Article: Semlor a Swedish Thing!

Today is the day of days if you are a fan of the famous Swedish pastry "Semla". It is to be eaten on this special day which is called "Fettisdagen", the Fat Tuesday. You could think this is an American holiday however in the most healthy nation on earth, the Swedes do celebrate a fat day.

According to Wikipedia:
"Fettisdagen (The Fat Tuesday) is the Swedish name for the Tuesday after the Quinquagesima and the day between Shrove Monday and Ash Wednesday. Because it is the last day before the Lenten fast, a tradition has developed of eating buns, called "fastlagsbullar", "fettisdagsbullar" (Fat Tuesday Buns) or "semla". The day is also called "White Tuesday" because the buns are made out of white flour."

The pastry is amazingly good and many says it is all in the bun. It cannot be to sweet nor to dry which is a challenge for many bakers. The cream in the center is also crucial and needs to be whipped before to make it "fluffy" and tasty.

We at Western Taste tried 2 "Semla" from 2 very traditional houses. One that is still very family oriented and has been in the history of Swedish bakery for centuries and the other that has been commercialized and bought by the giant chocolate company Fazer from Finland.

Both of them were very good and our panel gave high grades to all however one stood out just a bit more and the winning gold medal goes to Vetekatten.

Here are the results:

Vetekatten

Bread: 5 out of 5
Cream: 5 out of 5
Almond Icing: 5 out of 5
Aesthetics: 5 out of 5

Comments: Amazing pastry with passion and heart in its creation. The pastry provides the outmost delicious and superb cream. The almond icing were in perfect condition, amount and sweetness which provided the whole experience with perfection.

Overall experience: 5 out of 5

Gateau

Bread: 4 out of 5
Cream: 5 out of 5
Almond Icing: 4 out of 5
Aesthetics: 5 out of 5

Comments: Superb pastry with a delicious experience that waters the mouth. It is clearly one of the best bakeries in Sweden and provides an superb gastronomic experience. The cream is fluffy and perfectly whipped and the Aesthetics is by far one of the best we seen.

Overall experience: 4 out of 5


Written by Alexander Yü