Nachos would be nice, too.
May 29, 2010 12:34 AM   Subscribe

Where can I get cheddar cheese or queso blanco in Sweden?

I have an ex-pat friend living in Stockholm who's sixteen weeks pregnant and absolutely dying for enchiladas. She says she's got an array of salsas and chilis at her disposal, but where she comes up short in trying to recreate her favourite Mexican dishes at home is the cheese.

I'm putting together a care package of canned goods from California to send her to fill the refried bean and enchilada sauce gap, but I don't think I can ship cheese from here. Is there a place where I can order online from England (cheddar) or Spain (queso blanco) to have it sent to Stockholm, or better yet, a place in Stockholm that carries either of these cheeses?
posted by annathea to Food & Drink (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
As a Brit who lived in Sweden for years, I had reason to lament the lack of cheddar-style cheese there. Latterly, however, And at least some Coop Forum supermarkets sold a passable ready-grated Dutch cheddar, and at least some ICA supermarkets stocked Cathedral City cheddar (a popular UK brand).
posted by misteraitch at 12:43 AM on May 29, 2010


Best answer: Taylor and Jones have good english cheddars, Hantverkargatan 17, if I recall. Probably easy enough to find in any of the food-halls as well, söderhallarna, östermalmshallarna, hötorgshallarna. Can buy refried beans in a can in the taco aisle of most bigger grocery stores, but probably not quite as genuine.
posted by Iteki at 1:22 AM on May 29, 2010


Nearly every ICA, Konsum, and PrisXtra carries Kvibille Cheddar cheese as wedges from a wheel with the rest of the cheeses. It is not a very sharp cheddar, but it is good. There is also pre-grated "Taco cheese" that would suffice for queso blanco.

You can buy dry enchilada sauce mix near the tortillas and nachos (or by the spices) in the same stores, though I doubt it tastes authentic and have never tried the dried mix. I'd suggest reading the ingredients and buying the included spices instead. There are some things that are not yet available in Stockholm (steel-cut oatmeal, how I miss you) but "Mexican" food and most cheeses are readily available.

Also, if she's craving enchiladas, she might try La Neta's. I haven't made it yet, but I hear good things.
posted by McGuillicuddy at 3:44 AM on May 29, 2010


Best answer: I'm not so sure about the ready-grated Dutch (because I rarely have seen any imported Dutch cheese in Sweden that was any good at all, ready-grated or otherwise) but I second that I've seen Cathedral City Cheddar, even in rural supermarkets at times. They normally chuck it together with French specialty cheeses. So look out for that, would be my recommendation. Do check the "best before" date, though.

One large Swedish importer of specialty cheese is falbydgens ost . If you browse for "England" there, you'll see what the usual trouble is: they only carry cheddar with whisky, beer and port, and Stilton. My recommendation is to write them an email and point out the gap in their collection. [I'll also blog about it. Love that]

Stay away from Swedish "Cheddar" in any case, no matter the brand. It does have similar melting characteristics as the real thing but there's a totally different taste to it. (As a point of no consequence, we're using matured Herrgårdsost most of the time for Mexican cooking and maybe add some salt to it. That's a silly compromise, I know...)
posted by Namlit at 3:45 AM on May 29, 2010


Chiming in again. I've poked around a bit on the Swedish web for online cheese ordering options, and apart from the link given above I haven't found what you originally asked for. It may indeed be better to make some English online service send a package with Cheddar (or anything else) to Sweden. These guys, for instance, offer worldwide delivery.
posted by Namlit at 8:01 AM on May 29, 2010


Here's the link to Taylor and Jones, was on my pod earlier and couldn't link. La neta sounds fab, stockholm meetup anyone?
posted by Iteki at 9:06 AM on May 29, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks so much for the help! She's going to try the food halls and Taylor and Jones. She said hötorgshallarna had real chorizo the last time she was in there, so she thinks the odds are in her favour.

If not, we're going to try ordering from your link, Namlit.

McGullicuddy, it was a trip to La Neta two nights ago that prompted the lament that spurred me into action on the care package. She said the food was FINE, just not RIGHT. I think her Southern California palate is extra-picky. :) Given the difficulty I had finding decent Mexican food in the Midwest, mine probably is too.

You guys have been a huge help, and you've given a soon-to-be-mama hope that she will be able to make the enchiladas she craves!
posted by annathea at 9:09 AM on May 29, 2010


« Older How common is/was Alice?   |   Freelance writing websites similar to textbroker... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.