Norwegian cuisine
culinary traditions of Norway
Norwegian cuisine (Norwegian: Norsk mat) in its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in Norway. It differs in many respects from continental cuisine with a stronger focus on game and fish. Many of the traditional dishes are the result of using conserved materials because of the long winters.
Modern Norwegian cuisine, although still strongly influenced by its traditional background, has been influenced by globalization: pasta, spicebags, pizza, burgers, fries, soda, martinis, tacos, and the like are as common as meatballs and cod as staple foods.
Typical main meals
Breakfast (frokost)
The Norwegian breakfast consists of bread, berries, cheese, and milk. Traditionally this meal included a porridge such as grøt (flour and groats boiled with milk). Different kinds of grøt exist, including rømmegrøt (regular grøt but milk is replaced with sour cream) and risgrøt (regular grøt with rice instead of groats)
Lunch (lunsj)
For most Norwegians, a weekday packed lunch usually consists of very simple open-faced sandwiches known as matpakke (lit. 'lunchbox'), with each slice separated with smaller sheets of wax paper called mellomleggspapir. More extensive open-faced sandwiches (with multiple toppings) are considered smørbrød.
Cafeterias commonly feature salad bars, warm meals, and dairy products like yogurt, skyr and kvarg.
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