Fika the art of the swedish coffee break

Head out in the nature, bring flatbread rolls, coffee and a kettle. One of the best spots, where the goodies usually tastes even better is outdoors, summer or winter. It involves taking a short break or two throughout the day to relax, connect, and reflect. We Swedes simply appreciate the good things in life and just want to drink our coffee in peace without any stress.ДЄnd remember, never ever turn down a fika with a Swede. The art of Swedish fika is more about how you do it than where. So Fika isВ actually both a noun and a verb, we socialise with a fika, there is rarely any rush or agenda behind it. Just put your apron on and bake your favourite cookies, put on some coffee and invite your friends for some good old chit-chat! If you feel inspired to create your own fika at home itвЂ™s not hard at all. ItвЂ™s very rare that someone will ask you to bring something, itвЂ™s their treat.

Everybody should try cookies baked by a Swedish grandmother once in their life.ДЄnd if you ever get invited to a fika and are wondering what you should bring, donвЂ™t panic. And grandparents, grandparents LOVE fika, and they always have something freshly baked waiting for you in the kitchen or wherever you are fika-ing. So who do you fika with? It can be with colleagues, family, friends, a first date or just someone you are trying to get to know. ItвЂ™s easy to make and you can add so many flavour twists, lemon, blueberries, gingerbread, you can do anything with it!ДЇika can happen at any time during the day, morning through evening, and it can be served almost everywhere like at home, at work, in a cafГ© and in church (yes there is a thing called Church Fika) and you can fika (yes a verb!) several times a day, thatвЂ™s what makes it so good! Something else that is very dear to us Swedes is sockerkaka, sponge cake. Treats that you often can find on a swedish fika table is cinnamon rolls, they taste like cinnamon heaven and should be enjoyed freshly baked with a glass of milk.

or sometimes a sandwich, or as we swedes say, SmГ¶rgГҐs. With our coffee we like to have something sweet, FikabrГ¶d or Fika bread, which is a collective name for all kinds of biscuits, cookies, buns etc. But of course as one of the top coffee consuming nationвЂ™s in the world we prefer coffee. So what is fika? Actually it doesnвЂ™t have to involve coffee, sometimes coffee is replaced with lemonade, juice, tea or another beverage. We Swedes loves our fika, thatвЂ™s why we have our own special word for it and kind of claim that itвЂ™s untranslatable, thatвЂ™s because we donвЂ™t want it to lose significance and we want it to mean something more than just a cup of coffee. Fika to Swedes is like the Hakuna Matata to Timon and Pumba in the Lion King. Swedish fika is so much more than just a cup of coffee, itвЂ™s a social phenomenon, a concept, a way of life you could say. Beyond the classic sweet-baked goods associated with fika, the book gives recipes for savory smГ¶rgГҐsbords, jams, drinks and more contemporary recipes like the ultra-rich chokladbollar (chocolate balls that are, admittedly, mostly butter).Fika, is the Swedish word for вЂcoffee breakвЂ™ or вЂrefreshmentsвЂ™ but that still doesnвЂ™t quite sum it up. The visual component of the recipes especially comes in handy for more elaborate specialties like lussekatter (saffron buns). Swedish classics like kanelbullar (cinnamon buns spiced with cardamom) and hasselnГ¶tsflarn (simple cookies best dipped in a fresh cup of coffee) are easily explained and aided by Kindvall's upbeat illustrations. For those looking to bring fika vibes to their lives, the book is a wealth of Swedish recipes and cooking tips. By Anna Brones & Johanna Kindvall, hardback 168 pages. WriterВ Anna BronesВ and illustratorВ Johanna KindvallВ compiled the history and practice of the fika along with a collection of recipes for Swedish baked goods in their release 'Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break. Illustrated with whimsical drawings and written with a down-to-earth reverence for the art of fika, this book is an ideal addition to your cookbook collection if youвЂ™re looking to learn a little Swedish and take your coffee break to the next level. 'Operating as both a noun and a verb, the finer points of the fika are sometimes lost on outsiders-until now. 'As accessible as it is insightful, FikaВ is a baking book mixed with etiquette how-to and cultural know-how, iced with a calendar of holidays and expressed as a work of illustrated art. Lindsey Tramuta, New York Times T Magazine A delightful little baking book extolling the virtues of both the coffee break and the sweets that are as much a part of the break as the. The cookies, cakes and breads (including savory variants) tap right into a growing, universal quest to achieve a more laid-back European lifestyle.' 'The book is a delicious compendium of nearly 50 illustrated recipes inspired by Brones and KindvallвЂ™s childhoods, equally fueled by Fika.

Fika the art of the swedish coffee break