Paper short abstract:

In a study of #Swedengate, about the custom to not invite children’s playmates to partake in the family dinner, the custom was described as something typically Swedish, like fermented herring. The aim is to explore liminal food practices linked to the meal, rather than food as substance.

Paper long abstract:

The paper builds on a study of #Swedengate, about the custom to not invite children’s playmates to partake in the family dinner. This denial of commensality was described by one of the informants as something typically Swedish, like surströmming (fermented herring). The dinner practices of Swedish households turned out to be as exotic and dividing as the custom to eat surströmming, causing anger, despair and frustration for person that was unfamiliar with the practice. Based on a questionnaire about Swedengate with 400 responses, the paper discusses how a custom can be interpreted in different ways by the people that takes or took part in the custom. In an attempt to find the roots of the practice, the emotional character of meals and meals as tools for silent communication, where the tacit knowledge of practices may lead to unintended but hard cultural clashes, become illuminated. The aim is to explore liminal food practices linked to the meal, rather than to food as substance, and how such liminal food practices may evoke conflicts around nationality and cultural heritage.