as fika.
Photograph of Swedish cardamom buns in a local bakery that I took on a recent trip to Stockholm
