semla

A , , Swedish eclair, , , , or is a traditional sweet roll made in various forms in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Latvia, associated with Lent and especially Shrove Tuesday in most countries, Shrove Monday in Denmark, parts of southern Sweden, Iceland and Faroe Islands or Sunday of Fastelavn in Norway. In Sweden it is most commonly known as just (plural: ), but is also known as , . In the southern parts of Sweden, as well as in Swedish-speaking Finland, it is known as (plural: ; on the other hand means a plain wheat bun with butter, called in Swedish). In Poland it is known as . In Estonia it is called . In Norway and Denmark it is called . In Iceland, it is known as a and served on Bolludagur. In Faroe Islands it is called , and is served on . In Latvia, it is called . served in a bowl of hot milk is .

A , , Swedish eclair, , , , or is a traditional sweet roll made in various forms in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Latvia, associated with Lent and especially Shrove Tuesday in most countries, Shrove Monday in Denmark, parts of southern Sweden, Iceland and Faroe Islands or Sunday of Fastelavn in Norway. In Sweden it is most commonly known as just (plural: ), but is also known as , . In the southern parts of Sweden, as well as in Swedish-speaking Finland, it is known as (plural: ; on the other hand means a plain wheat bun with butter, called in Swedish). In Poland it is known as . In Estonia it is called . In Norway and Denmark it is called . In Iceland, it is known as a and served on Bolludagur. In Faroe Islands it is called , and is served on . In Latvia, it is called . served in a bowl of hot milk is .

Etymology

The name (plural: ) is a loan word from Middle Low German semmel, originally deriving from the Latin , meaning 'flour', itself a borrowing from Greek ( ), which was the name used for the finest quality wheat flour. In the southernmost part of Sweden (Scania) and by the Swedish-speaking population in Finland, they are known as . In Denmark and Norway they are known as ( and fastelavn being the equivalent of Shrove Tuesday). In Scanian, the feast is also called . In Finnish they are known as (which refers to the Finnish ), in Latvian as , and in Estonian as .

Denmark/Iceland/Faroe Islands

The version sold in Danish bakeries on or around Shrove Monday is rather different, made from puff pastry and filled with whipped cream, a bit of jam and often with icing on top. At home people may bake a version more similar to a usual wheat roll, mixing plain yeast dough with raisins, succade and sometimes candied bitter orange peel. In Iceland it is done in a similar way but in place of puff pastry more common is the choux pastry version. In Icelandic, Shrove Monday is called bolludagur (bun day), named after the pastry. In the Faroe Islands, the local form of semla are made of choux pastry rather than wheat bread, and filled with vanilla cream, whipped cream and jam, and topped with chocolate icing; they therefore more closely resemble an éclair or profiterole.

History

The oldest version of the was a plain bread bun, eaten in a bowl of warm milk. In Swedish this is known as , from Middle Low German ('hot wedges') or German ('hot buns') and falsely interpreted as "hotwall". The was originally eaten only on Shrove Tuesday, or all of the three days before Lent, as the last festive food before Lent. However, with the arrival of the Protestant Reformation, the Swedes stopped observing a strict fast for Lent. The in its bowl of warm milk became a traditional dessert every Tuesday between Shrove Tuesday and Easter. Today, are available in shops and bakeries every day from shortly after Christmas until Easter. Each Swede consumes on average four to five bakery-produced each year, in addition to any that are homemade. According to a popular myth, King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died of digestion problems on February 12, 1771, after consuming a ( ), the king's favorite dessert, after a meal consisting of sauerkraut, turnips, caviar, smoked herring, and champagne. In recent versions of the legend, the has turned into 14, and sometimes into cinnamon buns. This was the sweet chosen to represent Finland in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, on Europe Day 2006.

See also

Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden Cream bun Estonian cuisine Finnish cuisine List of buns List of pastries Swedish cuisine

References

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373936408 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.