Eva Hedin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
"Up til the beginnings of the seventies there was never any discussion in Sweden on what to eat. Breakfast: bread, butter, cheese, ham, oat meal porridge, milk, sugar or preserves from berries."
You might want to add the alternatives of boiled eggs and yoghurt. Also ham is definitely not the only traditional sandwich meat.

"Come winter, come sommer. The ingredients were a bit different according to season."
Ah, surely it wasn't that bad all over, but yes: gastronomically I am glad I was born 1971 and not 1951. Sweden has come a long way in the positive as well.

"All the food is put on a sideboard and the Gods are invited to eat first since they are the important guests."
Excuse me, but are you a practising HEATHEN!? I haven't the faintest what you are referring to - surely you weren't born in the 10th century?

"still defending her right to fry yesterdays oat meal porridge"
Oh, the joys of "stekt gröt"!

"So, how come the Swedes get so old on that diet and why aren't the Danes just as old on more or less the same diet?"
More Danes are heavy smokers than are Swedes. Also the Danes are "continual drinkers": where your stereotypical Swede will finish a bottle of vodka and a dozen beers or two during Friday and Saturday night, Danes spread that out over the week. Plus Danes DO eat more high-fat sandwiches and cakes than do Swedes (the combination "dairy sat.fat - flour starch - white sugar" being particularly lethal as we all know) where Swedes traditionally would go for plain buns and less elaborate sandwiches.
Erik F

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