When I did some treats with my son today I thought about my non Swedish readers and thought I would write a post to you.
Every single Swede instantly knows what is on the photo. It is probably the most common pastry we have. It is made with rolled oat/oat flakes, chocolate, coffee, sugar and butter. Rolled in nibsugar or coco flakes. Simple, delicious and beyond common.
Nowadays most kids know them as Chokladbollar, chocolate balls. But when I was young and to most old people and even in one of my cookbooks from 2001 has the traditional name Negerbollar. Yes. That would be the n-word balls in English. It is not at all strange if a christian lady in her 70’s asks for a couple of n*balls to her coffee. When I grew up it never occurd to me that the name could be offensive. In 2003 a person actually sued a bakery for ethical discrimination (denied though) by calling them negerbollar and since then all people selling them has change the name to Chokladbollar.
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August 27, 2008 at 1:27 pm
paul
Alex,
This makes me think of the bible… perhaps it is also a cookbook of sorts. In another era, culture, it was okay to have slaves, commit genocide, have deserts named “negerbollar”…. It’s better to have a cookbook written on our hearts than one carved in stone. A living cookbook can grow, change and not be offensive.
September 17, 2008 at 6:03 am
kontakt
Actually, Swedish “neger” is not the equivalent of “the n word”, which is “nigger”. It is the equivalent of “negro”. Swedes tend to believe these words have the same connotations.
November 6, 2008 at 9:52 am
Matsmurfen
“Negro” in the Spanish language means “black”, so… I can’t see the what´s offensive with “Negroballs”… I think the connection to black humans is quite farfetched.