Semla: history and traditions
Around here, Carnival isn’t really a big deal: no masks, no parades… A bit boring? Maybe!
But there is one tradition that still shines during this season: the semla!
The semla is Sweden’s classic pre-Lenten treat, and its recipe has evolved over the centuries. Today, it’s a sweet cardamom bun, hollowed out and filled with almond paste and whipped cream. It’s a bit like the Roman maritozzo, even historically. Its long-standing tradition is reflected in its name, which comes from the Latin simila, meaning semolina — the basic bread ingredient.
The semla was the “fat” food of the pre-Lenten season and of fettisdag, or Shrove Tuesday, a day still dedicated to enjoying it. Originally, it was considered a status symbol, as wheat flour was expensive. It was meant to be eaten the day before Lent, before the fasting period began. Much like Catholics avoided meat during Carnival, the semla postponed indulgence in richer foods until after Lent.
Some versions of the story say the bread was the only thing allowed during Lent, and to make it more enjoyable, people started “hiding” something sweet inside.
When is the semla eaten?
Time has inevitably changed things. Whereas it was once unthinkable to eat a semla on any day other than Fat Tuesday (apparently, even as late as 1960, bakers were forbidden to sell them on other days), today it is possible to buy and enjoy these pastries practically all year round. Of course, the peak period is still this one: most of the approximately 40 million semlor baked each year in Sweden are devoured during the week before and the week after Fat Tuesday. And, contrary to older traditions, they maintain a fair amount of popularity even throughout Lent.
Other curiosities
There are several other interesting facts surrounding the semla. The first — which we often share during our tours of the Royal Palace and the Drottningholm Palace — involves a Swedish king, Adolf Fredrik. On the evening of February 12, 1771, a Fat Tuesday, the monarch — after a very large meal and equally generous drinks — indulged in 14 semlor. A few hours later, while sitting at the gaming table, he felt unwell and soon passed away. At the time, many blamed the semlor for murder (there was even a proposal to abolish Fat Tuesday and ban the pastry from the country), although it was later confirmed that the king’s death was caused by a stroke. Despite this, poor Adolf Fredrik went down in history as “the King who died eating.”
The second curiosity concerns a relatively recent idea from a Stockholm bakery: baking and selling semlor on the go. The wrapsemlor are rolls of spiced dough with the same filling as regular semlor, designed to be eaten while walking. [Here’s a video interview with their creator]. Following a similar innovative philosophy, many bakeries now produce a wide variety of semla versions.
Finally, there is the Swedish Semla Academy, founded in 1993 and dissolved in 2012. What was this curious academy? It was made up of a group of passionate semla connoisseurs who, every year from the first Tuesday after Epiphany until the Tuesday before Fettisdag, would gather in Gothenburg to taste and evaluate the semlor purchased by the members themselves or sent by ordinary people from all over Sweden. Each time, eight characteristics of the semla were evaluated, with each scored by committee members on a scale from 0 to 5 using special signs that were raised simultaneously when the spokesperson, counting to three, shouted: “Semla!” Absurd, right? The purpose of the Academy was to promote the semla in terms of quality throughout Sweden. Given the excellent availability today, it seems that the goal has been fully achieved!
