For noen år siden spurte jeg en nordmann hva en god venn er. Han var stille en stund, og svarte:
«En god venn er en jeg kan sitte i et rom med alene, i stillhet, og samtidig føle meg komfortabel.»
Denne beskrivelsen av et vennskap kan overraske mange som kommer fra andre land utenfor Norden.
Fra boken “Nordmenn uten filter”.
Vil du lese mer?
Nordmennene stod ovenfor en utfordring da det bare var en liten del av året man kunne dyrke jorda. På vinteren var det livsfarlig å fiske på sjøen når vinterstormene herjet. Det vanskelige klimaet gjorde det derfor ekstra viktig å kunne oppbevare råvarene gjennom året for å sikre at man hadde nok mat.
Det handlet om å ta vare på alt som kunne brukes: innmat, blod, knoker og hode. Ingenting skulle kastes. Slik oppsto konserveringsmetoder som tørking, salting, røyking og fermentering. Selv om kjøleskap, frysere og komfyrer har gjort kjøkkenlivet lettere, er de gamle konserveringsmetodene fortsatt i bruk.
Nordmenn er stolte av sine tradisjoner. Riktignok er bakteppet til norsk tradisjonsmat flere århundrer med fattigdom, nøkternhet og matmangel. Generasjoner før oss måtte spare, konservere og leve av kortreist mat. Nå må vi kanskje begynne å tenke på å gjøre det samme også.
Vår bok om de norske mattradisjonene kan være til inspirasjon og læring nå. Vi kan ikke lenger kaste mat, gå ut og spise eller småhandle hver dag. Vi må dele på råvarene og det er tid for å finne frem eldre kunnskap om konserveringsmetoder og matlaging.
Få en korona-fri kopi av boken “En smak av norsk kultur” levert gratis med posten – bruk koden “corona” når du bestiller.
Ellers kan du også lese den engelsk utgaven “Norwegian Food” i e-book format her.
Most of Norway receives very little light during the winter, with large areas in complete darkness for several months. You can cultivate the land only for a small part of the year when it is not frozen and covered in snow. Winter storms at sea were deadly in the old days and fishing was limited to only some months of the year.
Viewed from a contemporary perspective, it is impressive that people managed to survive at all in this dark and cold land. Norwegians did so by carefully storing and conserving food for the cold months. They saved everything that could be used – meat, blood, knuckles and heads. Nothing was to be thrown away. They developed conservation methods that relied on drying, salting, smoking and fermentation in order to preserve their food.
The old conservation methods are the basis for virtually all Norwegian traditional dishes. The backdrop for today’s interest in traditional food is centuries of poverty, sobriety and lack of food.
With large part of the European population in lock down, it is interesting and important to understand how our great grand parents survived in a world where food was produced locally and conserved over long period.
This book presents 20 Norwegian dishes and food traditions that are inspiring to read during the Corona quarantine.
Order a physical copy with the discount code “corona” to get free shipping. Or, if you prefer to read right now in electronic format, download the kindle version here.
Source: “Norwegian Food: Do they really eat this?“
Sodd is made off boiled grey meat and grey meatballs in grey broth served with flatbread. In order to give the dish some colour, one adds chunks of cooked carrots. This aesthetically doubtful dish is served at weddings and celebrations in Trøndelag.
Virtually no Norwegian outside that region in the middle of the country eats sodd.
“Many say that the Norwegian food culture has never been as strong as it is now. This book presents with humour some of our most iconic traditional food.” – Arne Brimi, Norwegian Chef and founder of Vianvang
Welcome to the weird and surprising world of Norwegian food traditions. “Norwegian Food: Do they really eat this?” is an entertaining introduction to the 22 most notorious Norwegians dish developed since the Viking age and which continue to be popular today.
It includes our four English books on the Norwegian culture.
Read more about our amazing Norwegian friends in our “Norwegian Toolkit “; your complete kit to understand Norwegians!
Source: “Norwegian Food: Do they really eat this?“
A pig’s trotter is the lower wrinkled and unappetizing part of the pig’s foot. Using it as food poses an aesthetic challenge in addition to being rich in fat and cartilage but poor in meat.
Syltelabber are eaten cold as snacks by Norwegians – a little like chicken wings – where you need to use your fingers to eat.
Like many of the other traditional dishes described in “Norwegian Food”, syltelabber are eaten mostly during the weeks leading to Christmas!.
Historically, eating pig trotters was about using all parts of the animal. Slaughtering of the pigs happened late in the fall and led to the
tradition of eating syltelabber late in the fall.
Learn more about traditional Norwegian Christmas food in our new illustrated book “Norwegian Food”
“Many say that the Norwegian food culture has never been as strong as it is now. This book presents with humour some of our most iconic traditional food.” – Arne Brimi, Norwegian Chef and founder of Vianvang
Welcome to the weird and surprising world of Norwegian food traditions. “Norwegian Food: Do they really eat this?” is an entertaining introduction to the 22 most notorious Norwegians dish developed since the Viking age and which continue to be popular today.
It includes our four English books on the Norwegian culture.
Read more about our amazing Norwegian friends in our “Norwegian Toolkit “; your complete kit to understand Norwegians!