Gastronomy in Norway

Norwegian cuisine has come of age in recent times and a variety of dishes ranging from sushi to pasta are all available. On average though, Norwegians are not very concerned with food and sandwiches are often the staple. Norwegians are also the world’s leading consumer of frozen pizza.

The climatic conditions and landscape of Norway lend themselves to a particular distinctive flavour in meats, fruits and wild berries. Norwegian vegetables, fruit and berries such as Chinese cabbage, appels, cherries and strawberries are in great demand in many countries due to their high quality. The long coastline yields plenty of fish such as fresh trout and salmon. Fresh fish is prepared in a variety of ways, though it is commonly served poached as steaks. Another fish that is popular all over the country is cod.

The oldest Norwegian desserts were sweet milk dishes, such as gomme, which a lucky visitor may still find in certain rural areas. Special dishes for weddings and childbirths included rømmegrøt, a sweet, filling sour cream porridge that is a traditional feature of Norwegian summertime lunches accompanied by flatbread and dried, cured meat. Brown goat's cheese geitost is a distinctively Norwegian sandwich topping.

Norway is a major coffee-drinking nation. It is difficult to cultivate wine grapes this far north but Norway produces a type of spirit called aquavit, which is distilled from potatoes and flavoured with caraway.