Mushroom Day in Scandinavia Date in the current year: September 1, 2024

Mushrooms are the fleshy fruiting bodies of many fungi species. They produce spores that help the fungus spread. Many mushrooms are edible and have been used extensively in cooking in many parts of the world, notably in Europe and some Asian countries like China, Japan, and Korea, and mushroom hunting is a popular pastime throughout most of Europe, Asia, Australia, and temperate regions of North America.

Some of the most common edible mushrooms in Scandinavia are penny buns (porcini), chanterelles, field mushrooms, and hedgehog mushrooms. Interestingly, despite being quite common in the region, mushrooms were not widely consumed by the general population until relatively recently. People did pick mushrooms, but they mostly used them as kindling to make fires. The person credited with introducing mushrooms to Scandinavian cuisine is King Charles XIV John of Sweden and Norway.

King Charles XIV was born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte in France. He served as a Marshal of France during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1810, Bernadotte was unexpectedly chosen as the successor of Swedish king Charles XIII who didn’t have an heir. He converted to Lutheranism, was adopted by the king, became the de facto head of state as regent, and ascended to the thrones of Sweden and Norway in 1818.

The new king brought French culinary traditions with him and introduced mushrooms to the court cuisine, impressing Swedish aristocrats with the nutty flavor of porcini. The knowledge that porcini were edible eventually spread from the court to the peasants, and the rest is history. Originally called stensopp (“stone mushroom”) in Swedish, porcini was renamed karljohanssvamp (“Charles John’s mushroom”) in honor of the king.

Today, mushroom dishes can be found in the cuisines of all three Scandinavian countries. For example, liver pâté (called leverpostej in Denmark, leverpostei in Norway and leverpastej in Sweden) is often topped with sauteed mushrooms. In Denmark, mushroom sauce is a popular variation of the brown sauce (brun sovs). In Sweden, chanterelles are very popular and considered a delicacy. They are usually served as a side dish with steak, or sauteed with onions and butter or sauce and served on an open sandwich. Norwegian cuisine has hearty mushroom stew, often served with mashed potatoes.

Mushroom Day was created to educate the general public about the many mushrooms that grow in Scandinavia. Mushroom Day events are organized by various environmental organizations across the three countries such as the Norwegian Association for Mycology and Foraging, the Swedish Mycological Society, and many more. They include lectures on edible and poisonous mushrooms, mushroom foraging workshops and trips, mushroom exhibitions, cooking classes, quizzes, special events for children, and more.