Julmust, also known as påskmust around Easter or sommarmust in summer, is a Swedish soft drink that completely dominates the soda market during Christmas, making up around 50% of the market during that time. Needless to say, this is a popular drink amongst Swedes. For other people it's very hit or miss, I personally love the stuff, but I know lots of people who claim that it tastes like cough syrup. If you never had it, try it! Most IKEAs sell it around Christmas.
Now, the idea for this dish came up during lunch when we were discussing water pies, and that it was possible to add other liquids to them. People online, most notably emmymade, have been experimenting with just that, creating things like cola pie, sprite pie, beer pie , and even tabasco pie! I then suggested making one using julmust, and got some very strange looks from all the Swedes, probably a mixture of disgust and curiosity. This was enough to convince me to try it, because why wonder if you should if you could instead see if you could.
After making it, I posted a picture on reddit and it became of my most commented posts to date, with very similar sentiments ranging from disgust to curiosity. This page is a response to that, to spread the joy of julmustpaj. May it become a truly traditional dish!
Pie crust
Mix all the ingredients for the pie crust and knead until it comes together. Add an extra tablespoon of water if needed. Then roll out the dough and place it in your pie shape. Then use a fork to poke small holes all over the dough and place it into a hot 200°C oven for about 5 to 10 minutes. This is called blind baking and it will ensure that the crust comes out crunchy after we add the filling. If you are using a store-bought crust, then make sure to also blind bake it before moving on.
Once the pie crust is done, pour in the julmust and let it settle for a few seconds. Next, mix the flour and sugar in a bowl and then sprinkle it evenly over the julmust. Do not stir! Finally, spread out the butter shavings over the pie and place it into a 200°C oven for 30 minutes. After that reduce the heat to 180°C and wait for another 30 minutes. Then take out the pie and let it cool for a few hours or overnight. And there we go! A Swedish Julmustpaj.
Now to the most important question; How does it taste? Actually, it's not bad! The texture of water pies is quite nice in general, a bit gelatin-like. It has a good level of sweetness with sugar-free julmust, and you can definitely taste the julmust spices, but I would not say that it tastes of julmust per se. I think that knowing that it is based on julmust is what put some people off, and not the actual taste. Still, quite some liked it, so a net win in the end.