The cuisine of Norway is pretty similar to the national cuisines of its neighbours – Sweden and Denmark, however, the country has its own unique dishes and some of the shared dishes have their own special Norwegian way of cooking. In this article, you will find more information about some of the most famous Norwegian dishes.
Sursild
Sursild stands for pickled herring which is actually a food widespread in other countries going beyond the Scandinavian ones. Pickled herring is also one of the most popular dishes in the Baltic countries as well as the Netherland.
Herring itself is pretty popular in Norway and you can find it cooked in various other ways.
Finnbiff
One of the most popular ways of cooking meat in Norway is stewing it for example, as it is done in the case of Finnbiff. Pay your attention to the fact this dish is made with reindeer meet which is sautéed and eaten with sauce.
By the way, Finnbiff is also a common dish for the Finnish, Swedish and Russian cuisines.
Fårikål
Fårikål is a popular Norwegian stew which is particularly good for cold days. Actually, the Norwegian calendar even has a day dedicated to eating Fårikål.
Fårikål is particularly popular in the western areas of the country, however, you will find many restaurants serving this amazing dish in Oslo. If you are visiting the capital of Norway, you can taste Fårikål in Dovrehallen.
Kjøttkaker
If you are looking for the traditional Norwegian meatballs, you should taste Kjøttkaker. The term kjøttkaker means meat cakes in Norwegian. The typical way of serving this dish is with carrots, potatoes and brown sauce. Even though there is nothing complex in Kjøttkaker, it is very delicious especially when it is cooked at home.
Smoked salmon
As you can imagine, Norway has a lot of dishes based on fish. Salmon is certainly one of the favourite species in this country and it can be found cooked in various forms.
If you are looking for a very traditional way of cooking salmon, you should try Gravlaks. In this dish salmon is cured in dill, sugar and salt before smoking. A popular way of serving salmon in this country is with vegetables, sauce and potatoes.
Tørrfisk
Another popular way of cooking fish in Norway is by cold air drying. This form of fish preparation can be found in other countries as well, however, in the case of Norwegian Tørrfisk, a unique feature is the preparation without salt.
The most popular fish cooked in such a way is cod. The tradition of cooking fish in such a way started in the 12th century. Sometimes Tørrfisk is also undergoing fermentation.
Brunost
The Scandinavian countries are well-known for their unique dairy products. When it comes to Norway, one of the notable products produced from milk is brunost which is a special brown type of cheese.
You can also hear locals calling brunost as mysost. The typical way of consuming this dish is with crispbread or in sandwishes.
Brunost is made of cream or milk with addition of whey. Its brown colour is the result of the heating of milk sugars which is also a part of the production of this unusual cheese.
Sodd
How about having a traditional Norwegian soup? Needless to say, having a bowl of hot soup during cold Norwegian days is a pure pleasure.
One of the soups you should try is sod. It is made with mutton and vegetables such as carrots and potatoes.