The Swedish Kebab Pizza and why it's so important - Study in Sweden (2024)

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The Swedish Kebab Pizza and why it's so important - Study in Sweden? ›

The Swedish

Italians brought the pizza tradition to Sweden, where it rapidly gained popularity. The Swedes, known for their love of innovation, introduced new toppings like kebab meat, bananas, and curry sauce, creating a distinctly Swedish pizza style.

Origin and history

The kebab pizza was invented in Sweden and combines Italian and Middle Eastern cuisine. The first pizzeria in Sweden opened in Västerås in 1947 following the arrival of 300 guest workers from Italy to the city.

Swedish pizza is a unique style of pizza that originated in Sweden. It typically features a thin crust and is topped with a variety of ingredients like kebab meat, ham, bacon, fresh vegetables, and sometimes even bananas or curry powder.

Historic culinary methods with lasting appeal

Pickled and fermented foods remain a part of the Swedish diet even to this day, and popular variants are cucumber, cabbage and other vegetables and root vegetables. The pickled herring ('sill') is a staple for the national holidays of Easter, Midsummer and Christmas.

Sweden has been in the vanguard of countries seeking to preserve the natural environment. It was the first European country to establish a national park (Sarek National Park was established in 1909), thereby preserving part of Europe's last wilderness.

Kebab derives from a Persian term for the dish that passed into both Arabic (as kabāb) and Turkish (as kebap). Kebabs are thought to have originated among transhumant peoples in Central Asia, whose meat-heavy diet was transformed somewhat in an urban context where vegetables were more readily available.

They are thought to have originated in Turkey when soldiers used to grill chunks of freshly hunted animals skewered on swords over open field fires. This origin is backed up by a Turkish script of Kyssa-I Yusuf in 1377 and is now the oldest known source where kebab is stated as a food item.

Kebabs consist of cut up or ground meat, sometimes with vegetables and various other accompaniments according to the specific recipe.

One theory is that when the first pizzerias opened in Sweden, the traditional tomato salad wasn't an option due to the climate in the winter. So, subsequently they decided to use a more available, local vegetable – the cabbage – inspired by the Croatian salad 'kupus salata'.

What type of cheese is Swedish? ›

Gräddost is a traditional cheese originating from Sweden, its name meaning cream cheese when translated. The cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and it's usually left to age for up to 7 months. Underneath its waxed rind, the texture is smooth and creamy with small eyes dispersed throughout the body.

It's become so well-loved in fact, that Norway has earned the top spot for consuming the most pizza per capita in the world – about 11 pizzas per person. Some even joke that it's the unofficial national dish. While this may come as a surprise to some, it is not shocking, given the history of Norwegian cuisine.

“Actually, you can find that kind of pizza in Sweden,” says Tellström. “So, you have chicken, bananas, curry, peanuts, but also pineapple.” Despite the banana-curry combination's popularity there, Sweden isn't necessarily well known for curry recipes in general.

Italy, on the other hand, is widely regarded as the birthplace of pizza and is famous for its traditional Neapolitan pizza, which is made with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil.