Earthy dishes rely on simple foods-perfectly fresh seafood and exquisitely rich cheeses, profoundly flavorful breads and great beer, salty-sweet meats and toothsome fruits.
And more. . .
Although traditions and “rules” vary, guests usually approach the smorgasbord by first digging into the marinated herring dishes. They build a “fish plate” before moving on to cold meats and salads. Hot dishes come last. Unless you choose dessert and coffee to finish.
Considering an end of the Winter Olympics party? Before you set your table, here’s a guide to Norwegian staples-just in time for planning an authentic meal.
Breads
Norwegians love fine whole-grain breads. Dark, chewy loaves are the norm. In keeping with northern European tradition, such breads are built around rye, often flavored with molasses or other dark syrups. Wheat bread is fairly common, particularly grainy, crusty rolls.
Thin slices of moist, fragrant rye are spread with a thick smear of sweet (unsalted) butter. This smorbrot-literally, buttered bread-is topped with anything from pickled fish to canned sardines, fine ham, sliced radishes, gravlax (cured salmon) and cold meats. (Smorbrot usually is arranged on a large display, allowing guests to muse over the colorful array before choosing their favorite items. Amber or dark beer is the traditional accompaniment.)
Flatbreads appear in a surprising array of flavors and consistencies. These flotbrods, crispbreads and similar rye- or wheat-based flatbreads (much like our familiar Ry-Krisp brand) are shelf-stable and weather the seasons in a tin. There’s a surprising array in American food stores; they’re great with cheeses or tinned fish.
Lefse are delicate, unsweetened potato pancakes served like bread. They’re often filled with cured fish.
Dairy
Because nearly 70 percent of Norway is covered by mountains, and only 3 percent of the land is arable, the grasslands that creep alongside the heights make milk-and the cheese it yields-Norway’s chief agricultural product.
Although the country produces more than a dozen varieties, most Norwegian cheeses are difficult to find in the United States. Here are three of the most distinctive varieties.
– Since its introduction to American markets during the late 1950s, Jarlsberg has earned an affectionate place on our tables. Reminiscent of emmenthaler (Swiss) because of its holey countenance and mellow flavor, it also recalls Gouda from Holland. It’s luscious served alone with crackers, or in any number of dishes.
– Gjetost often is available in American markets. A whey cheese made from a combination of cow’s and goat’s milk, the dark, brownish cheese has a decidedly sweet nutty flavor that’s most appealing. Gjetost usually is shaved into thin slices and served with breakfast.
– Gammelost, or “old cheese,” is an ancient specialty tied to Viking legend. Some say its crusty texture and powerful fragrance-coupled with its shelf life-appealed to seafarers. It’s hard to mistake. Its strong, gamey scent requires a mature taste (some say its allure appeals to those whose senses aren’t especially acute)-but once the taste is acquired, it’s hard to turn down that ripe nuttiness.
Meat
Yes, reindeer is a common staple on Norwegian tables, yielding a deeply colorful, slightly gamey meat. (If you must cheat, you might want to grill venison, which is comparable.)
You’re also apt to find most other types of meat-poultry and geese are common and pork ubiquitous (especially tasty smoked products), and the occasional country house might feature a simmering potful of goat.
Sausages appear in great profusion. They come in two forms: Norwegian versions of the fresh varieties common to the familiar northern European table, and spekemat, salt-cured meats-the stuff Americans call cold cuts. Bolognas and various wursts are most frequently found on the breakfast buffet, served with cheese and crusty rolls to bolster the usual cereals, muesli, etc.
This largesse doesn’t necessarily extend to beef. Americans with a penchant for steak are apt to find themselves deeply disappointed.
“In Scandinavia, only after the cow has given her life to the dairy industry does she actually make it to the table,” an agriculture official apologetically said as several of us nearly bent our knives trying to whittle bitesful from oversized and unfortunately tough pieces of beef.
Seafood
With so much of this narrow nation exposed to coastal waters-the Norwegian, North and Baltic seas-and ripe with internal waterways, no wonder the Norwegians revel in a profound harvest from rivers and seas.
Pickled herring and its many cousins are a classic Nord dish. It’s the way many a working family starts mealtime-it’s an economical way to staunch appetites for the more expensive dishes that follow.
Norway has made the export of sardines a huge industry. Although smoked sardines packed in oil are a central character, try the ones packed in a mellow mustard sauce.
Whole salmon, poached and served chilled, is a classic. Or serve it warm with an herbed butter made with dill or parsley.
Torsk (cod) is a robust specialty, often dried and/or salted for use in stews and soups. Roe is a special delicacy. Rodspette, flatfish like our flounder, is more delicate and often turns up in buttery cream sauces. Rakfisk is a form of trout. It’s often salt-cured and allowed to ferment for months, yielding a dish called rakorret.
Shellfish, especially crab, prawns and lobster, may be steamed or boiled, but many cooks marinate them with seasoned oil, vinegars, herbs and spices.
Home to a burgeoning farm-raised fish industry-salmon and halibut among the chief “crops”-Norway has been targeted by critics. They point to the comparatively mild (some would say bland) flavor of the farm-raised versions of fish. But others counter that new aquaculture practices assure a steady supply of fine-fleshed fish, adding that the subtler flavor (the result of specially formulated feeds) lends to better smoking in some cured versions.
Vegetables
Simple spinach soup (made with chicken stock, slightly thickened with roux, then topped with slices of hard-cooked egg) begins many a meal. Cucumber salads doused with real sour cream, onion and salt are a traditional taste. Buttered, steamed new potatoes, scattered with freshly chopped dill, make a humble bite shared by family and casual friends.
Beverages
Strong coffee, fine tea and a variety of herbal drinks start the morning and may accompany meals. Deep amber and darker beers and stronger spirits are national passions. Vodka and aquavit, an herb- and spice-flavored clear spirit, often are offered with the morning meal. Tough drunken-driving laws coupled with high tariffs curb much of the excess.
Dessert and fruit
You’ll find the same profusion of fresh fruits, puddings and cakes as in most other northern European countries. Traditional sweets include kringle, a sweet yeast cake, and blotkake, a rich spongecake mounded with whipped cream and berries.
Dishes made with apples, pears and berries are everywhere. In winter-locked Norway and its sister nations, dried fruit long has been a treasure. It turns up in offbeat places. Prunes, for instance, are commonly used in some meat dishes served for holidays and other special occasions.
In warmer days, berries appear in profusion-gems speckling a firmament soon to be snowclad.
Douse fresh berries with cream and a sprinkling of sugar for a true Norwegian treat-or use them to top confections.
Lingonberries are probably the most famous exotic within Scandinavian lore. These tiny, sweet-tart red berries play a role comparable to that of our more familiar (and more acerbic) cranberries; the fruit festoons savory dishes (it’s especially nice with rich poultry and game) as well as pork and other meats.
Currants are another favorite. Generally sweeter than lingonberries, they appear fresh when in season (they’re especially nice on Norwegian butter tarts) and turn up in jams for the breakfast sideboard.
Cloudberries look all the world like bleached raspberries. At its peak, the plump golden fruit is a pristine beauty. The flavor is a mixed blessing of surprises: at peak, sweet and ambrosial (some liken it to that of blackberries), but with an unusual musky scent that perplexes. Scandinavians adore cloudberries and consider a bottle of cloudberry liqueur a special memento for departing guests.
Olympic meal planners stick with local flavors
The estimated 120,000 spectators, athletes, volunteers and members of the media clogging Lillehammer, Norway, at the Winter Olympics, are finding a smorgasbord of culinary options-all with a Norwegian twist.
“Our objective is to utilize 98 percent Norwegian products,” reads a release from Partena Cater, the official organization overseeing food service to those gathering in Lillehammer.
Partena Cater faces the extensive task of serving disparate tastes from around the world convening in the small community 112 miles north of Oslo.
“Variations in the menu will ensure that no national or cultural group will have difficutly in selecting a meal of their choice,” according to the organization’s position paper. They face everything from culture-specific needs to specific dietary needs and individual desires.
Vast grocery lists compiled from the world’s tables provide insight into offerings planned for every meal-from digestive crackers and creme fraiche dressing to beet-root and kefir.
Yes, there is meat. A “mere” 100 tons of skinless, boneless chicken breasts and 200 tons of assorted meats.
More than 150 tons of seafood will be served as a part of nearly all the estimated 2 million meals Norwegian officials expect to be eaten during the games, government sources said.
Apart from those meaty imports, “All the seafood will be caught in the pristine waters of Norway-except for the jumbo shrimp,” a government release said.
“Maine shrimp are the best in the world,” said Arvid Solheim, the exclusive seafood supplier for the Olympics. “We cure them in our secret brine and will be serving about 10 tons during the games.”
Officials expect to see 50 tons of farm-raised salmon, 15 tons of halibut and 5 tons of flounder to be eaten. Lobster-flavored surimi from Japan will join mussels and shrimp in the shellfish soup planned for luncheons. Fettucine with salmon, shrimp balls and cognac-cured smoked salmon in crisp potato cakes are among planned specialties.
Breakfast is no exception: Not only is pickled herring a staple of the breakfast buffet, but omelets stuffed with smoked salmon or shrimp are traditional Norsk fare.
