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Swedish traditional-

Midsummernight-meal

When Jörgen Edström visited us in summer, he brought some boxes of fish and told us, that in Sweden, there it is normal to eat fish at the summer solstice. He explained to us, that the fish, a herring, is put into yeast mushroom and it lies there without air for some months. At summer solstice it is taken as a traditional meal.
 
!Achtung! extreme Geruchsentwicklung
The boxes with the fish, that he showed us, were so curved, that we expected them to burst in a minute!

Jörgen warned us, that the fish smelled awful, though he also assured, that it tasted very good.
So we let us get invited in the "Traditional Midsummernight-fish-meal".

My parents, who visited us the same day, our children and my friend Janet were forced, too, and waited curiously.

The preparations began: Jörgen bought something at IKEA. Swedish bread in a dry, round and soft form, butter, Crème Fraîche and a bottle of pepper wodka.
Back at our's, he occupied my kitchen and cooked potatoes, which are eaten together with the fish.

So the evening was ready to start!
Jörgen disappeared with one of the boxes with the fish, a can-opener and a plastic bag outside in the garden.
The boxes are put in a plastic bag and opened inside, so that the liquid, that squirts like an explosion, doesn't get somewhere in the house. The smell would stay for a while.

Well, I doubted and thought, he would certainly exaggerate ...
I WAS ABSOLUTELY NOT RIGHT !!!  Such a nasty smell I hadn't ever smelled and I decided immediately not to eat the fish because of the smell.
Hier kommt der Fisch
When Jörgen entered the room, we all lost our breath.

Right away we opened really every window in the house and Jörgen showed us the way you eat.
man nehme eine Kartoffel...
Take a potato... because of the moderate taste a bit of Crème Fraîche ...
and then, everybody got a glass of pepper wodka.... or even two!
na, wie ist's?
  The opened box was given around.
Our daughter Corinna decided to taste the fish. But when the box of fish reached her, she changed her opinion immediately, and ate only some potatoes, the bread with butter and the Crème Fraîche.
...our son Björn already fled at the preparation.
.
The others took a little bit of the fish and began to put everything together.
The expressions of their faces were indescribably and suddenly everyone of us started to laugh. 

noch einen Pfefferwodka?
For the courage Jörg drank another glass of wodka (or two or three) ...
Naaa Ja
... and he took the box of fish.
"Has anybody seen our dog?" At the meantime, even Laines fled secretly out of the room. And there were no flies that evening either!
...

After the meal, which was as short as possible, we cleaned the table and the plates and everything.
The can-opener, which lay down in the kitchen and wich refused to give the smell away, was also put into the dishwasher.

Laines, our dog, that I had called to give him the rest of the fish, smelled for short time and seemed to think of licking the Crème Fraîche rest, but he rather ran away, without enjoying the "sweets" of the kitchen.
Result:
The traditional midsummernight-fish-meal was an offense for the nose, but a success for the laughter muscles.
About the taste:  
Eis als Nachtisch
As dessert we ate a lot of ice cream...

Eis
and everybody wanted to participate of course.
So, if anybody visits Sweden and is invited to the traditional midsummernight-fish-meal....... Pay Attention!!!!

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