Stufvad Spenat

This recipe hails from 'Praktisk, illustrerad kok-bok för Svenskarne i Amerika', published in Minneapolis in 1889, intended as a culinary guide for Swedish emigrants in America. The book provided recipes familiar to Swedish palates, adapted to the ingredients of the New World. This particular dish, 'Stufvad spenat' or creamed spinach, reflects both everyday Swedish cooking of the time and the desire for comforting, familiar fare in a new land. In an era when fresh produce was not always readily available, especially in winter, recipes such as this offered guidance on making the most of whatever greens could be found, often preserved or harvested from kitchen gardens. It’s a snapshot of practical, resourceful cooking.

Cooks in the late 19th century would have used a simple, heavy-bottomed saucepan (kastrull) over a wood- or coal-fired stove. A sharp knife and chopping board for the spinach, and perhaps a mortar or wooden pestle for pounding. Spoons (often wooden) for stirring, and a fine metal sieve (sikt) to strain the spinach if an especially smooth texture was desired. Blanching would be done in large pots of boiling water, cooled with cold water drawn from a well or pump.