08/08/2026
Our Ben, Freja and Riina had never tried the Swedish delicacy Surströmming, which is known for its very pungent smell. They wanted to try if it is actually as bad as people make it out to be (type Surströmming challenge on YouTube).
The verdict: Ben thought it was absolutely horrible (but he was very brave and didn’t throw up), Freja thought it was bad but not THAT bad and Riina secretly liked it.
Our tips:
- Open the tin outside. Open it in a container filled with water if you want to avoid the smell / spillages. Or use a kitchen towel to cover the tin when opening as the liquid will spit out.
- The fillets have bones in, best to scrape those out.
- Don’t eat it plain and a little bit goes a long way. It’s actually okay when you have it with bread, sour cream, boiled potatoes and chopped red onion. As Riina said, it tastes a bit like anchovies.
Could you try it as calmly as we did?