Missing Deli

One recent cultural/lifestyle difference that struck me recently that is still a mystery in Uppsala is the lack of Butcher stalls. I love food and usually dont mind spending an extra buck on food I desire. For people who have been keeping up with my blogs from november will remember that blog about Systembolaget and the government monopoly over liquor sale in Sweden.

Meat stalls, they are called in Britain. If you are in the residential area in London and say you are shopping for your groceries and meat, you would have meat stalls in each block. These stalls sold different cuts of meat, also had a source classification- if it were 'Halal' or not. The range of fish they had in the store was exotic. Ofcourse, the prices were exotic too. Apart from fresh meat, you could request the way you wanted your meat cut and they would do it to your specification without a charge. All that maybe familiar to the globetrekking Swedes and real food enthusiasts. This blog is dedicated to all those who don't realise what they are missing out in Uppsala.

Supermarket culture is a global phenomenon- you have TESCOs, Walmarts, Marks and Spencers spreading everywhere like they are a Mac Donalds franchise (;)). Supermarkets here don't have a deli counter where you would expect to find trained staff sharpening their knives to help serve you quick. The deli in a decent sized Morrisons in UK would have a fantastic deli counter. They even had fresh salami and ham and corned beef and what not that you could point out and they would have that as toppings on your fresh made pizza dough base. Yum! They had a range of fresh catch of the sea, and I 'm not talking seaweed. Mackerel, prawns, sea bass, cod, halibut, sardine and more aesthetically arranged on ice cubes. Thats a sight I miss.

Considering Sweden with the Baltic sea, I was hoping to get the best catch for a decent price. Let down big time, I must say. The only deli that I have seen in Uppsala is in COOP by IKEA here. They had a decent deli counter. The prices weren't. Almost every meat is preserved frozen here apart from ham and the likes. The beef section is usually small and steaks are limited to cuts of Ribeye, rump, sirloin and thin frying toprump steaks. A very thin range of burger patties. I have served as a food technologist in a beef co. and we used to experiment and benchmark the burgers we produced and the ones from competetors. A typical taste panel of just burgers had about 50 different types- burgers with different cheeses infused, with chives and seasonings. Gourmet burgers, Morroccan spices lamb burgers, Sweet chili and pork burgers. Damn! Not to forget the roasting joints and savouries like Black pudding ( almost as addictive as cigarettes..just joking). Where are the Swedish versions of these?

The picture on the left is from a sunday market. The store owner had a headset with speakers attached. He then gets a priced cut out and describes it and sweet talks the crowd. Then its up for bidding. Almost like a vintage car sale auction. Lot of laugh and good weekend past time.




 



  Friends from France and the mediterranean part of EU too pointed out the difference. For a meat lover, it is a problem of sorts. Food in general can be relatively pricy ( fresh veggies and fruits) but meat too. So vegetarians, vegans and omnivores will feel like singing 'I am a man of constant sorrow' when it comes to food. Hey.. but look at the bright side- the summer is lovely here.