A taste of Lund

A Sausage, A Sandwich, and a Sweet Tooth’s Cake. Lund is filled with interesting foods and Lundagård was now ready to go test some of it. Lundagård photographer Jane Dinh, Malmö student Ryuei Sasaki, and reporter An Holmqvist set out to get a picture of what the city of Lund really tastes like.

Knake

Cost: 11 kronor

Where to find it: N Holmgrens & Co at Saluhallen, by Mårtenstorget

This dark sausage’s skin looked stale as it sat before us on the plate, three maroon-colored sausages, with no garnishings: “No ketchup? No mustard? No relish? Not even any bread?” Really? Okay. So we tried it that way, clean without the extras.

First impressions

Jane, the not-so-picky one, says: “Well, at least it doesn’t look like most American sausages – you know, the ones that are still covered with fat from the pan.”

Ryuei, the neutral guy, says: “It sort of looks like an intestine; basically the same way sausages are made, or were made in the old days.”

An, the skeptic, says: “Yeah, so do we agree that it looks boring? Let’s hope it doesn’t taste boring.”

Judgement

Well, as it turns out, the sausage may have looked like any ordinary reddish brown piece of meat, but the sausage had the soft texture of a lightly baked cake, and the taste of some really good meat. All of us agreed that it was easy to chew and that it tasted reasonably good. Not too salty, and definitely not too bitter. Our only regret? Where was that wow feeling? Where was that tinge of garlic or ginger that we usually get from those fantastic sausages? Where was the “kick,” as Ryuei put it, that we needed? To some regret, but mostly to our expectation, the sausage had a little bit of “vardagskänsla,” meaning that it tasted like any every day sausage.

We recommend that you try the sausage with a bit of food, unlike what we did. This sausage will taste great with some potatoes, and perhaps some mustard. But don’t overdo it. Ketchup is definitely not a must.

The famed Widerberg sandwich

Cost: 40 krona apiece

Where to find it: Widerbergs kött och charketuriaffär, Sankt Petri Kyrkogata – across from Stadsbiblioteket.

Some history

The Widerberg sandwiches have been around in Lund for a very long time. The well-known deli store sells up to one thousand sandwiches on an average day, and sometimes two thousand on a sunny day.

Yes! This baby definitely overwhelmed us when we first glimpsed its size. So if you’ve ever ordered the footlong at Subway’s from the U.S. or seen those baguettes in France, you may have gotten a sense of HALF of how long Widerbergers are. The overwhelming size prompted us to pick up only two of these giants for the four of us. Even then, there were still three 15-20cm long pieces left when we were finished. Sure thing, An even took one piece home and ate it for lunch the following day.

First impressions

Jane says: “Oh my god. This sandwich looks huge!”

Ryuei says: “Wait till you try the peach. That’s where the flavor truly is!”

An says: “Well, I taste some horseradish. Where’d that come from?”

The Widerberg store serves a wide variety of sandwiches, but our’s was a little bit special. This one, in addition to being packed with the ordinary delis: the hams and baloneys, the veggies, and the butter, this Widerberg had a nice flavor of horseradish sauce (a favorite in Sweden) and, of all things, freshly sliced peaches! Horseradish sauce is said to always be present in every Widerberger, but not every Widerberger is the same. Many students may even get picky if they don’t get their fair share of horseradish sauce. Their unlimited selection of fresh toppings are what must make this store special. They also sell a vegetarian Widerberger. Jane commented that the Vegetarian variant had a more interesting array of cheeses than the other sandwich.

Judgement

The sandwich was very special compared to the other dishes in the end, and quite the filler. Ryuei was right. The peach mixed in with the meat and sauce tasted of that odd but flavorfull Swedish habit, i.e. blending sweets with mealtime. And let’s be honest here, who else in the world eats meatballs with jam? Swedes eat their meatballs with this Lingonberry sauce, not too far from what Americans do at Thanksgiving with cranberry chutney and turkey.

And yet, one thing still remains to be said. Jane said that the sandwich was, “a one of a kind in Lund.” However, we’d really have to emphasize “in Lund” there. The reality is that the sandwich isn’t special enough to give itself world-class status. Any world traveler could probably find a very similar touch of sandwich in Southern Europe or the United States. One bite into that baguette, and we almost thought we were done for the evening. But that didn’t turn out to be true. We had one giant of a dessert racing toward us afterwards.

The Spettekaka

– A cake or a porcelain window decoration?

Cost: 110 kronor

Where to find it: Ramklints konditori by Mårtenstorget, among other places.

This beautifully decorative cake made of potato starch, plenty of sugar, marzipan, egg white, and icing, is a masterpiece all by itself. Though not as high as a wedding cake, this beauty boasts a height of 50 cm. 50 centimeters! That’s a half a meter! On special occasions, this typical Scanian/Southern Swedish dessert could even beat one or two meters. We looked at this cake, not so much as a cake, but as a sculpture – you know – a work of art.

First impressions

Jane says (when Ryuei is cutting through the cake): “Oh dear, it’s collapsing as if we were cutting through styrofoam. And one more thing guys, is this really cake? Seriously? And by the way, it looks kind of like Marge Simpson’s hair. Just not blue.”

Ryuei was speechless, or probably just focused on not completely obliterating the brittle cake as we cut through it. Jane and An thereby didn’t know what to expect…

An says: “It looks like a Victorian ballroom dress. Like if I could put a little barbie doll inside that whole in the middle, wouldn’t it look like a cute little Cinderella going to the ball? Well, that was before Ryuei cut into it. Now it looks like a crumbling building.”

Before we embarked on our adventure to try the cake, Lundagård editor Axel Jönsson threw us a highly cynical look and warned us, “It’s basically just made of egg and sugar.” Did he just imply that we were going to taste nothing? And honestly, could something so beautiful taste that bad? But we found out pretty quickly after trying the cake out.

All three of us seemed to agree that although we could admire the cake’s beauty, none of us could really enjoy how it tasted. As the crumbling pieces of the cake’s structure melted in our mouths, we quickly realized what Axel meant earlier. An commented with “it looks much better than it tastes. It tastes artificial. Oh, and it also reminds me of a five year old digging into a bag of sugar.”

Jane explained that eating the cake “tasted like sucking on sugar cubes. It gives that same melted feeling.” To us, the cake was not just sweet: it was an over-the-top dry kind of sweet that didn’t taste good at all.

And our recommendation to our readers? If you ever choose to eat it (which we don’t recommend right away), let the cake melt in your mouth with lots of coffee or tea. Trust us on that. Either that, or let it sit on your shelf along with any other porcelain collectibles.

Final thoughts

After spending just about three hours finishing – and analyzing – a reasonably sized dinner, we all went home disappointed with the cake, but still filled by the rest of the meal.

Thusly, Jane and An agreed that the winner of the day was the Widerberger. The sandwich had a nice blend of special touches and a filling feeling.

The Widerberg sandwich is also an affordable commodity for any hungry Lund student. Definitely our recommendation of the day. Enjoy!