Food WTF: Swai

Swai came up on my radar recently when a recipe for swai ceviche appeared on A Spicy Perspective. It is apparently an Asian cousin of the catfish, native to Vietnam. However, it doesn't have that lake-bottom flavor that catfish can sometimes have... rather, it has a mild, slightly sweet flavor not entirely unlike tilapia. And like tilapia (which can be sort of bland, IMO), it requires a deft hand in seasoning -- too little, and the swai will be boring; too much, and you will overwhelm it. And at about $3.99 a pound, it is also a screaming bargain. As Dave and I try to eat healthier and incorporate more fish into our diets, I see myself adding swai into our regular rotation.

For more discussion about swai, see:

What the Heck is Swai? -- Consumer Reports, Jan. 30, 2009
Tried fried swai, liked it -- From Scratch blog, August 11, 2009
A fish called swai -- new fish to me -- Chowhound.com, January 11, 2010

Food WTF: Cloudberries

Cloudberries are another tasty discovery from our trip to Sweden. I used cloudberry jam to make lusikkaleivat (Finnish spoon cookies).

We were told that they grow only in the Arctic Circle, but apparently that is not true. The locals must have thought they can tell the stupid Americans anything and (of course) we would believe them.

Anyway, here's what Wikipedia has to say:

The cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), also called bakeapple in Atlantic Canada, is a slow-growing alpine or sub-Arctic species of Rubus, producing amber-colored edible fruit. The botanical name (chamæmorus) derives from the Greek khamai ("on the ground") and moros ("mulberry"). Cloudberry is the name for both the plant and the fruit.

Cloudberries occur naturally throughout the Northern Hemisphere from 78°N, south to about 55°N, and very scattered south to 44°N mainly in mountainous areas. In Europe and Asia, they grow in the Nordic countries, especially in Finland and much in the Baltic states; sometimes in the moorlands of Britain and Ireland, and across northern Russia east to the Pacific Ocean. Small populations are also found further south, as a botanical vestige of the Ice Ages; it is found in Germany's Weser and Elbe valleys, where it is under legal protection. In North America, cloudberries grow wild across most of Canada / Alaska, and in the lower 48 states of the United States in northern Minnesota, New Hampshire, Maine, and a small population on Long Island, New York.

The cloudberry can withstand cold temperatures down to well below -40°C, but is sensitive to salt and to dry conditions. It grows in bogs, marshes and wet meadows and requires sunny exposures in acidic ground (between 3.5 and 5 pH).

So, what do these little beauties taste like? Sadly, we didn't have the opportunity to taste a fresh cloudberry, what with our being there in the dead of winter, but they are described as tart. Cloudberry jam, however, is glorious! There is a honeyed aspect to it that reminds me a little of quince jam; however, the flavor is squarely in the berry camp. If the sunshine of those heartbreakingly rare and beautiful Arctic summer days could be stuffed into a can, I like to think it would taste like this.

I have yet to see cloudberry jam in a brick-and-mortar store around here, but thanks to the power of the intertubes, you can have that Arctic sunshine delivered to your door. (I'm a fan of Scandia Food, myself.) That said, it ain't cheap. Based on my own surfing, a jar will set you back about $10. That might sound a little extravagant when you can buy a jar of Smucker's for less than half the price, but as far as luxuries go, it's an affordable one. (Think about it, for the price of a Prada bag, you could buy 120 jars of cloudberry jam!) Treat yourself -- you won't regret it.

Food WTF: Gjetost

Clockwise from left: Saga blue (Denmark), dill havarti (Denmark), and Ski Queen gjetost (Norway)

Oddly appealing and totally addictive, this cheese is both sweet and salty. My husband said it reminded him of peanut butter, both in color in flavor. (I thought it was sweeter than peanut butter.) The texture is somewhere between cheese and fudge.

From http://www.norwegiancheeses.co.uk/ski_queen.htm

Gjetost (pronounced ‘yet-oast’) is a unique brown cheese from Norway with a fudge-like texture and a sweet caramel flavour.

It is made from a combination of milk, cream and whey which is slowly cooked until the naturally occurring sugars are caramelised, giving its distinctive colour and taste. The cheese is then cooled and set into blocks.

Gjetost was first made in the Gudbrandsdalen valley in Norway more than 130 years ago. Anne Hov, a farmer’s wife, was the first person to think of pouring cream into the kettle of whey. Her brown cheese got a higher price than her ordinary cheese and butter, and is reputed to have saved the valley from financial ruin in the 1880s.

Gjetost is best served in wafer thin slices and eaten on toast or Norwegian flatbread (very thin crackers). It is also makes a great addition to a cheese board or melted into a variety of food dishes.