How to taste the Swedish summer any time of the year

From the deep aromatic scent of the spruce tree to the poignant tartness of the cloudberry (pictured), the tastes, textures and smells of Swedish summertime are as unique as they are unforgettable. The long light days of summer are a golden growing period, which create an excess of produce that needs to be preserved, so that it can be enjoyed when nature hibernates. The Swedes are experts at keeping alive these delectable natural flavours throughout the seasons. Now, a new generation of gastronomic geniuses are developing traditional techniques and experimenting with new flavour combinations to create tasty, sustainable and sensual edibles.

Meet Elvira Lindqvist (pictured, left) and Lena Engelmark Embertsén (pictured, right), two of the top foodie minds in Sweden. Elvira (who just opened her new restaurant, Restaurang Oxenstiernan, in the heart of Stockholm) is a classically-trained chef invigorating the nation’s cuisine with a creative focus on the new, the ethical and the local. Lena is a taste hunter and farm-owner, using her training as a chemical engineer to make food preserving a 21^st century artform. Together, they have created The Taste of Swedish Summer: 22 unique flavours direct from natures larder, gathered as the sun warms and preserved, captured in time. Read more about the flavours worth preserving! Want to try and create these flavours at home? You can discover eight of Lena and Elvira's recipes here, including this recipe for pickled spruce buds, which will bring the tastes and smell of a Swedish forest to a hearty salad. Or, if you're looking for something to pair perfectly with charcuterie, try this recipe for preserved chanterelle mushrooms (known as Sweden's 'forest gold') with sage.

Using long-held techniques handed down, Elvira and Lena use fermentation, pickling, sugar and salting, and lactic acid fermentation, and have made a mosaic of sweet, sour, savoury and succulent that takes the taster on a geographical tour. The robust beauty of the Swedish coastline is captured in sea buckthorn preserve with pineapple weed, while the fragrant delicacy of a summer meadow is transformed into an infusion of dried wildflowers. The depths of the forest dominate pickled spruce tips with wild blueberries, and the comforting surrounds of a Swedish cottage garden find their way into fermented rhubarb flavoured with angelica. Then there's the delicious tar-cured strawberries with yellow sedum. Want to try and create it yourself? Here's the recipe. Trapped in these tastes is the tantalising excitement of travel.