Where Australia meets Sweden: Vegemite and knäckebröd.
When I first met my Aussie husband 13 years ago, I liked to make fun of Vegemite. I likened eating the yeast extract as akin to eating petroleum. And I believe that I also called it the gooky leftovers from beer making. (Which is true, when you get down to it.) Of course, I also said that the American peanut butter and jelly sandwich was far superior to the Vegemite sandwich. But Robert began sneaking the paste into sauces and singing its virtues as a health food, full of vitamin B, etc. And somewhere along the line, I got used to its bitter, salty taste. Now I love it. I even crave it.
When I moved to Sweden, I had kind of a similar reaction to knäckebröd – Swedish hard bread. “What’s the big deal about eating a kind of bread that could best described as cardboard,” I wondered. And then I had some of the homemade knäcke and learned just how good that stuff can be.
The old saying is that familiarity breeds contempt. But I think sometimes it also breeds love. Because my favorite go-to, in-between meal snack of late has been Vegemite and butter on a piece of knäckebröd. I like to think of it as where Australia meets Sweden.
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Kalles Kaviar is surely Sweden’s answer to vegemite. Extremely rich in flavour and fondly regarded by the locals, though often misunderstood by tourists and foreigners. The mistake most non-Australians make with vegemite is putting on too much, spreading it thickly like it was jam or peanut butter. The same must surely be said for non-Swedes with Kalles Kaviar?
That’s brilliant James! Well said! And I have to agree with you on that. But I do have a confession to make: I am still not a fan of Kalles!
I am an Australian expat and we are living in thailand (a stepping stone on our quest to eventually expat in Sweden) Our local market sells vegemite! I was so excited. they also sell all types of hard cardboard looking European bread…will have to see if it’s from there and try it with vegemite 🙂
Hi expat wife, Although Sweden is lovely, Thailand has much better weather. Are you sure you want to give that up? Very cool about the Vegemite. I can find it here at a British store. Thanks for reading and best of luck with your travels.
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