Reading and writing about eating and drinking is no substitute for the real thing, but it does have its pleasures.When compiling this supplement, an attempt was made to find some of the best descriptions of various aspects of food and drink in Swedish literature. It soon became clear that surprisingly many of the scenes one remembers turn out to be vivid and detailed in one’s memory, but not nearly so detailed on the page. A tribute to the author’s skill, no doubt, but not so appropriate for a themed issue like this one. Another unfortunate circumstance confronting the guest editor was that some excellent extracts from recent novels had already appeared in Swedish Book Review: the school dinner scene in Torbjörn Flygt’s Underdog, for instance, and the opening chapter of Carina Burman’s Den tionde sånggudinnon (The Tenth Muse) — although we were able to get round the latter problem to a small extent by quoting a longish piece from it. The literary feast we were eventually able to serve up contains a variety of dishes that we trust will go some way to satisfying the appetite of readers for both old favourites and new delicacies.

Rather than restrict the supplement to translations of literary texts, it was decided to include articles (and translated extracts) about typical Swedish foods, some famous Swedish drinks, eating out in Stockholm and some ideas about how food and drink are used in literature, with Fredrika Bremer’s writings as an example.We learn how Swedish Americans enjoy a traditional meal of potatiskorv (potato sausage) whereas few modern Swedes have ever heard of it, and find out a little about one of Sweden’s best restaurants which is also the centre for training future workers in the food and drinks industry despite being hidden away in the central Swedish countryside. And of course, such subject matter gave us an excellent excuse to include some of the superb pictures that are nowadays taken for granted in books to do with our theme. (Many thanks to the Editorial Board for allowing the additional expense of full colour — a luxury made possible largely because of a generous grant from the Anglo-Swedish Literary Foundation.)

Thanks also to the many people who suggested suitable texts, and especially to Helen Sigeland, Birgitta Thompson and Claes Hylinger.

Smaklig måltid, and enjoy the feast!