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Archive for 'Traditions'

Rakfisk Festival, Norway

Posted on 06. Nov, 2011 by kari in Culture, Food, Holidays, Traditional, Traditions

If you had been in Norway this weekend, you might have had the opportunity to experience the annual Rakfisk Festival. Every year in the town called Fagernes, which is in Valdres in eastern Norway (about 25 miles west of Lillehammer), tens of thousands of people gather to celebrate rakfisk (literally brine cured fish). The fisk used is typically either ørret (trout) or røye (char). The fish is salted and then left to brine for 2-3 months, at which point it is eaten rå (raw), perhaps on a piece of flatbrød (flatbread) with rå løk (onions) or purre (leeks), smør (butter) or rømme (sour cream) and poteter.

Rakfisk Festival always occurs in the first weekend of November, right around that time that the days feel really short and the amount of daylight is dwindling. Every year there is different entertainment, but always loads and loads of fisk. According to several sources I have consulted, Norwegians consume 500 tons of rakfisk every year. The official website of Rakfisk Festival can be viewed here. You can see the full program, which included several musical artists including Viggo Sandvik, Askil Holm, and Vassandgutane. There is plenty of opportunity to chill out and listen to music or get on the dance floor and boogie.

This year there were 9 individuals and organizations who contributed their rakfisk to the festival:

Rakfiskprodusentene

Some interesting facts about the festival include:

-40 tons of rakfisk are sold during the festival

-25,000 visitors attend the festival every year

-70% of attendees have experienced the festival before

-70% come with family and friends

-30% have attended at least 5 times

-in addition to rakfisk, hundreds of other booths are set up by local food producers and individuals who produce handicrafts

-the festival costs about 40 million kroner every year

Rakfisk Festival is one of the largest events related to food culture and supporting the production of local food. It sounds like a whole lot of fun to me. Norway is the only month that I have not experienced in Norway. Next time I´m going to Rakfisk festival to eat fermented ørret with a glass of akevitt!

Lutefisk Season is upon us

Posted on 23. Oct, 2011 by kari in Contemporary, Culture, Food, Holidays, Traditional, Traditions

Whether you like it or not, it is Lutefisk season for Norwegians and Norwegian Americas alike! I must be honest, I have never ordered lutefisk at a restaurant and I have never chosen to eat it. The St. Olaf (my alma mater) cafeteria serves it every year in early December during the St. Olaf Christmas Festival and I always chose to avoid the cafeteria during that time. Again, I’m sorry to admit, but the lutefisk that I have been exposed to is vile and makes me lose my appetite. This is actually quite strange for me as I actually can count the foods I dislike on one hand. In any case, lutefisk…..I’ll try to promote it in this blog post just because I believe that it can actually be tasty if it is prepared well and paired with delicious accompaniments.

Most of you probably know what lutefisk is-that white jelly-like fish that has been soaked in lye, the same chemical soap is made of. Lutefisk became popular due to the lye extending it’s shelf life. Soaking the fish in lye preserves the fish, which was an extremely important quality hundreds of years ago. Although preserving the fish is not important today as it was when sailers were crossing the ocean without modern refrigerators, diners today still enjoy this fall delicacy.

From early October through Christmas Norwegians shell out the dough for good lutefisk. A fair price for this delicacy at a good restaurant in Norway is in the 350 kroner (about $65 USD). It isn’t just in traditional Norwegian restaurants that one can find lutefisk on the menu during this time in Norway. The dish is so popular that even Chinese restaurants serve it!

Lutefisk is traditionally served with a purée of kremet erter (creamed peas), but the adventurous will try it with other accompaniments such as ferske erter (fresh peas), bacon, sennep (mustard), and even geitost (goat cheese), mandelpoteter (almond potatoes), or small gulpoteter (yellow potatoes) particularly in northern Norway. Lutefisk is usually served with something salty, something rich, and something sweet (like honey for example).

Here is an example of lutefisk on a julemeny (Christmas Menu) in Oslo at Mona Lisa Restaurant:

Meny nr.2

Lutefisk med ertestuing, bacon, baconfett, geitost,sennepsaus, tyttebær, fransk sennep, sirup og lefse. Kokte poteter.

Multekrem med kransekake

kr 590,-

Sounds pretty tasty actually. Lutefisk with mashed peas, bacon, bacon fat, goat cheese, mustard sauce, cranberries, French mustard, sirup and lefse. Cooked potatoes, cloudberry cream and kransekake (a kind of Norwegian cake) for 590 crowns.

Depending on ones preference, vin, øl, or akevitt pair well with lutefisk. Akevitt would be the traditional choice, but a god Norwegian lager or a German riesling would pair well.

The below is a simple lutefisk recipe:

1

Place the lutefisk in a kettle, and add enough cold salt water to completely cover them(some people like to place the lutefisk in cheesecloth and tie the ends itno a bag, before placing in the kettle.).
2

Bring gradually to a boil. (Caution: It will be done when brought to a full boil, and if boiled too long the fish will fall into pieces.).
3

Remove from the burner, skim off any foam that appears and the let the lutefisk stand for 5-10 minutes.
4

Drain well, and serve steaming hot on warmed plates.

Akevitt-the Norwegian flavored spirt otherwise known as “Water of Life”

Posted on 15. Oct, 2011 by kari in Culture, Food, History, Holidays, Traditions

Akevitt (Norwegian spelling), akvavit and aquavit-however you prefer to spell it, is a delicious flavored (many are probably mumbling “speak for yourself” right now…) spirit home to Scandinavia-Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in particular. Brandy is known by the French as “eau de vie” (Water of Life). Of course I will be focusing on Norwegian Akevitt!

While other nations distill grains to produce the tasty beverage, Norwegian akevitt is made from distilled poteter. The distinct flavor comes from a variety of different spices and herbs depending on the kind-caraway is by far the most popular, but dill, cardamom, cumin, anise, and fennel are typical ingredients as well. Akevitts vary in color from clear to a light and even caramer colored brown. Some akevitt is aged in oak casks, which give it a brownish hue. The longer it is stored in the oak casks, the darker the hue will be. Norwegian akevitt is aged in oak casks for anywhere from 1-12 years. Caramel coloring is also used sometimes to create a brown hue without using oak casks. Clear akevitt is known as “taffel.”

Linje!

Varieties of Norwegian akevitt include Løiten, Lysholm, Gilde, and my personal favorite Linje. I’m not sure I’ve even tried all of the aforementioned brands, but I appreciate the time, energy, and journey Linje akevitt embarks on before it is on the market. Linje akevitt is said to achieve it’s bold and distinct flavor (as well as brown hue) because it is aged in oak casks that travel on ships from Norway to Australia and back, thus crossing the equator 2 times. No, there is no superstition or magic involved in the equator crossing (that we know of at least-wink), but rather the constant movement, fluctuating temperatures, and high humidity cause the impacts of the aging process to be exemplified. This is certainly quite the tur-retur (round-trip) journey for ei flaske alkohol (a bottle of alcohol) to take, not to mention costly!

Norwegians drink akevitt our of either shot glasses or long stemmed tulip-shaped glasses and they drink it in “snaps,” that is small shots during a meal. Akevitt is not consumed as often as vodka, beer, or wine, for example. It is a spirit consumed during traditional meals on Sankthansaften (Midsummer), 17. Mai (17th of May, Norway’s Constitution Day), Påske (Easter), and Jul (Christmas) as it is known to ease the digestion of rich foods (these holidays call for rich food!) Typically, the host says “Skål!” (Cheers!) which is the signal for everyone to make eye contact with the host and take a snap! Many people that I have consumed akevitt with absolutely despise it for it’s unusual flavor. Although I hate caraway seeds in bread, for instance, I love akevitt.

Home distilling of akevitt is illegal in Norway, but a common practice. I’ve had the pleasure of drinking heimbrent (home distilled) vodka, but not akevitt. Someday I hope to enjoy this delicacy!

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