Last Sunday afternoon, I wondered what I was doing in my car alone, finding my way on an endless slippery road to the north. But I remembered that I did it for something very special and something I love and have been interested in since I moved here: artisan food. This might sound boring, but ‘Making ice cream and sorbets’ doesn’t, right? I admit it sounds a little weird, that was what I was also thinking when I started my road trip to Jämtland and I passed a car which just had hit a huge moose….
But a little later than expected, I arrived at a farm near Östersund, Rönngården, where I had hired an old-fashioned stuga/house. And cute and retro it was. Host Berit was also going to a course about sausage-making at the same Eldrimner institute, and she could tell me a lot about Eldrimner. She is an artist who makes jams, so the next evening, she was booked for her jam stories and kitchen. After a night in which I woke up thinking a man was walking around under my window (of course, it turned out to be a deer digging for apples in the snow), I woke up in a world with an even thicker layer of snow. How nice to see everything in daylight. After I rescued my car from all this white stuff, I tried to drive to Ås. Because of all the snow, I could hardly see the road, but I arrived on time in a very little but cute village Ås and Eldrimner itself!
Our ice cream magician was the inspiring Danish Thorkil Boisen, who has driven ecological ice cream production in Bornholm, Denmark, for 15 years. The students came from all over Sverige, and they shared their experiences, stories, and plans. Some brought their products to make milk ice cream from their cattle and berries. During the course, I found out that making ice-cream and sorbet in November sounds strange when it’s freezing outside, but this kind of weather proved to be quite handy: we could cool the bases of the ice-cream in the snow outside, it was even the fastest way to cool.
After the first day, I had a nice evening with Berit, who had been involved in Eldrimner herself for many years. She told me about her jams and food hikes, during which she showed me what you can eat and cook from nature. Of course, I felt inspired when I went to bed.
This institute, Eldrimner, is a very special one here in Sweden. Their purpose is to convey knowledge, support and inspiration to food artisans in Sweden through training courses in artisan food. In Sweden, they have a special name for artisan food: mathantverk. It’s becoming increasingly popular because it stands for mainly local produce processed carefully, on a small scale and often on the farm. The hallmark of artisan food is the human hand, and know-how is involved in the entire production chain. This provides healthy products without unnecessary additives, products can be traced to its origin. The institute highlights food with tradition, develops methods and creates innovative products. Well, that sounds great, doesn’t it? After this course, I have a much better understanding of Mathantverk and the use of local and ecological products at home. And what are these ingredients exactly? I did not know, for example, that the milk of different types of cows can be quite different. But above all, I just had a great time. My favourite flavour was Buckthorn-berry ice cream. Honestly, in the end, I was so full of tasting all kinds of ice cream that I probably wouldn’t eat it for a year.
At the end of the second day, I drove to Revsund, where our Dutch friends Hilde and Ruben run their beautiful bed and breakfast, Revsunds Prästgård. It was great to talk to those two again, exchange ideas, and laugh about all the strange things that happen to us sometimes in the tourist business. I slept well in their “little romantic room” and woke up with an odd view: their strange-looking but o-so-cute alpacas. Their angora-rabbits are also “different”. Hilde knits winter hats from the wool of all these animals. I recommend the Angora wool one, which is ready and incredibly soft! Do you want to buy that special warm hat for Christmas? Just email her.
After breakfast, feeding the alpacas and a tour around the house, I couldn’t resist buying that nice little Frösö Handtryck Christmas tree carpet (Fröso Handtryck, wonderful textiles!) from their little shop. Hilde and I seem to have the same taste.
Happy and full of energy, I drove home through the melting snow, endless forest, and little villages to my only home: Näsets Marcusgård. We hope we can use all my newly acquired inspiration and knowledge to create a great pop-up summer café next summer!