Christine Andersen (asker) Jun 19, 2010:

Thanks everyone! I would never have learnt all this if I had just been able to find the answer in the dictionary!

Charles Ek Jun 19, 2010:

Stort tack, Ingemar! Tack för ett ypperligt svar.

Ingemar Kinnmark Jun 19, 2010:

A Little Closer To An Explanation Hopefully... Another Swedish reference:

Man ska låta fisken bli typ lite rumsvarm sen kan man ta tag i ryggraden och lyfta ut benen har testat med halvlyckat resultat, men i slutändan ska man ha så kallade sillaflundror, en ben fri sill som kan läggas ut som en flundra och stekas hel..

Link: https://www.flashback.org/t895014

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In other words, once you "rensar" a regular fish (non-flatfish) and you lay it out flat (i.e. what would normally make up 2 fillets, if you cut it apart) it will be flat and look (roughly) like a flatfish (I am interpreting the reference above). I suspect from the reference above that this way of preparing a fish. i.e. cleaning it out and laying out flat, made someone think it looks like a flatfish and you have a strömmingsflundra!

Linguistic roots are interesting!

Ingemar Kinnmark Jun 19, 2010:

Attempt At Explaining The Name Strömmingsflundra Excellent question, Charles! I got curious myself. I always loved this dish growing up in Sweden (with mashed potatoes - it is amazingly good). To start with, I believe "sillflundra" = "strömmningsflundra" (see for example the comment George made). This is what I found so far:

Swedish reference:

Question:

Döm om min förvåning när det stod sillflundra på mitt paket. Vet att småsill så småningom kallas strömming men var får dom namnet flundra ifrån i sammanhanget med vanlig färsk strömming? Har jag fel om detta så säg???

Answer:

För att anknyta till sakfrågan. Enligt den gamle mästerkocken och hovtraktören Tore Wretman lär denna sillart som kallas för strömming bara förekomma i Östersjön i hela världen. En jättegod och billig fisk som det finns massor av officiella recept på. Toppenmat!

Flundra brukar man säga om den nyfångade färska fisken är rensad inklusive ryggben.

Link: http://old.na.se/debatt/inlaggen.asp?id=137234

Christine Andersen (asker) Jun 19, 2010:

Recipe names are not always logical... I suspect that once filleted, one type of white fish is much like another in the kitchen. So a flattened herring could be served as ´flundra´.
There are no olives in 'beef olives' as a rule, known as 'benløse fugle' in Danish. And no fowl either!
Then there is ´forloren hare´ (Danish meat loaf, usually beef and/or pork).
Skomagerlåda...

And loads of other examples.