Taste like gingerbread, need more ...

... well, not salt for sure. Candy, cookies, ice cream even "filmjolk" with pepparkaksmak? 

  • "Skorpor" with a taste of ginger? The idea is not bad, however this version is too spicy.

  • Swedes love the taste of gingerbread cookies. So much so that many products (and most of them limited editions) with this flavor of Christmas are now sold in stores. But are they really that good? We tested some of the products on a 6-year-old gingerbread lover.

  • GB's classic ice cream sandwich with a gingerbread cookie. Too good to be a limited edition!

  • 1. Krisprolls Gingerbread. "Skorpor” with gingerbread taste (now that sounds like a winning combination, doesn’t it?), but our 6-year-old gives them thumbs down: ”too much spice.”

  • Maybe we've been away from the "old country" too long? The gingerbread-flavored "filmjölk" was just too sweet.

  • 2. GB’s classic ice cream sandwich but with a gingerbread cookie instead. Who eats ice cream in December anyway? Answer: 6 year olds do. Thumbs up for this one. The cookie part is just like a gingerbread cookie, with the regular vanilla ice cream filling. A winner.

  • Gingerbread water? Swedes certainly like ginger, don't we? But save your money when it comes to this water—better buy water with a taste of "kiwi" or "red pear." This has no freshness to it.

  • 3. We’re moving on to the dairy section, where we find the many varieties of ”fil” or ”filmjölk” (sorely missed by expat Swedes), a product that’s made from soured milk; though similar to plain yogurt, it really has a different taste and texture. These days there are Japanese and Russian ”filmjölk” as well as ”filmjölk” with lemon flavor, wild strawberry, extra protein or vanilla, and for those of us in the southern parts of Sweden, a special ”Öresundsfil” (Öresund is the strait that separates Sweden and Denmark). So it comes as no surprise to find ”pepparkaksfil.” Described as ”fresh and creamy with a delicious taste of gingerbread” we bring it home. Unfortunately this gets a thumbs down. The 6-year-old wrinkles his nose: Too sweet. We will, however, keep it for baking.

  • This photo is deceiving! Our tester did not like the gingerbread-flavored "dammsugare" from Godbiten Konditori. Not much of a ginger taste to them.

  • 4. Loka gingerbread water. Water used to be water, but those days are long gone. Sweden is also hooked on the flavored water trend—Ramlösa has among their products water flavors like pineapple, lemon, pomegranate, kiwi, red pear and mango. Loka, a Ramlösa competitor, responds with a dizzying array of flavors that includes gooseberry/pear, lemon pie, watermelon, and peach. And gingerbread. A must try, right? Well, the smell was fine. It certainly smelled like gingerbread. But the taste? Not so much. It just tasted like water, and not particularly fresh water either. Thumbs down.

  • Gingerbread candy—pepparkaksdumle

  • 5. Pepparkaksdammsugare from Godbiten Konditori. The ”punsch-roll” aka ”vacuum cleaner” (”dammsugare”) is a classic Swedish pastry. We tested Godbiten Konditori’s gingerbread version, thinking there’s no way gingerbread can make pastry taste worse. We quickly found out there is. Thumbs down for this one, it has a dusty old taste to it, and no Christmassy ginger flavor at all.

  • Swedes are clearly heavily into gingerbread.

  • 6. Play it safe, go for the all-time favorite candy "Dumle" chocolate covered toffee with a touch of gingerbread. With candy you simply can not go wrong.

  • Or, better yet, make your own, go for the classic Christmas treats: Pepparkakor' - regular ginger snaps. White gingersnaps, and more... or, add a bit of ginger spice to your regular treats: Season for ginger - Home made muffins, latte and ice cream