We had over 35 responses to our survey from people originating from a wide range of countries, including Hungary, Venezuela, South Africa, India, France, Jamaica and Portugal.
There were a large number of people from the UK – England, Scotland and Wales – and from the US, including places like Iowa, California, Kansas and New York.
A common feature of the items people missed was either that they were extremely local items difficult to replicate abroad – such as pickles from a particular state in India, or Hokkien food from the Fujian state of China – or that they were the kind of industrial product that it is impossible to recreate at home.
“I miss ketchup flavoured potato chips,” wrote Mike, a Canadian scientist and researcher in Stockholm. “Swedes have ketchup on pasta, so why not chips!? In general, there are not enough sour or tangy potato chip flavours in Sweden.”
“I saw them as a promotion at ICA last year, but other than that nothing,” Mike wrote on where to find them. “They are even hard to get in some parts of the US.”
Caroline Porteous, originally from the UK, missed a range of similar industrially-produced British products, including small chunk Branston pickle (a sweet, spicy chutney-like vegetable pickle often used in sandwiches), salad cream (a creamy dressing similar to mayonnaise, but looser and tangier), and gravy granules, which are mixed with boiling water to make gravy.
She added that she also misses snacks like “pickled onion Monster Munch, Terry’s Chocolate Oranges, Jaffa Cakes and Rich Tea biscuits” as well as “proper chip shop fish and chips.”
Branston Pickle was one of the most missed items in our survey, with at least three different people mentioning it. Many wrote that shops like Taste of Britain in Malmö or The British Shop in Gothenburg were good places to source British, American and Australian food, but often more expensive due to import costs.
“Proper corn tortillas” were also a popular item, with a few Americans listing them as an item they struggle to find in Sweden.
“I brought masa flour and a tortilla press over from California to satisfy that urge,” wrote Marta, a Californian living in Österlen in Skåne.
Diane, an American who described home as “Kansas and Iowa” but is now living in Stockholm, wrote that she misses American snacks like “White Cheddar Cheez-its, Triscuits and Wheat Thins.”
“I also miss my favorite breakfast cereals: Honey Bunches of Oats and Frosted Mini-Wheats. I haven’t found any acceptable substitutes. They appear not to meet EU standards (too tasty to be healthy?)”
With Thanksgiving just around the corner it was no surprise that there were a number of Americans missing classic items like pumpkin puree, cranberry sauce and turkey.
“Almost every Thanksgiving we’re on the lookout for Ocean Spray cranberry sauce,” wrote a retired New Yorker based in Malmö. “I think if one looks on the internet you can find a can for 3x the US price. We substitute blackcurrant sauce sometimes.”
Nikki Lindqvist, an American retiree, said that she misses fresh cranberries.
“Years ago I could get them at my ICA, but no more,” she added.
Another respondent, from the UK and South Africa, said she missed a number of essential Christmas ingredients, like suet and allspice which are often used for making the sweet mince pies Brits eat at Christmas.
Johan, another South African, said he misses Mrs H.S. Balls Chutney, a sauce made of dried apricots and peaches cooked in vinegar and spices which is often used in South African cooking.
“You can find it online but that’s too expensive,” he wrote. “I ask visiting family to bring it from South Africa.”
Star, a Jamaican living in Malmö said he missed “jerk chicken seasoning from Jamaica,” adding that he hadn’t found it available anywhere in Sweden.
He also missed “fresh ackee, not the one in the tin cans.” Ackee is a savoury fruit originally native to West Africa, and is the national fruit of Jamaica, with trees found all over the island.
He wasn’t the only person to miss a specific kind of spice or seasoning. Emese, a Hungarian living in Stockholm, wrote that she gets her mum to send spices over, and also often finds herself missing “vegetables not popular here”.
She left Hungary at the age of 18, but wrote that she finds herself still missing Hungarian flavours.
“I have learnt to make many dishes during my many years abroad now,” she added.
A respondent from Lithuania writing on Facebook said that she missed black bread, a type of sour Rye bread, which her sister sometimes sends to her via post.
Another common thing linking many answers was the fact that if the food they wanted was available, it was often more expensive to buy and worse quality than it would be back home.
Martin, a Spaniard living in Stockholm, complained of the limited availability of Spanish products at a reasonable price.
“Supermarkets are invaded by Italian products yet the offer of other superior products like Spanish jamón serrano or delicious cheese beyond manchego is quite limited or non-existent,” he said.
He said he had been able to find these products in “some gourmet grocery stores like NK gourmet or those fancy ICAs in selected city spots.
“But heavily overpriced, so something you can easily find at affordable prices and great quality back home is reserved for only very special occasions in Sweden.”
Sofia, a Portuguese architect based in Stockholm said she missed pasteis de nata, the small custard tarts Portugal is famous for. She wrote that she had found them at the Dåndimpen's bakery in Stockholm.
“But they don’t have it often and they are only open Tue-Fri 9am until 1pm,” she added.
There were also a couple of French respondents who missed French cheese, including Antoine, who is opening a French cheese and delicatessen in Jämtland.
A few Brits wrote that they missed British bacon and sausages, with David in Stockholm writing that he missed a “full English breakfast”.
“There’s a butcher in Stockholm that makes some of the ingredients but not the same as the UK,” he wrote.
One Brit answering our survey on Facebook had gone even further, writing that he had learnt how to make British-style malt vinegar and sausages in order to satisfy his cravings.
Comments (7)