Foods in Norway
DAIRY PRODUCTS
Glasses of cold milk, sour milk, and buttermilk are enjoyed by all ages at
all meals and often as a refreshment. Many varieties of cheeses, mostly
made from sheep's and goats milk, range from creamy and sweet to the
powerful gammel ost, a cheese so aged and odiferous that it is always kept
on its own covered plate.
Most commonly used is the caramel-colored sweetish goat cheese appearing
at almost every meal and often blended with a roux, and smoothed with
currant jelly to make a sauce for meats. A Norwegian kitchen is never
without a supply of sour cream, for this is used in fruits, vegetables,
stews, soups, and in pancakes, waffles, and baked goods. Even rommegrot,
the traditional ending to a meal and an indispensable dish at country
weddings, is made basically from flour-thickened sour cream and served
with a dribble of clear melted butter and a drift of cinnamon and crunchy
brown sugar.
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Apples, pears, and plums are the staple fruits, with some apricots and
peaches being grown at Sjoholt. But when the wild berries ripen, almost
half the population declares a holiday from work to attend to the urgent
business of picking berries: lingonberries, cloudberries, blueberries,
cranberries, and tiny wild strawberries. What cannot be eaten in short
order is preserved in freezers or packed in jars as sweet preserves or
sauces to be enjoyed all winter. Fruits, especially the variety of sweet
and tart berries, are enjoyed sometimes slightly thickened and sweetened
into puddings, enfolded into pancakes, layered in cakes, sprinkled into
waffle batter, and frequently eaten as a side dish with roasted meats and
game.
Norwegians enjoy all the commonly stored winter vegetables such as
cabbages and potatoes, beets and carrots. But they especially savor young
fresh vegetables in season, serving them simply boiled and lightly glazed
with fresh butter, sour cream, and fresh dill sprigs. Freshly made
sauerkraut still crisp and crunchy with caraway seeds, wilted cucumber
salads, and bright tart pickled beets are year-round favorites.
MEATS AND ALTERNATES
Norwegians enjoy many meats, especially lamb and mutton either fresh or
salted, dried, smoked, and eaten hot or cold. Pork (mainly in the form of
ham, bacon, salted pork, and sausages), beef, veal, goose and duck appear
less often on the menu.
Even more than lamb and mutton, Norwegians love fish. The almost endless
varieties of fresh fish – salmon, trout, mackerel, flounder, herring, eel,
turbot, halibut, and cod as well as shrimp and crayfish – are matched by
the almost endless methods of preparation – salting, smoking, drying,
marinating, poaching. The early dinner, simple but hot, is most likely to
be poached fresh fish with a mustard or horse radish sauce accompanied by
boiled vegetables, or a simple mutton and vegetable stew like faar I
kaal. There is surely no shortage of protein, for meats and fish may
be consumed not only for dinner but often at lunch, as part of a sandwich,
and frequently, together with cereals and eggs, as part of frokost, the
ample Norwegian breakfast. Legumes are not widely used, except the dried
peas so popular for soup. Almonds and almond paste are usual bakery
ingredients.
BREADS AND GRAINS
A great variety of breads and rolls - crisp, dried, chewy crusty even soft
and light - make their appearance at almost every meal. Most popular is
the crisp dimpled circle of rye bread called flatbrod which is still made
in huge quantities, often as a communal effort. Norwegian women take great
pride in their baking and even though guests may drop in unexpectedly,
there will always be crispy cookies and at least one cake to accompany the
inevitable good strong coffee. Cooked and cold cereals are also very much
a part of the popular frokost which also includes cheeses, meats, and
fish. The Norwegians are firm believers in a hearty breakfast.
FATS
Butter is not only a cooking fat and a spread, it is also used as a
flavoring and an ingredient in almost every dish. Cheeses, milks, cream,
and sour cream are all rich in butterfat and skimmed milk is considered
suitable for anything but humans. Smaller amounts of other fats such as
rendered duck or goose fat, salt pork and lard are also used in cooking.
SWEETS AND SNACKS
The Norwegian preference is not for sweets, but an undeniable sweet tooth
does exist. Although candies are eaten as well as cakes and pastries, they
are seldom richly iced or syrupy. Most baked goods are only slightly sweet
and coffee is usually preferred strong and black.
SEASONINGS
Natural tastes predominate in Norwegian cuisine, but there is a definite
predilection for salted foods. Salty cheeses, salted and pickled
vegetables, salt-cured meats and fish are a daily part of the diet. Only
moderate amounts of other seasonings are used: bay leaves, peppercorns,
caraway seeds, mustard, horse radish, dill, thyme, and of course, butter
and sour cream are liberally used.
BEVERAGES
The general Scandinavian custom of skaal is as prevalent in Norway as it
is in Sweden and Denmark: the raised glass of chilled Aquavit, the firm
meeting of eyes followed by a decisive gulp and then the triumphant
raising of the emptied glass and the final meeting of the eyes.
Frequently this is followed by chasers of beer and most often the whole
ritual precedes a meal and is carried on throughout the dining. The final
bottomless cups of coffee are perhaps a token attempt at sobriety. It is
difficult to say for which of these beverages the Norwegian has the
greatest capacity. Suffice it to say that all are consumed in Norway in
quantities unrivaled in North America.