Put seafood on the Christmas table
Even when we started celebrating Christmas in Sweden, fish and other seafood had an obvious place on the Christmas table. No wonder in a country with several hundred miles of coastline and almost 100,000 lakes. Historically, Christmas Eve was the last day of Advent Lent and, as good Catholics, we feasted on fish such as pike, zander and carp. Since then, the Christmas table has changed and evolved. There are good reasons to give seafood - such as fish, shellfish and seaweed - a much more prominent place with all its variety as the Christmas table continues to evolve.
At the Christmas table, as in everyday life, there has long been an argument for more green and less meat on the plate. However, a red-green protein shift means that we eat more food with iron in a form that is difficult for the body to absorb and less of the readily available iron. According to the Swedish National Food Agency, around 30% of girls in grade 8 and year 2 of secondary school are iron deficient. Researchers at Blue Food, who have studied the health effects of the diet, would rather see a protein shift from red to blue-green, with meat being replaced by fish and shellfish, which, like meat, contain the readily available iron. Other benefits such as vitamin B12, selenium, easily degradable proteins and iodine are also included.
Meatballs are a relative newcomer to the Christmas table, and they're here to stay. But there are good reasons to replace the mince in the buns. Nowadays, you can buy both mince and ready-made buns made from bream, sole, rainbow trout, mussels and herring. Behind them is product development that Blå Mat's researchers and companies have been involved in. Bream is a common by-catch in lake fishing that has become more valuable to fishermen through a process technology that can separate meat from bones, making it easier to enjoy even fish species with many small bones. Sea scallops and mussels are animals that we grow in the sea. They take nutrients directly from the water in order to grow, thus counteracting the risk of eutrophication. Today, herring mince is made from the fine meat that remains after the fish has been filleted. So, many exciting products are already on the market, but in Blue Food we are also expanding the possibilities to make use of additional raw materials. For example, one of our young researchers is studying how fish protein can be used as 'ink' in 3D printers. The Christmas table of the future might read Merry Christmas in herring script.
Like herring, oysters and mussels have high nutritional value and low climate impact. In addition, like algae, they are extractive species that take up nutrients from the sea. Wild oysters are abundant, especially the invasive Japanese giant oyster, whose sharp shells have become common on West Coast beaches. Eating them has many positive effects. In Blue Food, we have studied how oysters can be cooked to appeal to more people, we have investigated how to effectively separate meat from shells in clusters of Japanese giant oysters, and we will look at how regulations can be developed to allow more people to enjoy these tasty animals.
We recently received the brochure "In case of crisis or war" in the mail. It is a reminder of the importance of food availability, both at Christmas and in times of crisis. At the household level, we can have canned mackerel and gingerbread in the pantry. But at the societal level, we need access to large amounts of food even if the container ships stop coming. From that perspective, the Baltic Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat and our many lakes are huge and important refrigerators where farmed and wild-caught fish can be caught or slaughtered when we need fresh food.
A good way to contribute to Sweden's preparedness and supply of healthy food is to buy Swedish-farmed char or rainbow trout for the Christmas table instead of imported salmon. Swedish fish farms are located in nutrient-poor lakes where more nutrients are beneficial. There is also increased research and development into growing fish in land-based, closed systems. Blå mat is researching optimized feed use with AI interpretation of fish eating sounds, we are studying how alternative feeds based on mussels, sea squirts, fly larvae and mushrooms affect the health of the fish, the taste of the meat and how the fish manure can be used in crop cultivation and reduce dependence on imported mineral fertilizers. We are also investigating the positive effects of combining algae and fish in land-based farms.
Pickled herring has a natural place on the Christmas table. So please buy herring and sprat fished in Sweden so that more of it becomes food for us instead of animal feed. We feel better, the added value increases and small-scale coastal fishing is strengthened with a more robust food supply as a bonus. Are you hesitant about Baltic fish? Like inland fish, it can contain harmful substances. Young children, pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding should obviously be extra careful about what they eat, but the amount of harmful substances differs greatly between different parts of the Baltic Sea. The County Administrative Board of Gotland has participated in a project where analyses have been taken around the island and the levels measured there are well below the limit values. An adult can easily eat 100 grams of Gotland herring a week, all year round.
The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment concluded in the latest Nordic Nutrition Recommendations from last year that "the benefits of increasing fish intake to the recommended two to three dinners per week (equivalent to 300-450 grams, including at least 200 grams of oily fish for adults) outweigh the potential risks for all age groups."
In Blue Food, we are also researching to develop methods to remove substances such as PCBs, dioxins and PFAS from fish with elevated levels.
Eel stocks are under acute threat. But there are alternatives for the Christmas table. The African eel, Clarias, is one of the world's most popular food fish. In Sweden, it is farmed in land-based recirculating facilities and hot-smoked in a traditional eel smokehouse. Several of the researchers in Blå mat are involved in developing Swedish aquaculture with new exciting species and new more circular and sustainable farming techniques.
In 2022 and 2023, Swedish-grown algae were on the menu at the Nobel Banquet. In 10 years, Swedish algae farming has grown from zero production to almost 100 tons a year. Soon, it could be a common ingredient that contributes taste, texture and beneficial substances such as proteins, vitamin B12 and minerals in a plethora of foods. Or why not as a fresh primer in early spring, when the seaweed is harvested. In Blå mat, we develop sustainability analyses for algae farms, develop underwater robots that monitor the farms cost-effectively and climate-smart, and we research how algae can best be stabilized after harvest to optimize their properties as a food ingredient. Fermentation, salting and drying are examples.
Systembolaget now offers beer with seaweed and mussel shells, as well as gin and mulled wine spiced with seaweed. Whatever you choose to drink, we'd love to toast Christmas with you and hope you find the seafood to brighten up your Christmas table this year and your dinner table in the future. We continue to work to make Sweden more of a seafood nation again!