Jens Linder's "Made in Sweden"

In 2004, a collective of leading chefs from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, The Faroes and The Åland Islands gathered to author the Manifesto for the New Nordic Kitchen (a rather sensible document that advocated simplicity, purity and freshness), and a movement was born. Fast-forward six years and Scandinavia is brimming with culinary confidence and gastronomic purpose. Earlier this spring, Copenhagen’s temple of haute naturalism Noma was proclaimed world’s best restaurant on San Pelligrino's 2010 list, beating repeat honorees El Bulli and The Fat Duck. In fact, the city—and spiritual home of the New Nordic Movement—holds 13 Michelin stars overall, more than such renowned food meccas as Madrid and Rome. While tiny Denmark basks in the glow of recent success, larger neighbor Sweden is less lauded—strange given the wealth of land and the ingredients that can be sourced within its borders, including oysters, herring, salmon, cod, game, elderberry, arctic raspberry and long-matured hard cheeses. Notable Swedish chef Jens Linder, food writer for the country’s leading newspaper Dagen Nyheter, hopes to address Swedish food’s low profile with Made in Sweden (published this month by Bonnier Fakta), an exclusive preview of which we present today. It is at once a cookbook and guide to this gastronomically endowed nation, with chapters arranged by province highlighting each region’s outstanding offerings, from the temperate Danish-influenced south (pork products and charcuterie in Skåne) all the way up to the arctic north (reindeer in Lappland, of course).