potatoes, potatoes, potatoes! You know I gotta try this recipe! This was a delightful post. a great read. of love and tradition. And I really enjoyed all the photos you included. It's so great you have so many! I only have one potato tradition to offer up and I doubt it is related to my German and Irish heritages: fried oyster candy. Made with mashed potatoes. They are totally addicting. "Bolby's" (sp?) candy store in Appleton used to make and sell them. As a child, I would walk downtown every Christmas holiday to purchase some. For a while, they sold some in grocery stores, but they are long gone. I had an original recipe from a friend's great grandmother in Appleton, but had lost it over the years. After the internet started up, for years I searched for it again and finally found it in a local quilting group about 20 years ago. A 90 year old quilter was active in the group and shared the recipe. :-)
I remember Bowlby's in Appleton for their red licorice. They had whips, rolls, and twists. I think I have heard of fried oyster candy but I'm certain I've never tried it. Give lefse a try! You'll like it. Festival Foods still has some commercially made lefse available near the butcher in the back if you want to try it before you make it. Happy New Year neighbor!
A lovely piece. No lefse was involved in my family's holiday celebrations. However, joining the Clean Plate Club was required at the Johnston-Marvin Thanksgivings in Warroad. The challenge being that it was closely supervised and took multiple plate cleanings to gain entry!
Interesting. I'm Swedish and live in Stockholm but I haven't heard of lefse before. It sounds delicious. I just read that it's originally from Norway but that it's also common across the border in Värmland and Dalarna. Have you heard of the soft thin bread called klådda and the wrap you make with it filled with fish and potatoes called tylla? Klådda, pronounced klodda, is a soft, thin bread they eat in Norrbotten, where my father came from. I'm not sure how many Swedish immigrants to the U.S. came from Norbotten. It's in northern Sweden.
My great-grandparents immigrated from Sweden and arrived on Lake of the Woods in 1903 on ceded Red Lake Reservation land. They celebrated with oyster stew https://jillswenson.substack.com/p/ew-oyster-stew
Varmland sounds about right as Swedish origin of lefse as one of Minnesota's holiday food traditions. I haven't heard of klodda before and wonder what fish do you mix with potatoes inside? Creamed or pickled herring at the holidays on Ritz crackers is another Scandinavian seasonal food tradition in Minnesota. We also make "Swedish sushi" which is a thin slice of ham with creamed cheese spread on it and a dill pickle spear wrapped up and sliced into pinwheels. Greetings to you in Stockholm!
Yummy! In the village where my father grew up, Påläng (pronounced Poleng), on the Bothnian Bay (Bottenviken) of the Baltic Sea (Östersjön), fishing was important. They were both dairy farmers and fishermen. They ate fresh fish during the season but otherwise salt herring. One of my cousins has followed the tradition. She puts the fresh herring in a bucket full of salt water, adds a wooden lid to weigh the fish down, and puts a a bigger lid on top of the bucket. The water is quite salty so the fish keeps for the whole winter. Since it is very salty, you have to "dilute" the fish with potatoes and butter when you eat it. First you grill the fish over a fire, then you spread plenty of butter on the soft thin bread called klådda, spread out the potatoes, sprinkle over pieces of grilled salt herring, and finally fold up the bread. The whole "wrap" is called a tylla. I forgot to mention, before the meal you take a sauna and a little swim in Bottenviken, providing it's ice-free. It may not sound like much but it is very satisfying!
I guess your ancestors would have caught fish in the Lake of the Woods. It looks like a very nice area judging from the map.
Thanks for taking us along on this journey of love. It made me think of a German recipe my Nan used to make with potatoes and flour but hers had sugar and she spread it with peanut butter. She called it "flitch" but recently I saw it called "potato candy." It was delicious but you'd be going to the dentist's office if you ate too much!
I've never heard of "flitch" or "potato candy" but I'm glad to hear you have fond memories of your Nan's sweet treat. When I googled it, I see it's a rolled log of mashed potatoes and peanut butter and sliced into pinwheels. So pretty!
My dad made the lefse when I was growing up. It was soft right off the grill but then hardened. I didn’t know that this was the Norwegian version! It just seemed different than the soft, floury kind that everyone else made. You could really taste the potatoes in it. Loved it with butter and brown sugar. Thanks for sharing your memories and traditions, Jill.
Happy to hear your father made the lefse and kept the tradition going. At the Sons of Norway dinners in northern Minnesota you'll find men flipping lefse. Real men flip lefse might make a great bumpersticker!
A great one! My brother makes lefse. He’s the one who “inherited” the lefse griddle and the big cone-shaped potato ricer with the wooden pestle when we sold the house after my parents died. My husband made lefse. My son makes lefse. Life is good.
I love hearing about all these men involved with the lefse ritual. My dad was an extraordinary cook and he was in charge of making the cream of wild rice soup.
I didn’t grow up with lefse. But I did eat potato sausage with Swedish meatballs at Christmas with lingonberries. My father described how his parents worked together in the kitchen to make the sausage in Detroit. He bought his. Now I make the meatballs each Christmas for my family in Vermont. It’s not Swedish Christmas food, I’ve learned, but Christmas on my Dad’s side was about eating Swedish. Loved learning about lefse and wish I could try some!
Oh, the meatballs with the lingonberries are soooooo good. Now I'm drooling. Fortunately Jacob's Meat Market here in town makes Swedish sausage "good enough" to serve company. Potato sausage AND meatballs go together on a smorgasbord.
These holiday traditions are wonderful, aren't they? l loved reading this. Our big one is frosted sugar cookies, passed down for 5 generations (that l know of). Hope you are having a happy holiday season, Jill!
I grew up with the Norwegian version, but ours was allowed to completely dry out. When you wanted to eat it, it was softened between moist paper towels and spread with butter and brown sugar. The tradition is lost for me as it was that of my step parents from long ago but I’ve always remembered it. Thank you!
It is a memorable taste -- so simple and yet so comforting. And the Norwegians like it sweeter. Here's to your Norwegian step-parents for spreading the taste of this tradition.
I hope you make it for me someday. No sugar or cinnamon. Just sweet memories. My grandma made cinnamon bread to eat Christmas week. Fried chicken, baking powder biscuits, and fruit pies were her specialties.
I always am pleased to get any message from you that contains the words, "now you have me wondering about . . . . " I'll send you in a private message, the Christmas cookie recipe. This Grandma was of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. The cookies were wonderful. Ours turn out quite well, but they never quite match hers.
We make lefse every year with my parents, and have been for about the last 25 years. Our daughter knew how to flip the lefse when she was 4. They are both now in there mid-90s and I wonder when it will be the last year. We will of course carry on with making it hoping that our son and daughter will decide to continue making it as well.
It is great to hear you carry on the tradition with your parents and I do hope your son and daughter carry it on further. It's a simple food filled with family memories.
Anything that dominates over the plain taste of potato and white flour is not recommended by this Swede. But I shouldn't say anything since I've put bacon jam on matzoh and thought it was divine.
I wonder after reading about this Scandinavian recipe, what recipes might have over time been exchanged between these people and the local native people in the area? I do recall early on with your writing, you talked about the wild rice that now seems to be such a treasure. I believe your Mom would be pleased to know you are sharing her recipe. In remembrance of my Swiss heritage, we will make cheese fondue on Christmas Eve. It's always so nice to gather family around the fondue pot. I also have been sure to save and share my Grandma's Christmas cookie recipe.
Now you have me wondering about the cultural transmission of food traditions in Minnesota. Lefse, like wild rice, makes an appearance at many community holiday gatherings in Minnesota this time of year so everyone can enjoy it. Fondue is another wonderful food tradition that non-Swiss enjoy, too. It seems to be making a comeback here with a great restaurant offering only fondue. I have family memories of two fondue pots. One with cheese to dip and one to fry things in. What a great tradition to carry on. The Christmas cookies....oh don't even get me started on what fond food memories come up for sweets!
potatoes, potatoes, potatoes! You know I gotta try this recipe! This was a delightful post. a great read. of love and tradition. And I really enjoyed all the photos you included. It's so great you have so many! I only have one potato tradition to offer up and I doubt it is related to my German and Irish heritages: fried oyster candy. Made with mashed potatoes. They are totally addicting. "Bolby's" (sp?) candy store in Appleton used to make and sell them. As a child, I would walk downtown every Christmas holiday to purchase some. For a while, they sold some in grocery stores, but they are long gone. I had an original recipe from a friend's great grandmother in Appleton, but had lost it over the years. After the internet started up, for years I searched for it again and finally found it in a local quilting group about 20 years ago. A 90 year old quilter was active in the group and shared the recipe. :-)
I remember Bowlby's in Appleton for their red licorice. They had whips, rolls, and twists. I think I have heard of fried oyster candy but I'm certain I've never tried it. Give lefse a try! You'll like it. Festival Foods still has some commercially made lefse available near the butcher in the back if you want to try it before you make it. Happy New Year neighbor!
Yes! The red licorice!! Thanks for the lefse tips. I am going to give it a try. 😊
"Tasted like love." I love that phrase. Wonderful story, I didn't know about lefse.
Were there any special family recipes for the season from your childhood you remember as tasting like love?
A lovely piece. No lefse was involved in my family's holiday celebrations. However, joining the Clean Plate Club was required at the Johnston-Marvin Thanksgivings in Warroad. The challenge being that it was closely supervised and took multiple plate cleanings to gain entry!
Thanks fellow member of the Clean Plate Club.
Interesting. I'm Swedish and live in Stockholm but I haven't heard of lefse before. It sounds delicious. I just read that it's originally from Norway but that it's also common across the border in Värmland and Dalarna. Have you heard of the soft thin bread called klådda and the wrap you make with it filled with fish and potatoes called tylla? Klådda, pronounced klodda, is a soft, thin bread they eat in Norrbotten, where my father came from. I'm not sure how many Swedish immigrants to the U.S. came from Norbotten. It's in northern Sweden.
My great-grandparents immigrated from Sweden and arrived on Lake of the Woods in 1903 on ceded Red Lake Reservation land. They celebrated with oyster stew https://jillswenson.substack.com/p/ew-oyster-stew
Varmland sounds about right as Swedish origin of lefse as one of Minnesota's holiday food traditions. I haven't heard of klodda before and wonder what fish do you mix with potatoes inside? Creamed or pickled herring at the holidays on Ritz crackers is another Scandinavian seasonal food tradition in Minnesota. We also make "Swedish sushi" which is a thin slice of ham with creamed cheese spread on it and a dill pickle spear wrapped up and sliced into pinwheels. Greetings to you in Stockholm!
Yummy! In the village where my father grew up, Påläng (pronounced Poleng), on the Bothnian Bay (Bottenviken) of the Baltic Sea (Östersjön), fishing was important. They were both dairy farmers and fishermen. They ate fresh fish during the season but otherwise salt herring. One of my cousins has followed the tradition. She puts the fresh herring in a bucket full of salt water, adds a wooden lid to weigh the fish down, and puts a a bigger lid on top of the bucket. The water is quite salty so the fish keeps for the whole winter. Since it is very salty, you have to "dilute" the fish with potatoes and butter when you eat it. First you grill the fish over a fire, then you spread plenty of butter on the soft thin bread called klådda, spread out the potatoes, sprinkle over pieces of grilled salt herring, and finally fold up the bread. The whole "wrap" is called a tylla. I forgot to mention, before the meal you take a sauna and a little swim in Bottenviken, providing it's ice-free. It may not sound like much but it is very satisfying!
I guess your ancestors would have caught fish in the Lake of the Woods. It looks like a very nice area judging from the map.
That sounds delicious!
Thanks for taking us along on this journey of love. It made me think of a German recipe my Nan used to make with potatoes and flour but hers had sugar and she spread it with peanut butter. She called it "flitch" but recently I saw it called "potato candy." It was delicious but you'd be going to the dentist's office if you ate too much!
I've never heard of "flitch" or "potato candy" but I'm glad to hear you have fond memories of your Nan's sweet treat. When I googled it, I see it's a rolled log of mashed potatoes and peanut butter and sliced into pinwheels. So pretty!
My dad made the lefse when I was growing up. It was soft right off the grill but then hardened. I didn’t know that this was the Norwegian version! It just seemed different than the soft, floury kind that everyone else made. You could really taste the potatoes in it. Loved it with butter and brown sugar. Thanks for sharing your memories and traditions, Jill.
Happy to hear your father made the lefse and kept the tradition going. At the Sons of Norway dinners in northern Minnesota you'll find men flipping lefse. Real men flip lefse might make a great bumpersticker!
A great one! My brother makes lefse. He’s the one who “inherited” the lefse griddle and the big cone-shaped potato ricer with the wooden pestle when we sold the house after my parents died. My husband made lefse. My son makes lefse. Life is good.
I love hearing about all these men involved with the lefse ritual. My dad was an extraordinary cook and he was in charge of making the cream of wild rice soup.
I didn’t grow up with lefse. But I did eat potato sausage with Swedish meatballs at Christmas with lingonberries. My father described how his parents worked together in the kitchen to make the sausage in Detroit. He bought his. Now I make the meatballs each Christmas for my family in Vermont. It’s not Swedish Christmas food, I’ve learned, but Christmas on my Dad’s side was about eating Swedish. Loved learning about lefse and wish I could try some!
Oh, the meatballs with the lingonberries are soooooo good. Now I'm drooling. Fortunately Jacob's Meat Market here in town makes Swedish sausage "good enough" to serve company. Potato sausage AND meatballs go together on a smorgasbord.
Miss the potato sausage very much! Yum.
These holiday traditions are wonderful, aren't they? l loved reading this. Our big one is frosted sugar cookies, passed down for 5 generations (that l know of). Hope you are having a happy holiday season, Jill!
Merry merry! Five generations in a festive family food tradition is remarkable. Enjoy the sweets with loved ones.
I grew up with the Norwegian version, but ours was allowed to completely dry out. When you wanted to eat it, it was softened between moist paper towels and spread with butter and brown sugar. The tradition is lost for me as it was that of my step parents from long ago but I’ve always remembered it. Thank you!
It is a memorable taste -- so simple and yet so comforting. And the Norwegians like it sweeter. Here's to your Norwegian step-parents for spreading the taste of this tradition.
I hope you make it for me someday. No sugar or cinnamon. Just sweet memories. My grandma made cinnamon bread to eat Christmas week. Fried chicken, baking powder biscuits, and fruit pies were her specialties.
We could try making it together as you have a great griddle for your stovetop
Wonderful memories, Jill! And perfectly timed as I just stuffed my lefsa kit into my suitcase to bring to Christmas!
happy holidays! and enjoy making lefse with family in Minnesota
And happiest holidays to you, too!
I always am pleased to get any message from you that contains the words, "now you have me wondering about . . . . " I'll send you in a private message, the Christmas cookie recipe. This Grandma was of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. The cookies were wonderful. Ours turn out quite well, but they never quite match hers.
We make lefse every year with my parents, and have been for about the last 25 years. Our daughter knew how to flip the lefse when she was 4. They are both now in there mid-90s and I wonder when it will be the last year. We will of course carry on with making it hoping that our son and daughter will decide to continue making it as well.
It is great to hear you carry on the tradition with your parents and I do hope your son and daughter carry it on further. It's a simple food filled with family memories.
Now that's a recipe I just might try some day!
I'm pretty sure the basic recipe hasn't changed much for centuries! And it truly is delicious! (True confession: there are only three pieces left)
Made me wonder how it would be with a wonderul brown butter and sage drizzled on it. Yum
Anything that dominates over the plain taste of potato and white flour is not recommended by this Swede. But I shouldn't say anything since I've put bacon jam on matzoh and thought it was divine.
I wonder after reading about this Scandinavian recipe, what recipes might have over time been exchanged between these people and the local native people in the area? I do recall early on with your writing, you talked about the wild rice that now seems to be such a treasure. I believe your Mom would be pleased to know you are sharing her recipe. In remembrance of my Swiss heritage, we will make cheese fondue on Christmas Eve. It's always so nice to gather family around the fondue pot. I also have been sure to save and share my Grandma's Christmas cookie recipe.
Now you have me wondering about the cultural transmission of food traditions in Minnesota. Lefse, like wild rice, makes an appearance at many community holiday gatherings in Minnesota this time of year so everyone can enjoy it. Fondue is another wonderful food tradition that non-Swiss enjoy, too. It seems to be making a comeback here with a great restaurant offering only fondue. I have family memories of two fondue pots. One with cheese to dip and one to fry things in. What a great tradition to carry on. The Christmas cookies....oh don't even get me started on what fond food memories come up for sweets!