Brunost (meaning “brown cheese”) is a smooth, semi-firm cheese that is buff-coloured, like the colour of brown envelopes, with a sweet and sour caramel taste. Made in Norway, Brunost Cheese is 25% of all the cheese eaten there. It is made from whey, from both cow’s milk or goat’s milk. A mixed version of Brunost…
The 17th of May is Constitution Day in Norway. It is a very big event in Norway, celebrated even in small villages.
A Fleskepannekake is a Norwegian “bacon” pancake. To make it, bacon is fried up in a frying pan, then a pancake batter poured over top of it, as thick as a North American pancake batter, then the pancake is browned on the bottom, then flipped to cook the top. Some recipes have you pour the…
Hardangerlefse is a variety of Lefse that gets risen, either with yeast, or with a chemical leavener. If a chemical leavener is used, it is commonly baking soda activated by either soured milk or buttermilk Typical ingredients for the dough are flour, sugar, buttermilk, butter, and baking soda. Some richer recipes add a syrup (such…
This Norwegian flat bread looks a bit like a very big flour tortilla. There are many different varieties: sweet, plain, thin, thick, and made with or without potatoes in the dough. In Norway, the potato version of Lefse is most popular in the Telemark region. Most people outside Norway, in particular Americans of Norwegian descent,…
A lefse griddle is a very large, flat, round cooking surface designed specially for baking the Norwegian flat bread called “lefse.” It has no edges on it and just a slightly raised rim.
A lefse rolling pin is a rolling pin with 3 mm (1/8 inch) wide grooves carved into the surface. The grooves pick up flour, making the rolling pin more non-stick.
Lutefisk is a Norwegian dish of unsalted, dried white fish (usually cod, but it could be pollock or haddock) that is rehydrated for cooking in a lye bath. There are many people who don’t just hate it — they loathe it. It has a rancid, oily taste, and if cod was used, an intense odour….
About two-thirds of Norway’s land-mass is mountains; only 5% of the land is arable. In the north of Norway, the growing season is 100 days; in the south, 190 days. The days are long, though in a Norwegian summer: the sun will rise as early as 2 to 3 pm, and stay up until around…
Numedal is a version of Lefse that is made with lots of milk, some butter and lard, egg yolks, white flour and a few tablespoons of sour cream. To clarify for Americans, there is no potato in this version. It is named after the Numedal region of Norway, where this version is popular. Language Notes…
This version of lefse is made with boiled potatoes mashed with milk, and mixed with rye flour and white wheat flour, and a dash of sugar and salt. It is then cooked as per Lefse. Language Notes In Norwegian, called “Oppdalslefser”.
Pannekake are thin Norwegian pancakes, like French crepes but just a tad thicker, about 1/10th inch (3mm) thick. They are made quite large to wrap fillings in it like crepes. The batter is made from milk, egg, flour and salt. Some recipes add a touch of vanilla. Some Norwegians say add melted butter; others say…
Pinnekjøtt is a Rib of Lamb dish popular in western parts of Norway, particularly at Christmas. To make it, the ribs are first salted, then dried, then sometimes smoked. Then they are usually steamed over birch branches. To steam them, you first soak the prepared ribs overnight in cold water. The next day, you cover…
Rømmekolle is a Norwegian dairy dessert, sometimes translated in English as “buttermilk pudding.” It is made from double-cream that’s been pasteurized and homogenized. Starter culture is added to the cream to ferment it a bit. The cream ends thick, with a solid, silky texture. You can eat it just with sugar and / or jam…
Sour cream porridge (“rømmegrøt”) is a Norwegian dish served at holidays, often along with cured meats. It is made with milk, sour cream and flour, instead of water and oats as porridge is in the English-speaking world. It is hearty and very heavy going. Very high-fat (about 35 %) sour cream must be used, or…
