Norwegian cuisine in its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and its mountains, wilderness, and coast. It differs in many respects from continental cuisine through the stronger focus on

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

and

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

. Many of the traditional dishes are the result of using conserved materials, necessary because of the long winters. Modern Norwegian cuisine, although still strongly influenced by its traditional background, has been influenced by

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of filling ...

s, and the like are as common as

meatball A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, egg (food), eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are ...

s and

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

as staple foods.

Typical main meals

Most

Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the N ...

eat three or four regular meals a day, usually consisting of a cold breakfast with coffee, a cold (usually packed) lunch at work and a hot dinner at home with the family. Depending on the timing of family dinner (and personal habit), some may add a cold meal in the late evening, typically a simple sandwich.

Breakfast (''frokost'')

The basic Norwegian breakfast consists of bread, brown cheese, and milk. Traditionally this meal included a porridge such as ''grøt'' (flour, rice or groats boiled with milk) or ''rømmegrøt'' (with sour cream instead).

Lunch (''lunsj'')

For most Norwegians, weekday

packed lunch A packed lunch (also called pack lunch, sack lunch or brown-bag lunch in North America) is a lunch which is prepared before arriving at the place where it is to be eaten. Typically, it is prepared at home or at a hotel, or produced commercially ...

usually consists of very simple open-faced

sandwiches A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

known as ''matpakke'', with each slice separated with smaller sheets of

wax paper Waxed paper (also wax paper, waxpaper, or paraffin paper) is paper that has been made moisture-proof and grease-proof through the application of wax. The practice of oiling parchment or paper in order to make it semi-translucent or moisture-pro ...

called ''mellomleggspapir.'' More extensive open-faced sandwiches (with multiple toppings) are considered smørbrød. Cafeterias commonly feature salad bars, warm meals, and dairy products like

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...

skyr Skyr ( ; ) is an Icelandic cultured dairy product originating in Norway. It has the consistency of strained yogurt, but a milder flavor. Skyr can be classified as a fresh sour milk cheese, similar to curd cheese consumed like a yogurt in the Ba ...

and

kvarg Quark or quarg is a type of fresh dairy product made from milk. The milk is soured, usually by adding lactic acid bacteria cultures, and strained once the desired curdling is achieved. It can be classified as fresh acid-set cheese. Tradition ...

Dinner (''middag'')

Norwegians usually eat dinner starting around 4–7 PM. This is the most important meal of the day and typically includes carbohydrate-rich foods such as potatoes and protein-rich foods such as meat or fish.

Evening meal (''kveldsmat'')

Norwegians usually eat a very small meal later in the evening before bed. This may consist of foods similar to what is prepared for breakfast.

Meat

Preserved meat and

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

s come in a large variety of regional variations, and are sometimes accompanied by sour cream dishes and flatbread 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 regionally. Lamb and

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

is very popular in autumn, often used in ''

fårikål Fårikål () is a traditional Norwegian dish, and the country's national dish. It consists of pieces of mutton with bone, cabbage, whole black pepper and occasionally a little wheat flour, cooked for several hours in a casserole, traditionally se ...

'' (mutton stew with cabbage). ''

Pinnekjøtt () is a traditional Norwegian main course dinner dish based on lamb ribs. is a festive dish typical to Western and Northern Norway, and is rapidly gaining popularity in other regions as well. This dish is largely associated with the celebration ...

''—steamed cured and sometimes smoked mutton ribs, traditionally on a bed of birch sticks, hence the name, meaning "stick meat" —is traditionally served as Christmas dinner in the western parts of Norway. An oddity is ''

smalahove ''Smalahove'' (also called ''smalehovud'', ''sau(d)ehau(d)'' or ''skjelte'') is a Western Norwegian traditional dish made from a sheep's head, originally eaten before Christmas. The name of the dish comes from the combination of the Norwegian wor ...

'', a salted, or salted and smoked, lamb's head. Other meat dishes include: Kjøttkaker: Rough, large patties — about the size of a child's fist — of ground beef, onion, salt, and pepper—generally served with ''

sauce espagnole Espagnole sauce () is a basic brown sauce, and is one of Auguste Escoffier's five mother sauces of classic French cooking. Escoffier popularized the recipe, and his version is still followed today.Escoffier (1903), ''Le Guide culinaire'', Editions ...

'' (''Kjøttkakesaus'' or ''Brunsaus'' in Norwegian). Potatoes, stewed peas or cabbage and carrots are served on the side. Lingonberry jam is a common relish. Kjøttboller – Meatballs: A rougher version of Swedish meatballs. Served with mashed potatoes and cream sauce or ''sauce espagnole'' depending on the locality. Svinekoteletter – Pork chops: simply braised and served with potatoes and fried onions or whatever vegetables are available. Svinestek – Roast pork: a typical Sunday dinner, served with pickled cabbage (a sweeter variety of German sauerkraut), gravy, vegetables, and potatoes. All good cuts of meat are roasted, as in any cuisine. Side dishes vary with season and what goes with the meat. Roast leg of lamb is an Easter classic, roast beef is not very common and game is often roasted for festive occasions. Cookbook-beef-stew

Lobscouse Lobscouse (or ''lapskaus'') is a thick Norwegian stew made of meat and potatoes. There are many variations of ''lapskaus''. The dish may be made of fresh or leftover meat (usually beef or lamb, but sometimes also chicken, pork, or ham) and pota ...

– stew: A stew consisting of cooked meat and various vegetables like potatoes, carrots, swede and onion. Lobscouse is often served with flatbrød.

Fårikål Fårikål () is a traditional Norwegian dish, and the country's national dish. It consists of pieces of mutton with bone, cabbage, whole black pepper and occasionally a little wheat flour, cooked for several hours in a casserole, traditionally se ...

– mutton stew: the national dish of Norway. Preparation is very simple: cabbage and mutton are layered in a big pot along with black peppercorns and salt (and, in some recipes, wheat flour to thicken the sauce), covered with water and simmered until the meat is very tender. Potatoes are served on the side. Stekte pølser – fried sausages: fresh sausages are fried and served with vegetables, potatoes, peas and perhaps some gravy.

Syltelabb Syltelabb is a Norwegian traditional dish, usually eaten around and before Christmas time, made from boiled, salt-cured pig's trotter. They are traditionally eaten using one's fingers, as a snack food. They are sometimes served with beetroot, m ...

is usually eaten around and before Christmas time, made from boiled, salt-cured

pig's trotter A pig's trotter, also known as a pettitoe, or sometimes known as a pig's foot, is the culinary term for the foot of a pig. The cuts are used in various dishes around the world, and experienced a resurgence in the late 2000s. Description Pigs' t ...

. They are traditionally eaten using one's fingers, and served as a snack and sometimes served with beetroot, mustard, and fresh bread or with ''lefse'' or flatbread. Historically ''syltelabb'' is served with the traditional Norwegian ''juleøl'' (English: Christmas ale), beer and liquor (like aquavit). This is because ''Syltelabb'' is very salty food. Pinnekjott

is a main course dinner dish of

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

or mutton ribs, and this dish is largely associated with the celebration of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

in Western Norway and is rapidly gaining popularity in other regions as well. 31% of Norwegians say they eat ''pinnekjøtt'' for their family Christmas dinner. ''Pinnekjøtt'' is often served with puréed swede (rutabaga) and potatoes, beer and ''akevitt''.

Smalahove ''Smalahove'' (also called ''smalehovud'', ''sau(d)ehau(d)'' or ''skjelte'') is a Western Norwegian traditional dish made from a sheep's head, originally eaten before Christmas. The name of the dish comes from the combination of the Norwegian wor ...

is a traditional dish, but really more of a local oddity, usually eaten around Christmas time, made from a sheep's head. The skin and fleece of the head are torched, the brain removed, and the head is salted, sometimes smoked, and dried. The head is boiled for about 3 hours and served with mashed swede and potatoes.

Sodd Sodd is a traditional Norway, Norwegian soup made with cooked mutton and meatballs made with lamb or beef. Potatoes and carrots are included in a clear, fragrant broth. In what is considered the proper way of serving, both the potatoes and ...

is a traditional Norwegian soup-like meal with mutton and meatballs. Usually, vegetables such as potatoes or carrots also are included. Gryterett (a.k.a. gryte, lit. saucepan meal) are stews with ground meat from cow or lamb, rice (sometimes replaced with pasta), tomato, mild spices, and small amounts of other vegetables like paprika, onion, kidney beans or champignon. The meal was popularised in the 1970s by Toro powderbag meals with often inaccurate geographical monickers (e.g. Mexican, American), but is now also found in homemade varieties.

Game

High cuisine is very reliant on

, such as

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

(strictly speaking not game, as nearly all Norwegian reindeer are semi-domesticated),

mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution The mountai ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

and

fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; together ...

. These meats are often hunted and sold or passed around as gifts, but are also available at shops nationwide, and tend to be served at social occasions. Because these meats have a distinct, strong taste, they will often be served with rich sauces spiced with crushed

juniper berries A juniper berry is the female seed cone produced by the various species of junipers. It is not a true berry, but a cone with unusually fleshy and merged scales, which gives it a berry-like appearance. The cones from a handful of species, especia ...

, and a sour-sweet jam of

lingonberries ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...

on the side. * Joika – Meatballs made from a mixture of meat from cow, reindeer, lamb, and pork rind, served with mashed potatoes in very thick gravy. The gravy includes

brunost Brunost ("brown cheese") is a common Norwegian name for mysost ("whey cheese"; da, myseost; sv, mesost; fi, mesjuusto; is, mysuostur), a family of cheese-related foods made with whey, milk, and/or cream. The term is often used to just refer t ...

goat milk Goat milk is the milk of domestic goats. Goats produce about 2% of the world's total annual milk supply. Some goats are bred specifically for milk. Goat milk naturally has small, well-emulsified fat globules, which means the cream will stay in ...

. The term most commonly refers to a commercial brand with airsealed (prev. canned) packaging, with homemade varieties being uncommon.

Offal

Offal is eaten extensively, ''leverpostei'' (liver pâté) being one of the most common spreads for sandwiches, along with cold cuts such as ''sylte'' (brawn) and ''tunge'' (beef tongue).

Seafood

The one traditional Norse dish with a claim to international popularity is

smoked salmon Smoked salmon is a preparation of salmon, typically a fillet that has been cured and hot or cold smoked. Due to its moderately high price, smoked salmon is considered a delicacy. Although the term lox is sometimes applied to smoked salmon, th ...

. It is now a major export, and could be considered the most important Scandinavian contribution to modern international cuisine. Smoked salmon exists traditionally in many varieties, and is often served with scrambled eggs, dill, sandwiches and mustard sauce. Another traditional salmon product is '' gravlaks'', (literally "buried salmon"). Traditionally, ''gravlaks'' would be cured for 24 hours in a mix of sugar and salt and herbs (dill). The salmon may then be frozen or kept in a chilled area. Since ''grav'' means "buried" it is a common misunderstanding that the salmon is buried in the ground, (similar to how ''rakfisk'' is still prepared). This was the case in the medieval ages because the fermenting process was important, however, this is not the case today. ''Gravlaks'' is often sold under more sales-friendly names internationally. A more peculiar Norwegian fish dish is ''

Rakfisk Rakfisk () is a Norwegian fish dish made from trout or char, salted and autolyzed for two to three months, or even up to a year. Rakfisk is then eaten without cooking and has a strong smell and a pungent salty flavor. Origin The first record ...

'', which consists of

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

, similar to Swedish ''

surströmming Surströmming (; ) is lightly salted fermented Baltic Sea herring traditional to Swedish cuisine since at least the 16th century. Surströmming or fermented herring should not be confused with the common dish fried herring or typically preserve ...

''. Until the 20th century,

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...

were not eaten to any extent. This was partly due to the abundance of fish and the time involved in catching shellfish as compared to its nutritional value, as well as the fact that such food spoils rather quickly, even in a northern climate. However, prawns, crabs, and mussels have become quite popular, especially during summer. Lobster is, of course, popular, but restrictions on the catch (size and season) limit consumption. Lobster has become rather rare and expensive. People gather for ''krabbefest'', which translates to "crab party" feasts, either eating readily cooked crabs from a fishmonger or cooking live crabs in a large pan. This is typically done outdoors, the style being rather rustic with only bread, mayonnaise, and wedges of lemon to go with the crab. Crabs are caught in pots by both professionals and amateurs, prawns are caught by small trawlers and sold ready cooked at the quays. It is popular to buy half a kilogram of pie prawns and to eat it on the quay, feeding the waste to seagulls. Beer or white wine is the normal accompaniment. The largest Norwegian food export (in fact the main Norwegian export of any kind for most of the country's history) in the past has been

stockfish Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks (which are called "hjell" in Norway) on the foreshore. The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage lif ...

(''tørrfisk'' in Norwegian). 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'' named for the island chain of

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...

. Stockfish 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, stockfish 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 on such species as salmon, cod, herring, sardine, and mackerel. Seafood is used fresh, smoked, salted or pickled. Variations on creamed seafood soups are common along the coastline. Due to seafood's availability, seafood dishes along the coast are usually based on fresh produce, typically poached (fish) and very lightly spiced with herbs, pepper, and salt. While coastal Norwegians may consider the head, roe, and liver an inseparable part of a seafood meal, most inland restaurants do not include these in the meal. In

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

a dish called ''mølje'', consisting of poached fish, roe, and liver, is often considered a "national dish" of the region, and it is common for friends and family to get together at least once during winter for a ''møljekalas'' (loosely translated, "mølje feast"). A number of the fish species available have traditionally been avoided (especially those perceived as scavengers, due to a fear of indirectly eating friends or family members who had died at sea) or reserved for bait, but most common seafood is part of the modern menu. Because of industrial whaling,

whale meat Whale meat, broadly speaking, may include all cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and all parts of the animal: muscle (meat), organs (offal), skin (muktuk), and fat (blubber). There is relatively little demand for whale meat, compared to ...

was commonly used as a cheap substitute for beef early in the 20th century. Consumption has been declining over time, but it is still widely available in all parts of the country and most Norwegians eat it occasionally. It is not considered controversial in Norway. Other fish dishes include: LutefiskBowl

– Norwegian fish dish made from trout or sometimes char, salted and fermented for two to three months, or even up to a year, then eaten without further cooking. Rakfisk must be prepared and stored very hygienically, due to the risk of developing ''

Clostridium botulinum ''Clostridium botulinum'' is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming, motile bacterium with the ability to produce the neurotoxin botulinum. The botulinum toxin can cause botulism, a severe flaccid paralytic disease in humans an ...

'' (which causes

botulism Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, feeling tired, and trouble speaking. This may then be followed by weaknes ...

) if the fish contain certain bacteria during the fermentation process. Torsk – Cod: poached, simply served with boiled potatoes and melted butter. Carrots, fried bacon, roe and cod liver may also accompany the fish. A delicacy which is somewhat popular in Norway is ''torsketunger'', cod's tongue. Fish Market in Oslo

Lutefisk ''Lutefisk'' (Norwegian, in Northern and parts of Central Norway, in Southern Norway; sv, lutfisk ; fi, lipeäkala ; literally "lye fish") is dried whitefish (normally cod, but ling and burbot are also used). It is made from aged stockfi ...

– lyed fish: a modern preparation made of stockfish (dried cod or ling) or ''

klippfisk Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export o ...

'' (dried and salted cod) that has been steeped in

lye A lye is a metal hydroxide traditionally obtained by leaching wood ashes, or a strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions. "Lye" most commonly refers to sodium hydroxide (NaOH), but historically has been u ...

. It was prepared this way as a way to preserve the fish for longer periods prior to refrigeration. It is somewhat popular in the United States as a heritage food. It retains a place in Norwegian cuisine (especially on the coast) as a traditional food around Christmas time. Preparation and accompaniment is as for fresh cod, although beer and aquavit is served on the side. Stekt fisk – braised fish: almost all fish are braised, but as a rule, the larger specimens tend to be poached and the smaller braised. The fish is filleted, dusted with flour, salt and pepper and braised in butter. Potatoes are served on the side, and the butter from the pan used as a sauce or food cream is added to the butter to make a creamy sauce. Fatty fish like herring and brisling are given the same treatment. Popular accompaniments are sliced and fresh-pickled cucumbers and sour cream. Fiskesuppe – fish soup: A white, milk-based soup with vegetables, usually carrots, onions, potato and various kinds of fish.

Spekesild Spekesild (Norwegian for ''raw herring pickled in salt'') is Atlantic herring preserved using salt. Salt curing The preservation takes place by the salt extracting water from the herring, and thus poorer growth conditions are created for microb ...

– salt cured

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

which for centuries was used to fight hunger, along with boiled potatoes, beets, raw onions, dill, butter and flatbrød. Sursild –

pickled herring Pickled herring is a traditional way of preserving herring as food by pickling or curing. Most cured herring uses a two-step curing process: it is first cured with salt to extract water; then the salt is removed and the herring is brined in ...

: a variety of pickle-sauces are used, ranging from simple vinegar- sugar-based sauces with tomato, mustard, and sherry-based sauces. Pickled herring is served as an hors-d'oeuvre or on rye bread as a lunch buffet. This dish is a popular Christmas and New Year's Eve/holiday lunch in Norway.

Curing

The basic methods of curing are used: drying, salting, smoking and fermenting. Stockfish is fish (mainly cod) dried on racks, meats are dried, salt curing is common for both meats and fish. Fermenting (as in the preparation of

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferme ...

) is used for trout. Smoking is mainly used on the west coast as an addition to drying and salting, perhaps due to the wet climate. * Spekemat (lit. cured food) is Norwegian flatbread with scrambled eggs, cured ham, margarine and

sour cream Sour cream (in North American English, Australian English and New Zealand English) or soured cream (British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, wh ...

; usually served alongside

rømmegrøt (Norwegian and Danish), also known as (Nynorsk) and (Swedish), is a Norwegian porridge made with sour cream, whole milk, wheat flour, butter, and salt. is a Norwegian word meaning sour cream; translates as 'porridge'. Traditionally, is a ...

(Sourcream porridge) for dinner.

Sauces and marinades

Along with the rest of Scandinavia, Norway is one of the few places outside Asia where sweet and sour flavoring is used extensively. The sweet and sour flavor goes best with fish. There is also a treatment called "graving", literally burying, a curing method where salt and sugar are used as curing agents. Although salmon or trout are the most common, other fish and meat also get a treatment similar to ''gravlaks''. Sandefjordsmør – a traditional butter and cream sauce typically served with fish dishes such as

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

, garnished with fresh dill and peppercorn. This sauce was reputedly first concocted in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

, a coastal city in

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

, in 1959. Gravlaks – sweet and salty cured salmon: a filleted side of salmon or trout that has been frozen for at least 24 hours to kill off

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

s, is cured with the fillet and is covered with a half-salt, half-sugar mixture, spiced with black pepper, dill and akevitt, covered with

clingfilm Plastic wrap, cling film, Saran wrap, cling wrap, Glad wrap or food wrap is a thin plastic film typically used for sealing food items in containers to keep them fresh over a longer period of time. Plastic wrap, typically sold on rolls in boxe ...

, and cured in the refrigerator for three days, turned once a day. Gravet elg – sweet and salt-cured moose: this treatment may be used for all red meat, but works best with game and beef. It is the same procedure as for ''gravlaks'', but aquavit is often substituted for brandy, and juniper berries for dill.

Pickled herring Pickled herring is a traditional way of preserving herring as food by pickling or curing. Most cured herring uses a two-step curing process: it is first cured with salt to extract water; then the salt is removed and the herring is brined in ...

: a pickle is made with vinegar, sugar, herbs and spices like dill, mustard seed, black peppercorns, onion and so on. The pickle must be acidic enough to prevent bacterial growth. Rinsed, salt-cured herring is added and allowed to stand for at least 24 hours. Tomato pickled herring: this pickle features a thick sauce: 4 Tablespoons tomato paste, 3 Tablespoons sugar, and 3 Tablespoons vinegar are mixed and thinned with about 4 Tablespoons water, flavoured with black pepper and bay leaf. Salt-cured herring is rinsed, cut in 1 cm (1/3in) thick slices and a raw, sliced onion added. Let stand for at least 24 hours.

Fruit and desserts

Fruits and berries mature slowly in the cold climate. As a result, they are smaller with a more intense taste. Strawberries,

bilberries Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrtillu ...

, raspberries and apples are popular and are part of a variety of desserts, as are cherries in the parts of the country where they are grown. Wild

cloudberry ''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackbe ...

is regarded as a delicacy. A typical Norwegian dessert on special occasions is cloudberries with whipped or plain cream. Strawberry-apple pie is also popular because of its rich flavour.

Rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizo ...

pie ('' rabarbrapai'' in Norwegian) is another favoured dish in Norway. German and Nordic-style cakes and pastries, such as sponge cakes and

Danish pastry A Danish pastry ( da, wienerbrød ) sometimes shortened to just Danish, especially in American English) is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the ''viennoiserie'' tradition. The concept was brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers, where the r ...

(known as ''wienerbrød'', literal translation: "

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

bread") share the table with a variety of homemade cakes,

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe used ...

s and biscuits.

Cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...

is a common flavoring. Another Norwegian cake is

Krumkake (, meaning 'curved cake'; plural ) is a Norwegian waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and cream. A special decorative two-sided iron griddle similar to a waffle iron is traditionally used to bake the thin round cakes, similar to ...

, a paper-thin rolled cake filled with whipped cream. (Krumkake means 'Curved Cake' or 'Crooked Cake'). Baked

meringue Meringue (, ; ) is a type of dessert or candy, often associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream of ...

s are known as ''pikekyss'', literally translated as "girl's kiss". During

(''jul''), the traditional Norwegian holiday season, many different

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...

dishes are served including

Julekake Julekake is a Norwegian Christmas cake. It is a yeast cake made with butter and sugar, spiced with cardamom, and containing candied fruits, raisins, and almonds. It is also sometimes called a "Christmas bread" instead of a cake. It can be eaten ...

, a heavily spiced leavened loaf often coated with sugar and cinnamon, and Multekrem (whipped cream with

cloudberries ''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackb ...

Breads

Bread is an important staple of the Norwegian diet and bakeries, supermarkets, accommodations such as hotels in Norway offer a rich selection of breads. Breads containing a large proportion of whole grain flour (grovbrød, or "coarse bread") are popular, likely because bread makes up such a substantial part of the Norwegian diet and are therefore expected to be nutritious. 80% of Norwegians regularly eat bread, in the form of open-top sandwiches with butter for breakfast and lunch. A soft flat bread called

lefse Lefse () is a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread. It is made with flour, can include riced potatoes, and includes butter, and milk, cream, or lard. It is cooked on a large, flat griddle. Special tools are used to prepare lefse, including a po ...

made out of potato, milk or cream (or sometimes lard) and flour is also very popular. The variety of bread available in a common supermarket is rather large: ''wittenberger'' (crisp-crusted wheat bread), ''grovbrød'' (whole-wheat bread, often with syrup), ''loff'' (soft wheat bread), sourdough bread and other German-style breads. Baguettes, ciabatta, bagels and so on are also popular. During the Hanseatic era, cereals were imported in exchange for fish by the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

. Both the German Hanseatic League and the Danish colonizers influenced Norwegian cuisine, bringing continental habits, taste and produce. Norwegians are particularly fond of a crisp crust, regarding a soft crust as a sign of the bread being stale. Oats are used in addition to wheat and rye and constitute perhaps the most unusual cereal employed in bread-making, as compared to continental Europe and the UK. Nuts and seeds (such as sunflower seeds and walnuts) are rather common ingredients, along with olives and sun-dried pickles, used to improve the texture of the bread.

Cheese

Cheese is still extremely popular in Norway, though the variety of traditional products available and commonly in use is severely reduced.

Norvegia Norvegia (; Latin for "Norway") is a Norwegian cow's milk cheese produced by Tine. It has a market share of about 60% of white cheeses in Norway.Jarlsberg cheese Jarlsberg ( , ) is a mild cheese made from cow's milk, with large, regular eyes, originating from Jarlsberg, Norway. It is produced in Norway, as well as in Ireland and the US state of Ohio, licensed from Norwegian dairy producers. It is classi ...

which is also known as a Norwegian export (produced since the 1850s). The sweet ''

'' (lit. brown cheese; not a true cheese, but rather caramelized lactose from goat milk or a mix of goat and/or cow milk) is very popular in cooking and with bread. More sophisticated, traditional, or strong cheeses include ''

gammalost Gamalost (also Gammelost, Gammalost) is a traditional Norwegian cheese. History Gamalost, which translates as old cheese, was once a staple of the Norwegian diet. The name might be due to the texture of the surface, or the fact that it is an ol ...

'' (lit. "old cheese"), an over-matured, highly pungent cheese made from sour milk, '' Pultost'', made from sour milk and

caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

seeds, and ''

Nøkkelost Nøkkelost (Norwegian language, Norwegian: "key cheese") is a common, Norwegian language, Norwegian name for kuminost ("cumin cheese"), a cheese flavored with cumin and cloves. It is semi-hard, yellow, and made from cow's milk, in the shape of whe ...

'', flavored with

cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...

Beverages

Coffee

Norway has a particularly strong affinity for

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

and is the second highest per capita consumer of coffee in the world, with the average Norwegian drinking , or of coffee in 2011. Norway has the fourth highest per capita coffee consumption in the world and it plays a large role in Norwegian culture. It is common to invite people over for coffee and cakes and to drink coffee with dessert after the main courses in get-togethers. Coffee is traditionally served black, usually in a mug, rather than a cup. As in the rest of the West, Italian-style coffee bars have become popular. Coffee is included in one of the most traditional alcoholic beverages in Norway, commonly known as ''

karsk Karsk (also called Kask) is a Swedish and Norwegian cocktail (from the Trøndelag region) containing coffee together with moonshine and sometimes a spoon of sugar (enthusiasts often consider moonshine exclusively to be appropriate as an added ...

'', from Trøndelag.Drink your way through Norway
www.visitnorway.com

Alcohol

Both industrial and small-scale brewing have long traditions in Norway. In recent years, microbreweries and

craft beer Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

have become increasingly popular. Despite restrictive alcohol policies, there is a large community of brewers, and a colorful variety of beverages, some legal, some less so. 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 Christmas beer is a seasonal beer brewed for consumption at Christmas. They are usually strong and spiced with a variety of ingredients including cinnamon, orange peel, cloves and vanilla. Examples * Belgian Christmas beers * British Winter Warm ...

'' (Christmas beer) persists even today, and imitations of these are available before Christmas, in shops and, for the more potent versions, at state monopoly outlets. Many Norwegians brew their own beer, and there are also a large number of breweries and microbreweries. Cider brewing has faced tough barriers to commercial production due to alcohol regulations. The famous honey wine, '' mjød'' (mead), is mostly a drink for connoisseurs, Norse and medieval historical re-enactors, and practitioners of

åsatru Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a Modern Paganism, modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the ...

and other Norse neopagan religions. The climate has not been hospitable to grapes for millennia, 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 Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

, also known as

akvavit ''Akvavit'' or ''aquavit'' (; also ''akevitt'' in Norwegian; ''aquavit'' in English) is a distilled spirit that is principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century. ''Akvavit'' is distilled from grain or potat ...

or other variations on the Latin ''

aqua vitae ''Aqua vitae'' (Latin for "water of life") or aqua vita is an archaic name for a concentrated aqueous solution of ethanol. These terms could also be applied to weak ethanol without rectification. Usage was widespread during the Middle Ages a ...

'' – water of life. The Norwegian ''linie'' style is distinctive for its maturing process, crossing the equator in sherry casks stored in the hull of a ship, giving it more taste and character than the rawer styles of other Scandinavian ''akevittar''. Norway also produces some vodkas, bottled water and fruit juices. In rural Norway, it is still common to find ''hjemmebrent'' (

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

, literally "home burnt"). Even for personal consumption, it is illegal by Norwegian law to produce distilled alcohol. If the product has more than 60% alcohol by volume, it is defined as a narcotic by the law and the punishments are even harsher than for other drugs. The traditional home distiller is mostly left alone by the law enforcers, but those who produce on a larger scale and sell the product are not. In Norway beer is available in stores from 09:00 to 20:00 on weekdays and from 09:00 to 18:00 on Saturdays. Wine and spirits can be bought until 18:00 on weekdays and until 15:00 on Saturdays in government-owned and run liquor shops (

Vinmonopolet Vinmonopolet ( en, The Wine Monopoly), symbolized by Ⓥ and Colloquialism, colloquially shortened to Polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the Alcohol monopoly, only company allowed to sell beverages containing an Alcohol b ...

). Only "true" grocery stores are allowed to sell beer; gas stations and so-called "Fruit & Tobacco" marts (''Frukt og Tobakk'' or ''kiosk'' in Norwegian) are not. Solo mp pack

Soda water

Local sodas include Urge and

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

, which was the first soda to be released in Norway, introduced in 1934. Other sodas from Norway that is popular includes E. C. Dahls Brewery's

ginger beer Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar. Current ginger beers are often manufactured rather than ...

, which was created as a drink for

sodd Sodd is a traditional Norway, Norwegian soup made with cooked mutton and meatballs made with lamb or beef. Potatoes and carrots are included in a clear, fragrant broth. In what is considered the proper way of serving, both the potatoes and ...

, and sodas from

Oskar Sylte Mineral Water Factory Oskar may refer to: * oskar (gene), the Drosophila gene * Oskar (given name), masculine given name See also * Oscar (disambiguation) Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name a ...

, such as «Brus med ananassmak» (soda with pineapple taste) and «Brus med pæresmak» (soda with pear taste).

People

Significant writers on Norwegian cuisine include Janet Laurence and

Ingrid Espelid Hovig Ingrid Espelid Hovig (3 June 1924 – 3 August 2018) was a Norwegian television chef and author of cook books. Through appearances on her cooking show ''Fjernsynskjøkkenet'' over 26 years, between 1970 and 1996,Strømholm, Gøril, ''NRK.no'' (1 ...

References

External links

The Norwegian cuisine
visitnorway.com
Seafood from Norway
(Norwegian Seafood Export Council)

– From the Society for Creative Anachronism

10 Best recommendations for restaurants serving traditional food in Oslo

Norwegian Food Blog: Thanks For The Food – Norwegian Cuisine Explained (in English with pictures)

Food Norway – Recipes on how to make all the Norwegian classics at home

North Norwegian Cuisine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norwegian Cuisine