INSIGHTS

 

So how exactly are food and drinks related to culture?

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Food anthropologists believe that one of our first encounters with culture happens through our plates and glasses. Food and beverages are closely connected to the place we grow up in, its terroir, climate, landscape, traditions, our family's food preferences, etc. Food essentially embodies a lot of elements of culture, such as distinctive ingredients, flavours, values, cooking techniques and recipes that are typical of a particular region or country. Altogether these things reflect unique regional identities. Hence, by knowing more about the food and drinks typical of a region, you can get a better sense of its culture. 

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Here's what we learned about Scanian beverages and local culture:

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More than just a commodity

First of all, we discovered that there's a tendency to present beverages as more than just a commodity or an accompaniment to food. Scanian beverage narratives often stress the themes of localism, identity, terroir, craftsmanship, nostalgia and sustainability. Drinks are presented as part of local nature and traditions, a reflection of the region’s and producer’s unique identity and character, and a craft that requires skill and effort to make. They offer unique sensory and cultural experiences and an opportunity to connect to the Skåne land, to re-discover its countryside, and create bonds between the urban and the rural.

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In fact, Scanian beverages reflect many values of the New Nordic Food Manifesto conceived in 2004. The Manifesto promotes sustainable development, the value of harmony with nature, responsible consumption, seasonality,  sound production process, reconnection with the source of the food we eat, regional specificity and building on old local traditions, as opposed to excess consumption and fast food industry.

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Nature and Terroir

Our research of Scanian beverage representations has shown that local drinks are closely linked to the nature and soil of the region and serve as a connection point between the Skane land and people. Beverages, just like food, are profiled by reference to farmers’ and brewers’ traditional and ‘natural’ practices as well as their creativity in unfolding nature’s true values and aesthetics. Emphasized is the connection between the rich Skåne terroir and the unique tastes of its products: “authentic tastes that spring from the rich, local soil” (from “Visit Sweden” website) or “locally grown produce from rich, fertile soils, prepared with love and care” (from ”Visit Skåne” website).

 

Craftsmanship

This theme manifested itself in product design, aesthetics and narratives used in beverage promotion and advertising. Many manufacturers tended to emphasize that their goods are not mass-produced, but are unique tailor-made items with a personal touch of love and care. 

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Craftsmanship often comes up in the manufacturers’ discourse about the beverage production process. Their storytelling gives a very detailed account of how the beverages are made: where the ingredients come from, how they look, how they are worked with, who are the brewers, what technologies are being used, etc.

 

“This Organic Winter Spirit is handmade from scratch and contains only certified organic ingredients….Only the best fresh organic herbs, roots, fruits, berries and spices are chosen to give an as smooth and round character as possible.”

~Spirit of Hven

 

“MADE BY HAND. We make cider from 100% fruit, fermented with its natural yeast and without any additives. After picking, crushing and pressing the different fruits we use neutral containers to ferment the juice, mostly plastic vats. During fermentation we bottle the juice and let the last part of the natural sugar ferment in the bottle, producing bubbles and rest before the sale.”

~Fruktstereo

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The general impression is that the manufacturers invest a lot of effort and soul into the crafting process, and take personal pride in it.

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Rural and vintage aesthetics

Closely intertwined with this are the rural and vintage aesthetics. These are meant to evoke associations with the past, the pre-industrial age, and the times of artisans and craftsmen, when the creation of goods involved a lot of skill, effort and affection from the maker. 

 

These aesthetics are exemplified by a ubiquitous use of wood in product promotion and marketing (e.g. the apple cider bottles in supermarkets are usually placed in wooden chests), by adverts using images of countryside houses, by bottle and label design (with pictures of beverage ingredients and their origin). Each of those items looks like a piece of art that has auratic qualities (i.e. genuineness, identity, unique value). 

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Nostalgia and Sustainability

Generally, there is a clear tendency towards a more sustainable way of approaching beverage products both in terms of the production process and the discourse about the products. Beverage producers try to move away from the industrial capitalist rhetoric about beverages as a “commodity”. Instead, they tend to romanticize the traditional, pre-industrial ways, when making beverages was, presumably, seen as an art and craft. Scanian beverage storytelling incorporates a lot of this nostalgic rhetoric, often interwoven with contemporary cultural influences and urban trends.

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