Cuisine of Norway

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Norwegian cuisine is in its traditional form largely based on the raw materials readily available in a country dominated by mountains, wilderness and the sea. Hence, it differs in many respects from its continental counterparts with a stronger focus on game and fish.

1 Seafood
2 Meat and game
3 Fruit and desserts
4 Dairy products
5 Alcohol
6 Conclusion
7 External links

[edit] Seafood

The one traditional Norwegian dish with a claim to international popularity is the smoked salmon. It is now a major export, and could be considered the most important Norwegian contribution to modern international cuisine. Smoked salmon exists traditionally in many varieties, and is often served with scrambled eggs, dill, sandwiches or mustard sauce. Close to smoked salmon is gravlaks, (literally "dug salmon"), which is salt-and-sugar-cured salmon seasoned with dill and (optionally) other herbs and spices. Gravlaks is often sold under more sales-friendly names internationally. A more peculiar Norwegian fish dish is Rakfisk, which consists of fermented trout, a culinary relation of Swedish surströmming.

The largest Norwegian food export in the past has been (Tørrfisk, Clipfish) - stockfish in English, in Portuguese 'bacalhau', - dried codfish. The atlantic cod variety known as 'skrei' because of its migrating habits, has been a source of wealth for millennia, fished annually in what is known as the 'Lofotfiske' after the island chain of 'Lofoten]'. Tørrfisk has been a staple food internationally for centuries, in particular on the Iberian peninsula and the African coast. Both during the age of sail and in the industrial age, tørrfisk played a part in world history as an enabling food for cross-Atlantic trade and the slave trade triangle.

A large number of fish dishes are popular today, based a large variety of species, such as salmon, cod, herring, sardine products and mackerel. Seafood is used fresh, smoked, salted or pickled. Variations on creamed seafood soups are common along the coastline.

Due to availability, seafood dishes along the coast are usually based on fresh produce, cooked by steaming and very lightly spiced with herbs, pepper and salt. While most coastal Norwegians consider the head, caviar sack and liver an inseparable part of a steamed seafood meal, most inland restaurants will spare diners this part of the experience. A number of the species available have traditionally been avoided or used as bait, but most common seafood is part of the modern menu.

[edit] Meat and game

High cuisine is very reliant on game, such as moose, reindeer and fowl. These meats are often hunted and sold or passed around as gifts, rather than bought in shops, and as such tend to be served at social occasions. As these meats have a distinct, strong taste, often served with matching condiments like wild berry jam and juniper berries and rich sauces.

Preserved meat and sausages come in a bewildering variety of regional variations, and are usually accompanied by sour cream dishes and flat bread or wheat/potato wraps. Particularly sought after delicacies include the fenalår, a slow-cured lamb's leg, and morr, usually a smoked cured sausage, though the exact definition may vary from one valley to the next.

Lamb's meat and mutton is very popular in autumn, mainly used in fårikål (mutton stew with cabbage). Pinnekjøtt, cured and sometimes smoked mutton ribs that is boiled for several hours, is traditionally served as Christmas dinner in the western parts of Norway. Another Western specialty is smalahove, smoked lamb's head.

Earlier in the 20th century, whale was commonly used as a cheap substitute for beef. More recently, a combination of rising prices stemming from a quota reduced to ca. 300 animals p.a. and the easily ruined flavour of the meat has made whale a much rarer delicacy. Eating whale meat, although not common, is not controversial in Norway.

Due to a partial survival of an early medieval taboo against touching dead horses, eating horse meat was nearly unheard of until recent decades, though it does find some use in sausages.

[edit] Fruit and desserts

Fruits and berries mature slowly in the cold climate. This makes for a tendency to smaller volume with a more intense taste. Strawberries, apples and cherries are popular and are part of a variety of desserts. German and Nordic-style cakes and pastries such as sponge cakes and Danish pastry (known as Wienerbrød or "Vienna bread") share the table with sweet breads - kaffebrød (coffee bread, named for its accompaniment, not ingredients), waffles and bisquits. Cardamom is a common flavouring.

Coffee is an extremely common part of social life, enjoyed both before and after meals, with desserts and with liqour. The average Norwegian consumes 160 liters of coffee p.a, or ten kilo per person. 80% of the population drinks coffee. As in the rest of the west, recent years have seen a shift from coffee made by boiling ground beans to Italian-style coffee bars, tended by professional baristas.

[edit] Dairy products

Dairy is extremely popular in Norway, and the citizens like to think they have the best milk in the world. Cheese is also exported, especially the plain-brand favourite Jarlsberg cheese, alongside . The sweet brown/red cheese (often goat cheese or a mix of goat and cow milk cheese called geitost) is very popular in everyday food and thought of as very homey. More sophisticated or extreme cheeses include the gammelost (lit. "old cheese"), an over-matured, highly pungent brown cheese.

[edit] Alcohol

Both industrial and small-scale brewing has long traditions in Norway. Restrictive alcohol policies have encouraged a rich community of brewers, and a colourful variety of beverages both legal and illegal. The most popular industrial beers are usually pilsners and red beers (bayer), while traditional beer is much richer, with a high alcohol and malt content. The ancient practice of brewing Juleøl (yule beer) persists even today, and imitations of these are available before Christmas, in shops and, for the more potent versions, at state monopoly outlets. Cider brewing has faced tough barriers to commercial production due to alcohol regulations, and the famous honey wine, mjød (mead), is mostly a drink for connoisseurs and practitioners of the native religion. The climate has not been hospitable to grapes for millenia, and wines and more potent drinks are available only from the wine monopolies.

Distilled beverages include akevitt, a yellow-tinged liquor spiced with caraway seeds, also known as akvavit or other variations on the latin aqua vitae - water of life. The Norwegian "linie" style is distinctive for its maturing process, crossing the equator in sherry casks stored the hull of a ship, giving it more taste and character than the rawer styles of other Scandinavian akevitter. Norway also produces some vodkas, bottled water and fruit juices.

[edit] Conclusion

Modern Norwegian cuisine, although still strongly influenced by its traditional background, now also bears the marks of modern fusion: Pastas, pizzas and the like are as common as meatballs and cod in the homes, and the city restaurants sports the same international selection you would find in most western cities - but Santa Claus pizza and whale burgers are Norwegian variants to these international staples.