What is typical mountain food in Sälen?

Mountain food is, at its core, an answer to a question: what can you get hold of when the growing season is short, the winter is long and the nearest town is several mils away? The answer was game, freshwater fish, berries, mushrooms, root vegetables and dairy products – ingredients provided by the landscape and preserved by drying, salting, smoking or pickling. It is this tradition that still shapes the flavours at Sälen, and it is far more interesting than its reputation suggests. If you’d like to experience it without having to cook yourself, you can book a private chef for the holiday cottage which cooks with local produce on the premises.

This guide focuses on ingredients and food culture. If you’re looking for restaurant recommendations instead, you’ll find a selection on our page about restaurants and cafés in Sälen.

Short answer: mountain food consists of game, fish, berries and root vegetables

Typical mountain cuisine in Dalarna’s mountain world is built around four cornerstones. Game – elk, reindeer and forest birds – provides the protein. Freshwater fish from mountain lakes and rivers is the second main ingredient. Berries and mushrooms from the forest provide acidity, sweetness and umami, whilst root vegetables form the base that can be stored throughout the winter. Added to this are dairy products from the mountain pasture tradition and bread baked to keep for a long time. Seasoning is restrained – juniper berries, thyme, angelica and smoke rather than strong flavourings – as the aim has always been to let the ingredients speak for themselves. The result is a food culture closely resembling what is now known as Nordic cuisine, though without anyone having had to invent it.

Reindeer meat and game – a mountain classic

Reindeer steak is the dish most people associate with the mountains, and rightly so: thinly sliced reindeer meat fried quickly in a hot pan and served with potatoes or mashed potato, lingonberries and, ideally, mushrooms. It’s easy to cook in a cottage kitchen, quick to prepare after a day out and really fills you up. Elk is the other major game ingredient in Dalarna – served as mince, a steak or a stew, with a deeper and slightly gamey flavour than reindeer. Forest birds such as ptarmigan and black grouse are also featured, often as seasonal dishes. What all game has in common is that it’s lean, which means it doesn’t tolerate long cooking times: cook at a lower temperature for a shorter time and let the meat rest. Served with lingonberries, mushrooms and root vegetables, you have a mountain meal in its purest form.

Freshwater fish from mountain lakes

The mountain lakes around Sälen are home to char, brown trout, whitefish, perch and pike, and fish has always been as much a staple of the local cuisine as game. Char and trout are the most sought-after and require minimal preparation – butter, salt, perhaps a sprig of thyme and a frying pan are all you need. Classic cooking methods include frying over an open fire, smoking and gravad fish, and anyone who has caught their own fish knows that it tastes better for precisely that reason. If you’d like to go fishing yourselves, we’ll go through fishing licences, waters and regulations in the guide on fishing in the waters of Sälen. Smoked fish is also available to buy locally during the season and makes an excellent starter to take with you to the holiday cottage.

The forest’s larder: berries, mushrooms and herbs

Without the berries, mountain cuisine would be unrecognisable. Lingonberries with game, blueberries with dessert, cloudberries with cheese and juice – these three berries feature throughout the cuisine. The lingonberry’s tartness and bitterness balance the richness of the game meat, the blueberries add sweetness, and the cloudberries bring that tangy, almost perfumed character that makes them the Nordic region’s most sought-after berries. Mushrooms add depth: boletes and chanterelles in stews and sauces, and pickled chanterelles. Herbs and plants also have their place, from juniper berries to angelica. If you’d like to forage for yourself, we have our own guide on how to pick your own berries and mushrooms – Picking the evening’s meal from today’s harvest is one of the finest experiences of the week in the mountains.

Where can you buy local produce in Sälen?

Game, reindeer products and locally produced goods are available in shops in the Sälen area, and the range varies with the seasons. Grocery shops usually stock reindeer meat, elk products and lingonberries all year round, whilst fresh produce such as mushrooms, berries and freshly smoked fish is seasonal. During summer and autumn, farm shops and local producers pop up in the area – do ask around when you’re there, as the selection changes. One tip is to buy the game first and plan your menu around it, rather than the other way round; what’s available that week will determine what works best. Bear in mind that speciality items may sell out during school holidays and that larger purchases should be made early in the week.

Cook at the cottage or hire a chef to come to the house

There are two ways to enjoy authentic mountain cuisine whilst on holiday. One is to cook for yourself, which works a treat as the dishes are essentially simple – a sturdy cottage kitchen, a hot frying pan and good ingredients go a long way. The other is to let someone else do the work. Hiring a chef to cook in your holiday home has become an increasingly common practice, particularly for larger groups and on evenings when nobody wants to stand at the hob after a day out and about. Our page on dinner with a chef in the mountains explains how it works. For celebrations, anniversaries and groups looking to make a night of it, it’s often the highlight of the week – and a much more relaxed option than booking a table for fifteen people during the peak season.

Summary – sample some mountain cuisine

Here’s a brief overview of what mountain food looks like in Sälen:

• Four cornerstones: game, freshwater fish, berries and mushrooms, as well as root vegetables and dairy products.
• Reindeer and elk are the classics – lean meats that require only a short cooking time.
• Char, brown trout, whitefish and perch from the mountain lakes; fried, smoked or cured.
• Lingonberries, blueberries and cloudberries bring balance and tie the whole dish together.
• Local produce is available in shops all year round, with seasonal produce available in summer and autumn.
• Cook a simple meal at the cottage – or hire a chef and make a night of it.

Mountain food isn’t about complicated recipes, but about ingredients that have been allowed to grow slowly in a barren landscape – and you can tell from the very first bite.