Swedish Oatmeal

Sweet, creamy Swedish Oatmeal. This is the stuff of my childhood dreams. I grew up eating this dish and hearing my mother tell stories about our Swedish ancestors who used to eat it too. I would imagine them as children in the Swedish countryside more than a hundred years earlier waking up in the morning and having this for breakfast with fresh-picked blueberries and milk from the cow in the barn out back. Of course, I have no idea how close my childhood imaginings came to approximating the truth of this idyllic image, but like many old family stories, this had become the stuff of lore. At least I was enjoying it in the spirit of remembering their heritage. In our house, at any rate, it was always considered an old family recipe dating back to our Swedish immigrant ancestors. Until today, that is.

Today, I called my grandmother, Ann Williams Stephens, and asked her to tell me more about this historic recipe. I asked her if she grew up eating it as a kid and when this family breakfast tradition started. Much to my surprise, she answered that no, she didn’t have it growing up, and that the family recipe started with her. Apparently, already married and with young kids of her own, my Grandma and her family were going to attend an activity where they had been asked to bring some type of “ancestral dish,” or a dish originating from the same country as one or more of your ancestors. In trying to figure out what to bring in honor of the family’s Swedish heritage, she stumbled upon this recipe for Swedish Oatmeal (perhaps from a library book or a friend or something, she can’t remember where), and decided to bring that as their representative dish. Anyway, it was such a hit with the family that she continued making it fairly often, and my mother, who loved it and always remembered the Swedish association, continued making it for us.

So while the recipe didn’t originate with them specifically, this dish is dedicated in honor of Lars Peterson Joranasson (1831-1868) and Charsty Kjersti Christina Larson (1835-1908), my grandmother Ann Williams Stephens’ maternal great-great grandparents who each emigrated from Sweden to the Utah territory with the Mormon pioneers in the late 1850’s, and were later married in Sanpete County, Utah. We have other Swedish ancestors as well (posts for another day), but Lars and Charsty may have been among those my Grandma Ann was thinking of when she discovered and shared this dish. Oat porridge has long been a staple in Sweden and throughout Scandinavia, so it seems likely that they did grow up enjoying this dish or something similar as well. I’m sure they would be pleased to see us carrying on the tradition today.

And I must say, I am forever grateful to my Grandma Ann for (re)introducing this recipe to the family. It’s basically a simple version of overnight oats. No cooking required, just mix everything the night before and the oats will soak up all that creamy goodness in the fridge overnight. Next morning, all you have to do is stir, scoop, and enjoy!

Here’s the recipe: