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.
Both at the Christmas table and in everyday life, there has long been a push for more vegetables and less meat on our plates. But a shift from red meat to plant-based protein means we end up eating more food containing iron in a form that is difficult for the body to absorb, and less of the easily absorbed heme iron. According to the Swedish Food Agency, about 30% of girls in 8th grade and the second year of high school are iron-deficient. Researchers at the Swedish Institute for Blue Food who have studied the health effects of diet would prefer to see the protein shift occur from red to blue-green, where meat is replaced with fish and shellfish, which—like meat—contain easily absorbed heme iron. As an added bonus, these foods provide other nutrients such as vitamin B12, selenium, easily digestible proteins, and iodine.
Meatballs are a relatively recent addition to the Christmas table—and one we’re happy to keep. But there are good reasons to switch up the ground meat in the meatballs. These days, you can buy both ground meat and ready-made meatballs made from bream, sea squirt, rainbow trout, mussels, and herring. Behind these products lies product development in which Blå Mat’s researchers and companies have been involved. Bream is a common bycatch in inland fishing that has gained greater value for fishermen through a processing technique that separates the meat from the bones, making it easier to enjoy even fish species with many small bones. Sea squirts and mussels are marine animals that we cultivate in the ocean. They absorb nutrients directly from the water to grow, thereby counteracting the risk of eutrophication. Herring mince is currently made from the fine meat that remains after the fish has been filleted. Many exciting products are already on the market, but at Blue Food, we’re also expanding the possibilities for utilizing additional raw materials. For example, one of our young researchers is studying how fish protein can be used as “ink” in 3D printers. Perhaps the Christmas dinner table of the future will feature “Merry Christmas” written in herring ink.
Just like herring, oysters and mussels have high nutritional value and a low environmental impact. Furthermore, they—just like algae—are so-called extractive species that absorb nutrients from the ocean. Wild oysters are abundant, especially the invasive species known as the Japanese giant oyster, whose sharp shells have become a common sight on the beaches of the west coast. Eating them therefore has many positive effects. In Blue Food , we have studied how oysters can be prepared to appeal to a wider audience; we have investigated how to efficiently separate the meat from the shells in clusters of Japanese giant oysters; and we will discuss how regulations can be developed so that more people can enjoy these delicious creatures.
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 food security 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, among other places, in nutrient-poor lakes where added nutrients are beneficial. There is also increasing research and development into fish farming in land-based, closed systems. Blue Food We are conducting research on optimizing feed utilization through AI analysis of the fish’s feeding sounds; we are studying how alternative feeds based on mussels, sea squirts, fly larvae, and fungi affect fish health and the taste of the meat, as well as how fish manure can be used in crop production to reduce dependence on imported mineral fertilizers. We are also investigating the positive effects of combining algae and fish in land-based aquaculture systems.
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."
Blue Food also conducts research to develop methods for removing substances such as PCBs, dioxins, and PFAS from fish with elevated levels.
The eel population is critically endangered. But there are alternatives for the Christmas table. The African catfish, Clarias, is one of the world’s most popular food fish. In Sweden, it is farmed in land-based recirculating systems and hot-smoked at a traditional eel smokehouse. Several researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences ( Blue Food ) are committed to developing Swedish aquaculture with new, exciting species and new, more circular and sustainable farming techniques.
In 2022 and 2023, Swedish-grown algae were featured on the menu at the Nobel Banquet. In 10 years, Swedish algae cultivation has grown from zero production to nearly 100 metric tons per year. Soon, it could become a common ingredient that adds flavor, texture, and nutrients such as protein, vitamin B12, and minerals to a wide variety of foods. Or why not as a fresh early spring delicacy, when the sea-farmed algae are harvested? At the Blue Food , we conduct sustainability analyses for algae farms, develop underwater robots that cost-effectively and climate-smartly monitor the farms, and conduct research on 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!