The world of Norwegian Christmas cuisine! Would you have a taste?

One thing I always look forward to in December is all the super yummy Christmas food!
Like every country Norway has its own traditional Christmas cuisine. The main Christmas dish will vary depending on which part of the country you’ll find yourself and some can be quite hard to get your head around if you’ve never heard of, or tasted them before. When I’ve told people from around the world about Norway’s traditional Christmas food I have more than once been met with shock and even disbelief, hehe!

So let’s take a look at what's on the menu this time of year!

1. SMALAHOVE – SHEEP’S HEAD

Yep.. That is right. Smalahove or Sheep’s head is a very popular Norwegian Christmas food. It might not look very tempting but in Norway this is considered a delicacy. It is mainly eaten in the west and has its biggest fan group located in the city of Voss. So, why do we eat it? Well in the olden days it was normal that most people had a livestock consisting of a few animals. Typically it was a few chickens, pigs and goats. The goat was considered to be the most important animal for many and that along with the fact that one used to eat every part of the animal not to waste any food lead to the consumption of sheep’s head.

Traditionally when you cooked Smalahove you first had to burn off the wool. After you split the head in two and took out all the insides you didn’t wanted to eat, like the brain, then the head was put in water for a day. The next step was to put the head in salt for a few days and then to smoke it. The last step before you eat it is to boil it until the meat lets go from the bone. Side dishes that accompany Smalahove are potatoes, mashed kohlrabi and fat.

2 . LUTEFISK

So this looks kind of tasty right? Well, there is a secret to this fish that gives it a very special texture and flavor that is far from everyone’s cup of tea. The secret ingredient is lut or lye in English. Lye is an everyday term for basic substances, like caustic soda. The traditional way to prepare this fish is through a long process of soaking a dried piece of white fish like cod or cusk. Usually you soak the fish for a week where you change the water daily. Then you add lye to the water for two days. During this process the fish will get its special texture and flavor. However after these two days the fish will be poisonous! That’s why it will need another round of being soaked in water for ten days before you can eat it.
Side dishes that make Lutefisk more enjoyable are pea stew, bacon, potatoes and some mustard.

3 . PINNEKJØTT – LAMB RIBS

Now this is simply super yummy!! With more than 1/3 of the population eating this dish on Christmas Eve, Pinnekjøtt or lamb ribs is one of Norway’s most popular Christmas foods. The way we prepare this food is by steaming dried and salted ribs from sheep over a grating of birch sticks or metal. It will need to be steamed for 3-5 hours until the meat is super tender. The lamb ribs are served with mashed kohlrabi, potatoes and sometimes sauerkraut and lingonberries.

4 . RIBBE - RIB ROAST

This amazing Christmas dish is the star in many Norwegian homes on Christmas Eve. The main aria in Norway they eat Ribbe is in the east of the country. When you make Ribbe you use the meat from the bone containing sides of a pig. You can cut the meat in a lot of different ways, but the most important thing to achieve with any Ribbe is that you get a crispy rind.

To get the rind really nice and crispy but at the same time get the meat soft and tender there are some tricks. The biggest trick is to cut the rind before you put it in the oven with a sharp knife in a checkered pattern, ca ½ cm deep. Then you put a plate under the rib roast to create an elevation that lets the fat flow off the roast making the rind crispier. Depending on the size of the rib roast the time in the oven varies, but usually it’s cooking for a couple of hours.
Side dishes that come with Ribbe are usually a mix of sour and sweet. Traditional ones are; sauerkraut (red and yellow), potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots, prunes, Christmas sausage, Medister cakes and a brown sauce.

So there you are! An introduction to some of the most popular Norwegian Christmas dishes! And like every big festive meal of course you need something nice in the glass to accompany what’s on your plate! Top three choices with Christmas food are;

1. BEER!

Dark, light and everything in between! Norwegians do like their beer!

2 . JULEBRUS – CHRISTMAS SODA

This is a certain kind of soda that only comes in the store around Christmas. It is difficult to explain the flavor. It is kind of red berries and candy, haha!

3 . AKEVITT

This is the official liquor of the Northern countries and a big part of the Christmas dinner. In Norway and Denmark it is made from potatoes and in Sweden it is made from grain. Karve, or caraway in English, is the main spice in the liquor which is what gives the drink its distinct taste.

So what do you think of the Norwegian Christmas cuisine? Would you try Smalahove if given the opportunity? ;)