The Swedish Kitchen – Cooking Outdoors in Sweden

The Swedish countryside is full of outdoor fire pits, making cooking outdoors very accessible.  They come in all shapes, sizes, and conditions, but there is no doubt about it, being able to do your cooking outdoors on a hike or a camp, safely and responsibly, enriches the experience and memories.  

There is no knowing what you will find until you reach one.  Some are marked on trail maps, others are not, but they are little gems tucked away in the Swedish countryside, usually complete with a stunning view to admire whilst you eat.

Some are very basic, just a few rocks.  Others are luxurious, with the ability to set your grill rack at different heights, and come complete with picnic tables.  Sometimes a kind person has provided wood for the fire and left it in a little shelter, and occasionally there is a bucket which you can use to collect water in (which we then have standing next to the fire as a safety precaution).

Due to not knowing what we will come across, and being out with three small children, I carry our firewood (I’m getting quite strong!) just to be on the safe side.  As we get more experienced and the children get older, then we can think about rummaging around on the ground for fuel supplies.

There is something very special about being able to cook over an open fire, and we now have made a habit of doing this at least once a week, rain, sun, or snow…..in the winter it provides a well needed warming meal, and in the summer, a break in the hike to relax while the children play for a few hours.

The provision of the fire pits have benefits more far reaching than just being able to do your cooking outdoors.  They allow you to connect together, and pause a while from whatever adventure you are on.  Usually we are hiking.

The children either immerse themselves playing in nature, or are busy helping me, learning good bush craft and survival skills as they go along.

Top Tips for Cooking Outdoors

1. Carry your food, water, and fuel for the trip.
2. Have a little fire starting kit ready made up (ours contains newspaper, cottonwool, vaseline, matches, and a fire steel).
3. Allow lots of time.  This is not an activity that can be rushed, both for safety and enjoyment reasons.
4. Be prepared to improvise, whether with cooking accessories, or fuel supplies.
5. Let your children help.  It teaches them valuable skills.
6. Leave no trace of you being there, so there is less impact on the environment.  For example, if you’ve moved rocks to create a windbreak, put them back where you found them.
7. Use fire pits when you can, or a stove if there isn’t one.  The photos below show our beloved kettle we use to boil drinks (the stove part is on my Christmas list!!).
8. Take ALL your waste home.
9. Put any fires out completely before you pack up and leave.  We don’t want wildlife hurt, nature harmed, or it to become a safety risk.
10. If you are using firewood from the surrounding area, only use from the ground.  Don’t go chopping or tearing branches from trees and bushes.

Written by Sonia Cave

I’m Sonia, Mamma to three (our little lady, 9, and our twin mini men, 5). With Dadda, we’re on our dream adventure having moved from the UK to Sweden in October 2016. We’re happiest in the outdoors. We like playing in nature, climbing trees, and cooking in the great outdoors. We moved to Sweden to bring our children up the Scandinavian way, and to enjoy all things Swedish, especially their ethos of living.