Food Journalism

‘Swallow’ Promises to Be ‘a Little Dirtier’ Than Other Food Magazines

Edible Manhattan isn’t the only new food magazine in town. Swallow, which launches next month, promises to be “an experiment in how far a food magazine can go.” The introduction to the hardbound premiere issue continues, “Swallow is a step away from the hubbub of ‘foodie’ faddism.” Hence a look into “the dark side of Scandinavia’s fungi,” a blechtacularly illustrated collection of head-to-tail pork recipes (braised pig’s hearts with dandelion salad, anyone?), and profiles of top Scandinavian chefs, including our own Marcus Samuelsson. But what we really love is the front-of-book section introducing us to various Scandinavian foods and trends. Below, some Nordic words we’ve pulled from the issue’s features and happily added to our porkcabulary.


Falukorv (Sweden) – A gigantic smoked pork-and-veal sausage that made an appearance in the Swedish porn flick Fäbodjäntan.

Smørrebrød (Denmark) – “[D]erived from the Danish words for butter and bread, [it’s] infinitely represented in Davidsen’s eponymous restaurant, with a meter-and-a-half long menu listing over 250 varieties of open-faced sandwiches.”

Kalaaliaraq (Greenland) – The local hunter’s market. “Displays all manner of edibles from the relatively tame to the far-out freakouts” such as sea birds, polar bear meat, and eviscerated seals whose meat is eaten raw.

Kestomakkara (Finland) – A gamey, dense sausage filled with reindeer, moose, and bear.

Rullepølse (Denmark) – “[A] spiced, cured, and pressed pork belly — sliced thin, garnished with onion and served as smørrebrød.”

Kräftskiva (Sweden) – Crayfish, beheaded and cracked open, and eaten with a lot of aquavit during summer parties that involve paper hats.

Husmanskost (Sweden) – Home-cooked food, such as boiled knuckle of pork with mashed swede served with three types of mustard.

Salmiakki (Finland) – A corrosive salt that’s “present in all manner of salted licorice from Iceland to Denmark, through Finland.” Can be dissolved into cheap vodka for a drink (“salmari”) that tastes like a mixture of chemical salt, refined sugar, and molten licorice.

Swallow Magazine [Official site]

‘Swallow’ Promises to Be ‘a Little Dirtier’ Than Other