Scandinavian Roots

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Since it is IKEA, I can see the sense of it.

Yes, that's IKEA's Scandinavian roots, not Seattle.

[Beenhere4ever]

Before the great fire of June 6, 1889, Seattle's Swedish population was small. The census of 1880 counted only 190 people of Scandinavian heritage in all of King County. A tremendous influx took place between 1890 and 1910, when close to 150,000 Scandinavians settled in the Pacific Northwest, thus making them the largest foreign-born ethnic group in the state. Swedes worked in the woods around Preston and High Point, in the Ballard mills, on the railroads building tunnels and laying tracks, in construction (contributing both labor and architectural skills), in the mines at Coal Creek, on the docks on Seattle's waterfront, and as farmers around King County.

HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History

Says at one point about one of every three settlers was Swedish. The University had a Swedish department after 1909. But I'm thinking there were different waves at different times that established other origins, such as Japan or China.

[415_s2k]

My family on my mom's side is Swedish with roots in the Seattle area back to the 1890's; my dad's half Swedish, but from the Chicago area. When I was a kid, we'd get Swedish meats, cheeses, and pastries from the Swedish shops in Ballard. Little old Swedish grandmas would tell me and my sister how nice we were in Swedish, pat us on the heads, and give us candies or pieces of cheese to munch on.

When my sister came to visit in '09, she really, really wanted to go to Ballard and get some deli stuff to make sandwiches with. I warned her that it'd changed a lot... the last time I'd been, there were only a couple places left. We went anyway. The last deli had closed about a week earlier Sigh.

You definitely do still see plenty of people who have a distinctly Scandanavian look to them versus other cities - when I moved there with my friend from LA, who's Asian-American, she said, "wow, everyone here looks like you!" I feel like the Scandanavians in Seattle are like the Japanese - a big part of Seattle's history, who still certainly have a presence there... but, so many generations on, they've just sort of melded into the general culture of the city and it's no longer as distinct as it once was.

[pw72]

Yes, and even perhaps more interesting is why the Swedish, and Norweigians settled in Seattle. Sure, a lot of it was climate, a high latitude, similar climate (only in some areas of Sweden, but enough to make it realistic). Plus add the geography which while not an excact replica, is similar. However, the Swedish also enjoyed Seattle's wide-open attitude. Back then, racial sensitivity was also high, and Seattle tended to be inhabited by whites. This ugly part of the story has historical fact.

[Hemlock140]

Even when we came here in 1992 it was startling to see so many blond people, but now it's a real mix of cultures and no more does blond seem the majority. I'll bet that a majority don't even know what Ludefisk is, let alone having eaten it.

Classic Lutefisk Recipe

Dragon Ship flavoured Lutefisk

Start with 1 codfish and 1 slightly used dragon ship.
Carefully remove one strake from the dragon ship.
Filet the cod and salt it. Place the cod on the strake.
Fill a pot with a solution of water and lye. Place the strake and the cod in the pot overnight.
Drain the cod and the strake. Throw away the cod and eat the strake.

[Beenhere4ever]

There's always "Ivar's Acres of Clams". A little Scandinavian touch.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Charissa Thompson, who is from Seattle, tweeted that she had to look up smorgasbord to insure she was spelling it right. Now I always thought lumberjacks were among those founding Seattle. And everyone knows how Swedes are interchangeable with lumberjacks. So that makes me wonder: Does Seattle have church dinners with Swedish meatballs and other favorite Scandinavain foods? Is it possible that the word smorgasbord really is alien to most Seattle residents?

The concentration of Scandinavians used to be in Ballard. Last I was there, they still had parades on Norwegian Independence Day (King Olaf attended once), and other cultural events, so you could probably find some Swedish meatballs. Outside of Ballard, nobody cares. Though I'd be surprised if the word "smorgasboard" were alien to many Seatteites--it's been in the English language for probably at least 100 years.

[Beenhere4ever]

Yeh, all you can eat places once were called smorgasbords.

[Ira500]

Ballard does have it's annual Seafood Fest every summer in addition to the Norwegian Independence Day parade May 17th. The Seafood Fest has it's annual lutefisk eating contest. The skill level of the contestants vary from year to year. I've entered the last three years. Three years ago I finished second, two years ago I finished third, and last year something like 7th out of 10. Lutefisk pretty much tastes like nothing, the tofu of the fish world. It's not bad. It's not disgusting. It doesn't even smell as bad as they say. The nastiest thing about it is the texture. Think sticky, fish jello.

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Ballard does have it's annual Seafood Fest every summer in addition to the Norwegian Independence Day parade May 17th. The Seafood Fest has it's annual lutefisk eating contest. The skill level of the contestants vary from year to year. I've entered the last three years. Three years ago I finished second, two years ago I finished third, and last year something like 7th out of 10. Lutefisk pretty much tastes like nothing, the tofu of the fish world. It's not bad. It's not disgusting. It doesn't even smell as bad as they say. The nastiest thing about it is the texture. Think sticky, fish jello.

Probably more a social thing than a food thing. "Let's meet and eat fish jello!" The lefse should be good though if made right.