Since the country is dominated by a harsh climate and developed fishing, the cuisine of Norway is represented mainly by “peasant” dishes.
National cuisine of Norway
The most common local product is Norwegian salmon, but in addition to it, Norway also cooks dishes from other fish - pink salmon, flounder, halibut, and trout. So, here “klipfix” (dried cod), “sursild” (herring marinated with onions) or “fiskemelier” (cod liver with caviar) are held in high esteem.
From meat dishes (usually berry and sweet and sour sauces are served with meat), travelers will be offered to feast on steaks, schnitzels, fried pork ribs, meat stews with herbs, and as a side dish - legumes, potatoes, cabbage, cereals.
Bakery products are an integral part of Norwegian cuisine: for example, potato crispbreads (“lefse”) and crispy breads like lavash (“knekkbred”) are popular here.
Popular Norwegian dishes:
- "Fiskeball" (fish meatballs with sauce);
- “Hietballler” (a dish in the form of beef balls with sauce);
- Forikol (a dish in the form of a baked lamb with stewed cabbage and flour sauce);
- “Smalakhove” (a dish in the form of a stewed lamb's head);
- “Swelle” (traditional Norwegian pancakes);
- "Spillingball" (cinnamon rolls).
Where to taste Norwegian cuisine?
Many restaurants offer their guests traditional Norwegian dishes such as elk, venison and lutefisk fish delicacy at reasonable prices.
In Oslo, you can have a bite to eat at Kaffistova (in this cafe, visitors are treated to dried fish, potato dumplings, meat cutlets, venison dishes) or Oslo Spiseforretning (this restaurant will appeal to gourmets who will be offered to enjoy chicken fricassee, pollock steak with onions, klipfisk fish), in Bergen - in “Finnegaardstuene” (from the exquisite versions of classic Norwegian dishes you should try fried cod with wine sauce and lentil puree, warm salad with beets, and venison fillet with juniper berry sauce).
Cooking courses in Norway
Would you like to sample Norwegian food in traditional dining establishments and take part in the preparation yourself? Take a closer look at the “Oslo Food Tours” gastronomic tour, during which you will also be offered to visit small shops with food and desserts.
A trip to Norway can be timed to coincide with the Matstreif Gastronomic Festival (Oslo, September), the Polar Spectacle King Crab Festival (in October-December, the festival organizes a tasting of crab meat with spicy and sweet sauces, organizes king crab safaris, and a children's culinary school is also inaugurated) or the Gladmat Culinary Festival (Stavanger, July).
