Grocery Shopping #
Grocery shopping will likely be one of the first things you do upon arriving. We encourage you to cook at home and bring bagged lunches to school. The Student Association at SSE has microwaves in the Rotunda on Floor 0.
There are many different grocery chains to choose from. You will probably come to have a favorite depending on where you live or the types of food you are looking for. Note that many chains have specialty shops that are more expensive than the regular stores, such as ICA Nära, Coop Nära, and Hemköp Sabis. Though these are affiliated with the main store, they tend to be smaller (like ICA Nära and Coop Nära) or have a fancier selection (like Hemköp Sabis) and therefore cost more. We recommend checking the weekly sales by picking up a flyer at the store, checking online, or subscribing to the store’s email newsletter.
For information about your monthly food subsidy, see Epassi Card (Food Stipend).
Where to Shop #
Common Grocery Chains #
- ICA (Many locations around town; be wary of higher prices at ICA Nära)
- Coop (Another common store but tends to be pricier, especially at Coop Nära)
- Willy’s (Tends to be more affordable; fewer locations than Coop or ICA)
- Hemköp (Fewer locations than Coop or ICA but still common)
- Lidl
International Grocers #
Most chain grocery stores have a small international section, but you’ll find a much better selection at international grocers. International stores often have great prices. Expect international goods to cost more due to import costs.
Food Halls #
Specialty Foods #
- Blog post about where to find halal food in Stockholm
- Guide to kosher food from the Jewish Assembly of Stockholm
Good to Know #
Food Costs #
Groceries cost about the same in Stockholm as in major US cities. Your monthly food subsidy is more than enough to cover monthly groceries and some restaurant meals.
Units of Measurement #
Don’t forget that Sweden is on the metric system. This means that vegetables, meat, etc. are measured by the kilogram (1 kg = 2.2 pounds). Some lighter or more expensive foods such as candy, lunchmeat, and berries are measured by the hectogram (hg), which is one-tenth of a kilo. Be aware of this so you are not surprised by the final price.
Expiration Dates #
An interesting difference between grocery shopping in Sweden and the US is that fresh foods generally do not last as long as they might in the US because less preservatives are used in the production and packaging process. Milk lasts about a week after you buy it, and fruit and vegetables tend to ripen or expire more quickly. The same applies to meat.
Food Dictionary #
Dietary Restrictions & Common Allergens #
- Vegan – Veganskt
- Vegetarian – Vegetarisk/vego
- Lactose free – Laktosfritt
- Milk free – Mjölkfritt
- Växtbaserad – Plant-based
- Gluten free – Glutenfritt
- Nuts – Nötter (most nuts end with ‘nötter’, e.g. hazelnuts – hasselnötter)
- Shellfish – Skaldjur
Dairy #
- Milk – Mjölk
- Lättmjölk, mellanmjölk, and mjölk are somewhat in line with skim milk, 1% milk, and whole milk.
- Note that filmjölk is not milk. It is a sour, thicker dairy product that is similar to (but not the same as) yogurt. This is a breakfast staple with cereal, granola, or fruit for many Swedes.
- Butter – Smör
- Regular smör is often used to fry food in, for baking or to elevate the taste of your food.
- Spreadable butter usually comes in a plastic container. Common brands are Bregott, Lätta, Flora and Lätt & Lagom.
- Please note that yeast (jäst) comes in small packages that look similar to butter. You will not be happy if you accidentally spread yeast on your bread so make sure the package you buy says smör!
- Margarine can be used as a substitute for butter in baking, frying, or flavoring. Nowadays, it is usually made from vegetable oil instead of animal fat.
- Cheese – Ost
- Cottage cheese – Keso
- Cream cheese – Färskost
- Egg – Ägg
Baking & Pantry Items #
- Baking powder – Bakpulver
- Baking soda – Bikarbonat
- Beans – Bönor
- Bread – Bröd. Swedish grocery stores usually carry the same varieties of bread as American stores, but you will also find:
- Dark, dense breads, sometimes with seeds on the outside
- Tunnbröd (thin breads) that are great for wraps
- Knäckebröd, a Swedish hard bread used for many different snacks. Swedes might eat it with eggs and caviar, pickled herring, or ham and cheese, or even crumble it into their filmjölk.
- Candy – Godis: Swedes love their candy. You will discover some exciting new candy such as salted black licorice, Marabou chocolate, and Bilar, the result of a failed marshmallow recipe. A popular way to buy candy is through pick-and-mix, in which you fill a bag with loose candy and pay by weight.
- Caviar – Kaviar: Fish roe paste is a surprisingly common food in Sweden and probably not what you think of when you think of caviar. It is commonly used as a topping on sandwiches, bread, or eggs.
- Chickpeas – Kikärtor
- Flour – Mjöl
- Vetemjöl, or wheat flour, is the commonly used for baking. There are many other types of mjöl available.
- Lentils – Linser
- Oatmeal – Havregryn
- Gingerbread – Pepparkaka
- Rice – Ris
- Sugar – Socker
- Yeast – Jäst
- Vanilla sugar – Vaniljsocker
Coffee #
- Coffee – Kaffe
- Lightly roasted coffee – Ljusrostat/Blonde
- Medium roasted coffee – Mellanrost
- Dark roasted coffee – Mörkrost
Swedes can be very peculiar regarding which coffee brand they buy (not very strange since we consume the second most coffee per day in the world, the average Swede drinks 3.2 cups a day). If you are from the north, you usually buy the brand Gevalia, because that is where the factory is. In Stockholm people usually buy Arvid Nordqvist, in the south of Sweden they buy Zoegas and in the west, they usually buy Löfbergs Lila. There is actually a science behind this, depending on where the coffee is made, it is matched with the tap water in the different parts of Sweden for optimal taste. However, you can of course buy whatever brand you want, it will still taste good!
Depending on how you are brewing your coffee, you must look out for different symbols. In the example below, the first one is for a French press, the second one is for a regular filtered coffee maker, and the last one is for making it on the stove.
Condiments & Spices #
- Cocoa – Kakao
- Oil – Olja
- Olive oil – Olivolja
- Canola (rapeseed) oil – Rapsolja
Fruits & Vegetables (Frukt & Grönsaker) #
- Apple – Äpple
- Apricot – Aprikos
- Artichoke – Kronärtskocka
- Asparagus – Sparris
- Banana – Banan
- Berries – Bär
- Blueberry – Blåbär
- Raspberry – Hallon
- Strawberry – Jordgubbe
- Cabbage – Kål
- Cantaloupe – Nätmelon
- Carrot – Morot
- Cucumber – Gurka
- Eggplant – Aubergine
- Fennel – Fänkål
- Garlic – Vitlök
- Leek – Purjolök
- Lemon – Citron
- Lettuce – Sallad
- Onion – Lök
- Orange – Apelsin
- Parsnip – Palsternacka
- Peach – Persika
- Pear – Päron
- Pepper – Paprika
- Plum – Plommon
- Potato – Potatis
- Sweet Potato – Sötpotatis
- Pumpkin – Pumpa
- Spinach – Spenat
- Tomato – Tomat
Meat & Fish (Kött & Fisk) #
- Beef – Nötkött
- Ground beef – Köttfärs, nötfärs
- Ground pork and beef – Blandfärs
- Rib eye – Entrecote
- Sirloin – Ryggbiff
- Tri-Tip – Rostbiff
- Chicken – Kyckling
- Chicken breast – Kycklingbröst
- Chicken drumsticks – Kycklingben
- Chicken legs – Kycklingklubba
- Fillet of Chicken – Kycklingfilé
- Fish – Fisk
- Salmon – Lax
- Cod – Torsk
- Tuna – Tonfisk
- Herring – Strömming
- Lamb – Lamm
- Pork – fläsk
- Bacon – Bacon
- Ground pork – Fläskfärs
- Ground pork and beef – Blandfärs
- Ham – Skinka
- Porkloin chop – Fläskkotlett
- Pork Tenderloin – Fläskfilé
- Sausage – Korv
- Hotdog – Grillkorv
- Salami – Prickig korv/Salami
Meat Alternatives #
- Quorn – a meat substitute made with mycoprotein, lacto-ovo vegetarian option, also a brand name.
- Oomph – a meat substitute made with soy, peas, and wheat as its main ingredients, also a brand name.
- Moldable vegetarian ground “beef” – Formbar färs, vegetarian ground beef (without beef) that you can form into balls or whatever you like (like Swedish meatballs!).
- Vegetarian ground “beef” – Vegofärs, Vegetarisk färs.