Kålrotsakademien (The Swede Academy)

The Swede Academy, with 18 members, was founded in 2015. Its purpose is to promote the cultural-historical and geographical links between the raw material, its properties and their expression in processed food products, dishes and meals, as well as related storytelling. An explicit goal is to spread knowledge about it both inside and outside Sweden's borders. The swede, or ‘rutabaga’, is the most internationally known cultivated plant of Swedish origin. It originated through several spontaneous hybridizations between turnip and cabbage in the 17th century in the then eastern part of the country and has spread out over the world from there. The Academy attaches special importance to the cultural and geographical links of cultivated plants. The fact that the cultural geography contains linguistic dialectal dimensions is of particular value. Through dissemination of knowledge outside Sweden's borders, the Academy promotes Swedish food culture abroad. The Academy wishes to emphasize nuances of shade rather than overlapping great features. Credible stories about food evoke curiosity and create added value. Storytelling creates a strong weave of culture that binds people and phenomena closer together and builds pride from below. This, according to the Academy, is particularly important in an increasingly unidentified and globalized world.