Swedish winters are long, dark and cold. It can be really difficult to leave the sofa when it’s utterly freezing outside. When my friend, Axel, first moved to London for work, I asked him how he was finding it compared to Stockholm. “It’s great,” he replied. “In the winter, you can make plans after work to go out, go to the pub or for a meal. In Stockholm it’s too cold.”
This was perhaps a slight exaggeration but the Swedes have developed some excellent coping strategies for the winter months. They dress properly, prepare their homes and vehicles and adjust their routines. And then there’s fredagsmys. Roughly translated as “cosy Friday” this phenomenon has been going since the 90s, driven by an advertising campaign by one of the main snack brands (complete with a catchy song). The idea was that you hunkered down with your family and indulged in front of a film or TV programme. Favourite foods include pizza, noodles, popcorn and pick ‘n’ mix sweets. But the most popular dish, by far, is tacos.
Having tacos, complete with all the sauces and sides, on a Friday is a Swedish institution. There are supermarket aisles dedicated to fredagsmys with Tex Mex at the centre. And who can blame the Swedes – it’s delicious.
I love the idea of elevating Friday evening to something special, a chance to spend time together and relax after a busy week with some indulgent, comforting food. Here are some of my versions of fredagsmys favourites, with a slightly lighter twist.
“Since I moved here, all I do is mys and mys” [From the Fredagsmys song by crisp manufacturer Owl, circa 2009]