Jansson's temptation (Swedish: Janssons frestelse ()) is a traditional
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
casserole
A casserole ( French: diminutive of , from Provençal 'pan') is a normally large deep pan or bowl a casserole is anything in a casserole pan. Hot or cold
History
Baked dishes have existed for thousands of years. Early casserole recipes ...
made of
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es,
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
s, pickled
sprat
Sprat is the common name applied to a group of forage fish belonging to the genus ''Sprattus'' in the family Clupeidae. The term also is applied to a number of other small sprat-like forage fish (''Clupeoides'', ''Clupeonella'', '' Corica'', ' ...
s,
bread crumb
Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thicken ...
s and
cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
. It is commonly included in a Swedish ''
julbord'' (Christmas ''
smörgåsbord
Smörgåsbord () is a buffet-style meal of Swedish origin. It is served with various hot and cold dishes.
Smörgåsbord became internationally known at the 1939 New York World's Fair when it was offered at the Swedish Pavilion "Three Crowns R ...
''), and the
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
''påskbuffé'', which is lighter than a traditional ''julbord''. The dish is also common in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
where it is known as ''janssoninkiusaus''.
Preparation
![Janssons frestelse close-up](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Janssons_frestelse_close-up.jpg)
The potatoes are cut into thin strips and layered in a roasting tin, alternating with the sprats and chopped onions in between. Salt and pepper is put over each layer, then cream is added so that it almost fills the tin. It is finally baked in an oven at for about one hour.
The recipe is often mistranslated into English, with
anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
being substituted for
sprat
Sprat is the common name applied to a group of forage fish belonging to the genus ''Sprattus'' in the family Clupeidae. The term also is applied to a number of other small sprat-like forage fish (''Clupeoides'', ''Clupeonella'', '' Corica'', ' ...
s. This is because sprats (''Sprattus sprattus'') pickled in sugar, salt and spices have been known in Sweden as ''ansjovis'' since the middle of the 19th century, while true anchovies (''Engraulis encrasicolus'') are sold in Sweden as ''sardeller'' (
sardelle
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
s). Also, small herrings (''Clupea harengus'') may be used instead of sprats.
Name and origin
It has often been associated with the opera singer Per Adolf "Pelle" Janzon (1844–1889), remembered as a
gourmand
A gourmand is a person who takes great pleasure and interest in consuming good food and drink. ''Gourmand'' originally referred to a person who was "a glutton for food and drink", a person who eats and drinks excessively; this usage is now rare. ...
. However, another claim
[ for the origin of the name has been made by Gunnar Stigmark (1910–2001) in an article, "Så var det med Janssons frestelse", which appeared in the periodical ''Gastronomisk kalender''. According to Stigmark, the name was borrowed from the film ''Janssons frestelse'' (1928) featuring the film actor and director ]Edvin Adolphson
Gustav Edvin Adolphson (25 February 1893 – 31 October 1979) was a Swedish film actor and director who appeared in over 500 roles. He made his debut in 1912. He appeared with Ingrid Bergman in ''Only One Night'' (1939), and is noted for his ...
; as a name for this dish, it was coined by Stigmark's mother and her hired female chef for the particular occasion of a society dinner, whence it spread to other households and eventually into cookbooks.
See also
* List of casserole dishes
This is a list of notable casserole dishes. A casserole, probably from the archaic French word ''casse'' meaning a small saucepan, is a large, deep dish used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word is also used for the food cooked and ...
References
External links
Recipe
at ica.se
{{Christmas
Casserole dishes
Potato dishes
Swedish cuisine
Finnish cuisine
Vegetable dishes
Christmas food
Fish dishes
Christmas in Sweden
Easter food