Plock Candy guide
What is lördagsgodis?
Lördagsgodis means Saturday candy, the Swedish tradition of saving sweets for one day a week. On Saturdays many Swedes, children especially, pick a bag of loose candy and enjoy it that day. The habit took hold after Swedish health authorities recommended in 1959 that candy be limited to protect teeth.
- Meaning
- Saturday candy
- Pronunciation
- Roughly LUR-dahks-goo-dees
- What people eat
- A bag of lösgodis, pick-and-mix candy
- Where it started
- Swedish dental health advice from 1959
- The idea
- Candy on one day instead of all week
What is Saturday candy day called in Sweden?
It is called lördagsgodis, from lördag, Saturday, and godis, candy. It is not an official holiday but a weekly family habit: on Saturday, children and adults choose a mix of loose candy, lösgodis, and eat it that day. The tradition is familiar enough that IKEA sells a candy range under the same name.
Where did lördagsgodis come from?
In the 1940s and 1950s, research at Vipeholm Hospital in Lund, now regarded as deeply unethical, showed that eating sugar often between meals caused far more tooth decay than eating it with meals. In 1959 Swedish health authorities used the findings to recommend limiting candy, and eating it on one day a week became lördagsgodis.
Is Sweden a big candy-eating country?
Yes. Sweden is regularly cited among the countries that eat the most candy per person, and walls of loose candy are a standard sight in Swedish grocery stores. Lördagsgodis channels that love of candy into a single day. What is Swedish candy?
How to do lördagsgodis in San Francisco
Make Saturday your candy day and pick a mix at Plock Candy, 3101 Fillmore St, from over 150 kinds of candy and snacks. How to build a good pick and mix.
Frequently asked questions
What is Saturday candy day called in Sweden?
It is called lördagsgodis, which means Saturday candy. It is a weekly habit rather than a holiday: many Swedes, especially children, eat their candy on Saturdays, usually a bag of pick-and-mix lösgodis.
How do you pronounce lördagsgodis?
Roughly LUR-dahks-goo-dees. Lördag means Saturday and godis means candy, and the Swedish ö sounds close to the vowel in the English word fur.
Why do Swedes eat candy on Saturdays?
Because of dental health advice. In 1959 Swedish health authorities recommended limiting candy after research linked frequent sugar between meals to tooth decay, and saving candy for Saturday became a lasting family tradition.