The traditional Swedish way to eat Surströmming

This British guy does a great job of explaining Surstromming.

It really is fermented in the can. Blech.

I'm surprised that people don't get poisoned by it. Sounds toxic.

I don't even think Swedish people eat it.

"It smells like foreskin"

I have eaten Surstromming on multiple occasions and never noticed any odor whatsoever, really much ado about nothing...

[quote] some comparing it to diarrhea or a "big poo in a can."

Sounds delicious! Where can I get some?

Story of My Life

[quote] It is traditionally eaten outdoors or underwater. . .

How do those crafty Swedes eat something underwater?

Forty some years ago, I flew from Stockholm to New York with a stop in Oslo. Some asshole had packed a can of surströmming in their carryon and it exploded on the second leg of the flight. Inside a pressurized metal tube, there was nothing anyone could do. A few people used their barf bags. The thing was, even hours later, my nose hadn’t gotten used to the stench.

I had packed a couple cans in my checked bag, but they were inside sealed plastic bags inside two other sealed plastic bags. They were bulging when I got home, but they did not explode. I had been in Sweden for two years, so my grandmother hosted a welcome home party for me. I thought it’d be funny to serve surströmming in the traditional Swedish way, with boiled potatoes, onions, sour cream, and bread. My uncle decided he was going to open it and I yelled to him to open it outside. So he opened it in the garage then dropped the can on the floor. Grandma’s garage stuck for months after.

The second food story in a week where the smell was described as fecal.

Daikon apparently smells like farts.

R8 This never happened.

Is that what they call it in Sweden?

You haven’t lived until you try lutefisk.