The Art of Snus and Food Pairing
If there’s one thing that gets discussed often, is snus pairing. However, more often than not, it’s usually focused around drink pairing. Nothing wrong with that, and I certainly am one who enjoys that topic. However, the one topic that doesn’t get discussed enough is snus and food pairing! While I don’t commonly have a snus in when I eat, there are certain snus products I like pairing with certain types of food. Usually before or after eating, of course. This is a great way to enhance a good meal! Today, I’m going to talk about some of my favorite foods, and give some good pairing ideas that you can enjoy!
For those who may not be familiar with me, cooking is in my veins. My first college degree was in Culinary Arts, and I spent about 20 years working in restaurants. My passion is cooking, both in employment and at home. My wife and I aren’t the traditional couple, as at home I cook most of the time. It’s just what I enjoy doing. In fact, a friend of mine and I are in the process of opening a food truck, as I plan to get back out there again after taking a brief hiatus from that world. In food, you can often look at pairing wines with certain foods. Or, I also like to pair beers with certain foods. But, a lot of the notes and sub notes can be used to pair snus with food like you would with a good glass of wine!
I’m going to discuss today a lot of pairings that I enjoy. However, it’s fun to experiment and try to find ones that you enjoy! I hope this article can serve as a good jumping off point for what you could look for when pairing snus and food. For me, the main thing I look for is the notes and sub notes in the snus as to why I would pair it with a certain food. But also, it’s about the body. A heavy bodied snus goes great with a heavy meal. For example, I like a dark, heavy red wine with a steak. Those flavors just work well together. In that same vein, I’m the same way with snus. I’m going to really focus in on meats and heavier meals, as well as Italian/herb-heavy meals, then we’ll wrap up with some general and miscellaneous pairings I think work well. Let’s kick this article off with our heavier foods!
First, let’s talk about pairing with the more heavy, filling items. I’m talking about steak, a good roasted chicken, a rack of lamb, things like that. For me, when I’m thinking about a good steak, or something that is quite filling and hearty, I’m going to be looking for a full bodied snus. In this type of pairing, I’m matching the body of the food with the body of the steak. Here’s some of my favorites.
Grov Stark Original Portion
SnusExpress.com Description: “A powerful snus, both when it comes to kicks and flavor, with a classic recipe! Its original portions have a course grounded tobacco blend which gives them their dark character and distinct flavor. A tobacco flavor that is complemented by nuances of dried herbs, geranium and light notes of almond, tar and wood”.
Why it works: The best of the best when it comes to this flavor category is Grov Stark. Grov Stark just has that beautiful, rich, full bodied, heavy tobacco taste that is second to none when you just had a nice, heavy, hearty meal.
Artisan Signature Blend Original Portion
SnusExpress.com Description: “Artisan Signature Blend Original is a premium snus manufactured by The Snus Factory in collaboration with Chad “Snubie” Jones designed with you who likes solid kicks and pure tobacco flavors in mind! Its original portions deliver strong nicotine kicks (10.8 mg/portion) together with a robust, earthy and dark tobacco flavor. Its blend consists of carefully selected tobacco leaves from Guatemala, India and the USA”.
Why it works: Don’t get me wrong, this one is no slouch either. With no added flavor, you get a full bodied, robust tobacco experience with Artisan Signature Blend that works really well with a full meal, particularly one including some red meat. It’s a truly beautiful pairing.
Islay Whisky Original Portion
SnusExpress.com Description: “Islay Whisky Original – An original portion snus from the Swedish manufacturer GN Tobacco perfect for all whisky lovers out there! It has a dark and robust tobacco character and flavor where you’ll be greeted by smoky hints of Scottish whisky from the island of Islay. The tobacco uses has been stored in whisky barrels, which gives this snus its characteristic flavor profile”.
Why it works: Islay Whisky, much like Grov, is one that has a heavy, full bodied flavor to it. If you’re having whisky, or a glass of red wine with your meal, this snus will be a truly perfect pairing to the whole experience. The rich, robust, powerful taste of this snus is one that goes excellently with the heartiest of meals!
Nicotine Pouch Honorable Mention: Lundgrens Mörk
SnusExpress.com Description: “Lundgrens Mörk – A tobacco free and all-white Lundgrens Snus from Fiedler & Lundgren developed in collaboration with the award-winning cocktail bar owner Hampus Thunholm! These well-filled and medium strong nicotine pouches deliver a dark and spicy flavor with a tobacco inspired character that is topped by tones of bergamot, leather and hay, giving you a traditional snus flavor”.
Why it works: While this article is primarily focused on snus, I want to throw a nicotine pouch in for each category. There are a lot of nicotine pouch enthusiasts who read my articles here, and I don’t want them to feel left out. So, if I didn’t have snus with me and wanted a nicotine pouch to pair with a nice steak, this is the one I’d reach for, Lundgren’s Mörk. It has a dark, rich, heavy flavor that just works quite well with this type of food.
Another main area I want to focus in one is Italian foods. Italian is the area I’ve always specialized in, from my formal training to my experience at home. I like really herb-heavy foods, and whether it’s Italian or home cooked Southern meals, if you’re like me and use a lot of herbs and spices when you cook, this is a fun category you can branch out into. When I enjoy this type of food, I look for snus produces that are herb-forward, or herb-heavy. I find they really add a lot to the whole experience.
Knox Green White Portion
SnusExpress.com Description: “Knox Karaktär Green White – A Limited Edition Knox Snus from the Swedish manufacturer Skruf inspired by the wast and deep Swedish forests. Its white portions deliver medium strong nicotine kicks (10.5 mg/portion) together with a well-balanced tobacco flavor that incorporates rustic tones of spruce shoots and birch sap, creating a nuanced dance of aromas”.
Why it works: This one, and the next one, are perfect pairings for Italian foods. Or, your herb-heavy foods. This one more than the rest, as it has a really heavy kitchen herb taste to it. This one may sound like an outdoorsy snus, which is what I thought at first. But, after I tried it, I noticed it to be really heavy on kitchen herbs, and it worked quite well with Italian foods!
Vårgårda Ört White Portion
SnusExpress.com Description: “Vårgårda Ört – A white portion snus from the manufacturer JTI with medium strong nicotine kicks (10 mg/g) and an herby flavor profile! It has a light and spicy tobacco flavor with hints of oregano, tarragon and subtle notes of nettles”.
Why it works: This is another one that is herb heavy and has a lot of those kitchen herb flavors. I think Knox Green is a little heavier in that department, but if you want one a little more subdued, this one is a little more dialed back in that aspect.
Tre Ankare White Portion
SnusExpress.com Description: “This is a traditional flavored white portion snus from the iconic Tre Ankare brand that was launched way back in 1977 as the first successful portion snus! Tre Ankare Vit delivers medium strong nicotine kicks (7 mg/portion) together with a dark, rustic and a bit smoky tobacco flavor that incorporates tones of both cedar and dried herbs”.
Why it works: I love this snus. I always have. It’s one that is great to pair with any type of home cooked meal that has any type of herb in it. The tobacco taste is quite nice, but the mild herbal hint in the background makes this one unobtrusive and one you can pair with basically any meal that has spices in the mix.
Nicotine Pouch Honorable Mention: Göteborgs Rapé XRANGE (Nicotine Pouches)
SnusExpress.com Description: “XR Göteborgs Rapé Slim Nicotine Pouches – An all-white snus perfect for all Göteborgs Rapé fans who are looking for a tobacco free alternative! Its slim sized nicotine pouches deliver medium strong nicotine kicks (6.5 mg/portion) together with a nuanced flavor where bergamot meet tones of lavender and subtle nuances of blueberries”.
Why it works: I tried to find a nicotine pouch that worked with this category and I recalled I recently tried the GR Nicotine Pouches. These have a slight floral and slight herbal character in the background, which serves as a nice compliment to your more herb-heavy dishes.
Other Pairings
There are so, so many types of food out there. I could talk about this category all day. But, I wanted to wrap up with some general other pairings that work well that you could check out.
Pastry / Dessert / Chocolate - For this, there are a few products I like. If you’re eating cake, or perhaps muffins, Artisan Dark Vanilla White Dry pairs great with those, as many pastries use vanilla extract in them, and that compliments this snus well. If you’re having cinnamon rolls, or a pie with cinnamon or nutmeg to it, I’d suggest Nick & Johnny Red Hot, as the cinnamon flavor in that snus pairs well! And of course, who could forget chocolate? For that one, there is one that comes to mind: Ettan Original Portion. With the malt and chocolate flavor of that snus, it pairs great with a nice bar of dark chocolate!
BBQ - If you’re like me, you love some good barbecue! Nothing beats that nice, smoky flavor! There are a few snus products I think pair well with BBQ. First is Lundgren's Lagereld, which has a nice smoky sub note to it. After that, General Mackmyra Original Portion. The tar hints in that one seem to compliment BBQ quite nicely.
The Bottom Line
Again, I could go all day on this topic, but I wanted to cover some of what I like, and what I look for when pairing snus and food. This is very much a topic that we could go for hours on, though! I hope you learned a little about what to look for when pairing snus and food. Any type of food out there can pair with a snus, you just have to dive in and look at what the flavor notes are in any type of food.
