Norwegian Food Recipes

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Rømmegrøt

It is not hard to see how Norwegian food recipes resemble those from other Scandinavian countries. It is a country until quite recently poor and agrarian that turned rich in the 20th century. The use of fish and seafood has been and still is very common, the rich waters just of the coast is part of the answer to that. Several rivers have also contributed with salmon and trout. Game like moose and reindeer have readily been eaten. Norway is a country full of hills and mountains, therefore agriculture has traditionally been focused on dairy and grain farming; growing cattle for meat has not been as economically viable. Today, much due to huge oil reserves, Norway is one of the richest countries in the world. The cuisine has changed but you can still see clear traces back to its more humbler past. The potato is and was the most common staple.

History Of Norway
Norway really entered the history books with the Vikings, before then it was inhabited by people organized into small agrarian societies. In Viking long ships Norwegian Vikings explored, conquered and traded in areas like modern day Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland and North America. With Christianity came organization, by 995 AD Norway had their first king elected. From this moment Norway was involved in the power struggles between Sweden and Denmark. For 400 years they were in reality controlled by the Danish and for 100 years by the Swedish. It was only in 1905 that Norway became a sovereign monarchy, this after a separation split from Sweden. Norway was neutral during WWI and invaded by the Germans in WWII. Norway had depended heavily on the fishing industry until the late 1960's when oil was discovered, because of the country is today one of the richest in the world. Norwegian food recipes have seen influences from various cultures over the centuries; There are similarities French, Russian, Swedish, Danish and German cuisines. The latter part of the 20th century saw the arrival of the the American fast food culture and 'alternative' philosophies like the ones surrounding organic food. An influx of immigrants mainly from Europe and Asia have also changed some eating habits.

Typical Dishes and Foods
Here are som typical ingredients and foods common in Norwegian food recipes:
Brunost A type of cheese made from milk, cream and goat's whey. The cheese making procedure creates a sweet taste.
Flatbrød Unleavened bread traditionally made from barley flour.
Rakfisk It is fermented trout, very smelly. Often consumed with onion, potatoes and sourcream on flatbrød.
Gravlax a Scandinavian specialty with traditions back to the Vikings where salmon was dug down in sand close to the sea. In modern versions filet of salmon is cured with sugar and salt and spiced with white peppercorns and dill. Is served cold, many times with a mustard sauce.
Tørrfisk Is dried codfish. Not popular in Norway but exported in huge quantities to countries like Spain, Portugal and Brazil.
Fårikål Literally mutton in cabbage. Sheep farming has traditionally been practiced on many of the steep slopes of Norway.
Whale meat Not so common on Norwegian plates as it used to be.
Lutefisk Cod or ling that has been prepared in lye.
Jarlsberg Is a tasty cheese that is widely exported.
Linie akvavit is spiced vodka that has travelled over the equator on a ship.

Submitted Norwegian Food Recipes

I will approach this recipe a bit differently then I normally do since I received it in such an interesting Norwegian. I will give you the recipe first in its original form and then my attempt to translate to English.

"Når jeg koker rømmegrøt bruker jeg en del rømme 35 % fett og to deler melk. Det vil si: Til en liter rømme bruker jeg to liter melk.

1 liter rømme kokes i 10 minutter. Ha i litt mel, slik at blir motstand når du visper ( 1,5 - 2 desiliter ). Visp med jevne mellomrom slik at grøten ikke setter seg i bunnen på gryta. Kok til det begynner å piple fram smør. Ta ut smør etterhvert med en skje - så mye smør som du tror går med til å ha på grøten når dere skal spise. Etter at smøret er fjernet tar du i mel til det blir en tykk masse som nesten ikke går an å vispe. Ha i tre øser melk (lett eller helmelk) og rør kraftig til det koker opp. Ha i tre nye øser melk og rør godt til det koker opp. Slik fortsetter du til grøten blir passe tykk. (Jeg bruker å koke opp 2 liter melk på forhånd. Da går det fortere å spe grøten) Ha til slutt i 2 teskjeer salt. Grøten skal koke 5 minutter etter at den er ferdig spedd. Serveres med sukker, kanel og smør.

Denne grøten brukte vi for å feire at slåtta var over, såkalt slåttgraut. Det ble kokt slåttgraut til storfamilien - alle som hadde deltatt i slåtta. Ofte var det bestemor som ikke kunne delta i slåtta som kokte. Grauten var også fin å bruke til barselgrøt. Etter at kvinnen hadde født var det vanlig å gå på besøk og ha med seg barselgrøt slik at kvinnen skulle komme til krefter igjen raskt. Sankt Hansaften, Jonsok - 23. juni er det vanlig å ha rømmegrøt i Norge."

"When I cook rømmegrøt i use 1/3 fat sour cream and 2/3 milk. Ie. for one litre of sour cream I use two litres of milk.

Boil one litre of sourcream for 10 minutes. Add 150 - 200 ml of flour so it thickens a little. Keep on stirring so the porridge doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. After a while butter will appear at the surface, spoon out as much as you would like to put on the porridge when serving and save in a cup (maybe 8 spoons?). Now add more flour so it gets really thick. Add 3 ladles of milk and stir firmly until boiling, add 3 more ladles and repeat the procedure until you have added the two full litres of milk (I think the milk is easier to add if you heat it in advance). Now add 2 teaspoons of salt and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with sugar, cinnamon and the extracted butter.

This porridge we ate to celebrate the end of the harvest, therefore it was also called 'harvest porridge'. The whole big family - and everyone participating in the harvest - would eat it. Many times it was grandmother who made it since she couldn't partcipate actively on the fields. It was also known as 'childbed porridge' since it was perfect to bring this rich food to someone who had just given birth in order for her to recouperate quickly. On the holiday 'Sankt Hansaften', also known as 'Jonsok', this porridge is traditional food."

My comment: Wow, this was really a fantastic contribution to my site. How a porridge like this can have such significance and history. Not only is it and interesting story but it seems absolutely delicious, I will have to try this out! Thanks so much Anne and Tove for this great Norwegian food recipe.