The Polkagris Invention

 

Every time we have passed through Sweden I have wanted to visit the little town of Gränna that is famous for its sugar candy called polkagris, but we never left the motorway built along the shores of Lake Vettern above Gränna. There were always good reasons for bypassing Gränna. I had been there as a little child and wished to see the home of the polkagris again. As it happened, we finally visited the town built on the steep incline of the lakeshore last week.

There was not much to see. Just one street, named after the 17th-century founder of the town, Count Per Brahe. The quaint old houses were pretty and the shop windows displayed all kinds of polkagrisar and invited passersby to come for a taste. I just wanted to make a few snapshots and continue on our way. Then I discovered a frame that told the story of Amalia Eriksson, the inventor of the polkagris.

Amalia (1824 – 1923) was an orphan who at the age of ten became a domestic servant to a family that moved to Gränna in 1855. There Amalia married the tailor Anders Eriksson in 1857, rented a house on what is now Brahe street, and gave birth to twin daughters in 1858, of which one was still-born. A week later her husband died of dysentery. At that time women were not allowed to start their own businesses, but in some cases, they could get an exemption for social reasons. Looking for a way to sustain herself and her baby, Ida, Amalia applied in 1859 for permission to start a business making baked fine goods and sweets that she called polkagrisar, a peppermint-flavored sugar candy stick. When the permission was granted, Amalia Eriksson started her production of polkagris sticks, at first only on weekends and holidays. She developed a recipe for mixing and heating sugar, vinegar, and water among other things. A part was dyed red, making stripes in the dough that was kneaded for a very long time and stretched. Originally Amalia was the only producer of polkagrisar, but as the product became more and more popular, other bakers in Gränna followed her example.

In 1997 a bronze statue of the little woman was placed at the south entry to the town, where her production started. Amalia Eriksson lived to be 98 years old and died in 1923. She kept the recipe for polkagris secret and it was not revealed until after her death. Her daughter Ida Eriksson continued to make polkagrisar until 1945.

Facing great odds in life, Amalia Eriksson did not give up. She is a typical example of the stamina that women develop when they have to find ways to support their families. Rising above difficulties, women invent ways to improve their situation whatever it takes.

Today, polkagrisar are Gränna’s trademark, making the little town famous as a tourist attraction, providing many with income. Amalia’s invention has been included in the collection of important Swedish inventions from different eras at the Technical Museum in Stockholm.

Rising above all odds in her life, Amalia Eriksson not only managed to survive herself, but she also made a positive impact on the town of Gränna and its residents. How fortunate that the administration did not deny her the permission to start her business! This story is just one of many that could be told about women who have achieved great things despite hardships. Today the circumstances are more favorable to women entrepreneurs, but the patriarchal prejudices that are inherent in our cultures have not yet disappeared. The fact that stories like this are still being told as something special just shows that the world is still a man’s world. Let us make the world a place for all, where it is a matter of course that everybody can thrive and fulfill their dreams.