Can you believe it, I've gone graphic?!?
It wasn't an easy decision, in my tiny blogging world.
But what, you non-Swedes may ask, does that strange-looking tube of toothpaste have to do with learning Swedish the hard way?
That is no toothpaste. It is a tube of fish roe, mixed with sugar, salt, tomato paste and potato flakes. And for me, more emblematic of Sweden than just about anything else, including the flag, Crown Princess Victoria, H&M or a Volvo 740. Probably even more of a true symbol of Sweden than Abba is. The only thing equal to Kalles Kaviar would be Ikea. But who wants a picture of Ikea on the top of their blog when a tube of Kalles Kaviar is so much more graphically pleasing?
And somehow, more appropriate, since it is perhaps as difficult a taste to acquire as the Swedish language. (Although to be honest, I've always rather liked it squeezed onto a boiled egg instead of salt.)
The Swedish word for the day is ikoniskt. It means, of course, iconic.
Monday, February 09, 2009
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23 comments:
I have a tube of this at home, thanks to Swedish cousins. I wondered what I was supposed to do with it. Thanks for clearing that up! Though I'm not sure I want to try it per se...
it's a good look! sounds like it tastes awful though.
(hey francis - have been readin'/enjoyin' your blog for years.)
Bah. Swedish came easy to me, Pink Stuff(TM) I've never liked.
Ha! I love that stuff... Although the only thing way I eat it is on boiled eggs. My Swedish girlfriend had some brought over to South Africa for us, however the person who brought it got a little overexcited and brought 4 tubes of it - and now 5 months later we're still struggling to get through the 1st one... Don't think we're ever going to go short on it again.
HOT.
Oh, am loving your kaviar graphic! Have to get my mum to send over tubes of the stuff to us in Scotland, our fridge is never without it! Yum, yum.
I think Kalles is truly a Swedish icon :D For those of you who really like it and miss it - they sell Kalles kaviar in Ikea (3 varieties too;))
I love it. And I want to try some!
Any idea where to get some in the states?
I love the graphic! I've been following your blog since I started dating a Swedish man. He and his family have introduced me to kaviar (yes, on boiled eggs on toast). It's growing on me. :-)
excellent choice!
for people who are wondering: Kalles is good on boiled eggs and sandwiches
the commercials sometimes show people using it on smörgåstårta ...but that would be like having ice cream cake and clowns at your wedding...
You should also promote Julmust/Påskmust. LOL
Nice graphics! As to the contents of said tube I can only say this;
Havn't had any since I was 3 or 4 and I can still remember the texture and horrid taste 30 years later.
Excuse me, but I need the loo!
my swedish hubby loves the stuff and i do too. cannot wait to go back to sweden this year.
Truly iconic product. Also the means for my favorite test for genuine "Swedishness": asking people to open a new tube of Kalles Kaviar.
(If you reach for an external tool you have failed this test :-)
When I lived abroad, I was constantly asking friends and family to bring Kalles when they came. Now when I am back in Sweden, I never eat it. Weird.
And do note that Kalles Kaviar is produced by Abba.
Well, not Agneta, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid, but the "food with fish as main ingredient" company Abba. The story is that the band asked the fishproducer for their promission to use the name. They accepted.
// A. the tv producer
Hey, Francis - I love the graphic, and your blog is terrific!
I wanted to thank you for leaving the recommendation for "Mini Mia and her Darling Uncle" on my blog back in November. I'll be posting on it soon. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but this solo blogging this is challenging sometimes!
Namaste,
Lee
Kalles is my favorite thing ever, maybe. I eat it on knacke. Sometimes with cream cheese even. But i'm pretty happy to just eat it out of the tube.
Ack Ack Ack.
I will always be too American for Kalles Kaviar and for Vegemite.
(But it's a pretty graphic!)
Turn your back for a moment and suddenly the comments work and the masthead changes...
We now have a local Ikea which always makes me laugh. In the UK the shops are rather like stylish National Trust houses with whole families taking a day to walk around all the sets, not at all like they are in Sweden where people seem to go it, pickup things, buy them and leave. Still it does mean I can get cloudberry jam...
We have a tube of Kalle's in our refrigerator in Chicago, thanks to my darling Swedish husband. He enjoys it on toast. He keeps trying to get me to try it, but the smell is awful, I can't bring myself to take even a bite...
Very happy it's the Abba brand.
Yuck. I just have to point out that "ikoniskt" is only iconic if applied to an "ett word." On should use "ikonisk" instead. Jag tycker om att läsa dina ord. Du är en bra skribent.
-Ys Marksson
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