It's all about the Cider

One thing I love about Sweden is the paron (pear) cider. I knew that I would like it as I really like the (non-alcoholic) pear cider from Ikea. It's very different from the range of ciders readily available at home. You get lots of different brands with different flavours (left wih elderflower, above with berries, strawberry & lime, starfruit & raspberry & starfruit) - a lot of these are summer limited edition, I don't think you can get more than the standard in the cold, dark days of winter. In general they are very refreshing on a hot day (although the strawberry & lime was a bit sweet). You can't tell what is made here though - food lableing laws don't seem to require country of origin. The one to the left is one of my favourites, and I had assumed it was Swedish as all the info on the back is in Swedish with no other country mentioned - but it is actually English (I didn't see it anywhere in England though - I think it is made for export to Sweden in the swedish cider style as it is nothing like the other English ciders I have had). 

You can also get the ones up the top in a range of alcoholic contents - you can buy drinks with up to 2.5% alcohol in the supermarket, above that you have to go to the government owned bottle shops (system bolaget). The drinks up the top range from 4.5 % to 7.5% - but Dr M found some of the same flavours in the supermarket in cans with the lower alcohol reading. This means you have to be careful what you take from the fridge!