When humankind first appeared in the Norwegian landscape – sometime after the last ice age – the search for food was their primary motivation.
Norwegian food history | The beginning
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Norwegian food and drink
Norwegian food and drink | The Viking pizza
In Norway, the Italian pizza appeared as an exotic newcomer in the 1970s. But bread topped with foodstuffs is nothing new in Norwegian food history. Even the Vikings ate pizza – but they called it bread-dish.
Klippfisk | What is Norwegian klipfish?
Klippfisk – or klipfish – is fish preserved through salting and drying. Since the early 1700s, the Norwegians have been large-scale klippfisk producers and exporters.
The old Norwegian farm | A nation built on porridge | Grøt
Some claim that porridge is the oldest hot dish in the Norwegian diet. For millennia, porridge was to the Norwegians what the oven-baked bread is to the modern family of today.
Norwegian food history | Milk from the domesticated animals
For thousands of years, milk from the domesticated animals has had a dominant position in the Norwegian diet. People used milk from the cow, the reindeer, the sheep and the goat.
Norwegian food history | The difference between mead and beer
Mead and beer are both alcoholic drinks known from Norwegian history. The Norwegians call them «mjød» and «øl». But do you know the difference between the two?
Norwegian baking through the seasons
"Nevada Berg takes readers back into her Norwegian kitchen, offering a year’s worth of new baking...
The old Norwegian farm | Farmhands could only leave twice a year
Summer and winter Today, the Norwegians think of the year in terms of 4 main seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. But the old Norwegian...
Norwegian Buhund | Herding dog and keeper of ancient traditions
A Buhund is not necessarily equal to a buhund When we talk about a Norwegian buhund, we must distinguish between: The spitz dog type and its place...
Growth of the soil | Homesteading in the Norwegian mountains
As a young person growing up in Norway, my dream was to emigrate and become a homesteader somewhere in the North American wilderness. The problem...
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Norwegian railway history | The pioneer era 1851-1868
Preparing for progress For thousands of years, the Norwegians relied on boats, horses, reindeer, and their own two feet to transport both goods and...
Norwegian landscapes | On the coastal path along the Oslofjord
The landscape in this very particular part of Norway is relatively flat and was once below sea level. As the enormous amounts of heavy ice melted...
Skibladner | Norway’s oldest paddle steamer still in service
The great Lake Mjøsa It was on the great Lake Mjøsa that Skibladner went on her maiden voyage in 1856, as both a passenger and a freight vessel. And...
The old Norwegian farm | A nation built on porridge | Grøt
Grain and water Porridge, flatbread, and lefse - a soft grain-based flatbread - were staple foods on the old Norwegian farm. Historically, today’s...
Norwegian food and drink | The Viking pizza
Norway’s new national dish In today’s Norway, people eat pizza like never before. Jokingly, it is said to be Norway’s new national dish. But...
Kipe | Means a basket in Norwegian
Pronunciation Kipe The grammar Noun | both masculine and feminine, depending on the dialect | the indefinite form: en/ei kipe (a kipe) | the...
Kantslått | Means cut grass in Norwegian
Pronunciation Kantslått The grammar A compound word made up of: kant + slått | noun | masculine | the indefinite form: en kantslått (a kantslått) |...
The old Norway – and its last army of storytellers
Our humble beginnings Today, we have forgotten that the humans were also once a wild animal. Every single being was firmly connected to Mother Earth...
Norwegian herder-children | Roaming the mountains all alone
Pronunciation Gjeter With summer came freedom On the historical Norwegian farm, the livestock spent the long winters locked up in cramped and dark...
Childhood Christmas memories from northern Norway
This post is based on the childhood memories of Othilie Johnsen, born 1894 in Kiby, Finnmark, Thomas Johansen, born 1883 in Kvalnes, Nordland, and...
Hytte | The ancestral call from the Norwegian mountain cabin
The Norwegians have a rural soul Today, over 80% of all Norwegians live in cities or urban areas. But as late as in 1946, almost 50% of the...
Folk medicine | As used by the Norwegians
Long before doctors Long before doctors and modern-day laboratories, our ancestors used plants and other natural remedies to help cure their...
Stabbur | The food storehouse on the old Norwegian farm
Keeping the rodents out The Norwegians placed the stabbur on top of wooden stilts or boulders; specifically designed to keep rodents and other...
Fridtjof Nansen and his Arctic mission impossible
No land mass under the ice Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) was a Norwegian zoologist, Arctic explorer, great humanitarian, diplomat, and Nobel Peace...
The old Norwegian farm | Finding Ole Johan Nyaas and his barn
The photo DigitaltMuseum is Norway’s digital photo museum and the home of more than 2 million photographs. This is where I found the historical...
Norway’s 5 largest lakes
A land full of water Norway is a land full of water; and whether you are walking through an open, mountainous landscape - or find yourself deep...
Queen Maud of Norway | Alexandra was her mother
Alexandra was born on 1 December 1844, at the Yellow Palace - Det Gule Palæ - in Copenhagen. She was the second of six children born to Christian...
A Norwegian’s take on the lead-up to the Black Death
The Black Death may have been one of the worst disasters ever to have hit humankind. In the mid-1300s, this bubonic plague went like fire across...
Paestum – Italy | A place of majesty and beauty
Once a Greek colonial city We visited Paestum on a warm, sunny day in late May. The first thing that hit us was the scent of flowers, so sweet and...
The old Norwegian farm | The hour of twilight
Mother Nature The old Norwegians followed the rhythm of the day, they adapted to the landscape they lived in and the changing of the seasons. The...
The ancient tradition of Norwegian mountain pasture
Pronunciation Seter Norway is a country full of mountains and forests - vast areas unsuited for the cultivation of grain and other agricultural...
The old Norwegian farm | Moving into the barn during summer
A peculiar custom Every summer in the early 1900s, when spending the summer months with his grandparents, a young Norwegian boy experienced a...
Norway’s King Harald V and Queen Sonja | Forces of nature
King Harald V of Norway Among the Norwegians, King Harald is widely known for his great ability to show empathy and compassion – and not to forget:...
Skoklefallsdagen | The old Norway’s last day of spring
Pronunciation Skoklefallsdagen No sowing after this day Skoklefallsdagen was the day in the spring that the farmers had to have all the cultivated...
The Sapmi and Sami flag | A symbol of unity
A brief introduction The Sami are often referred to as one people, but they are in fact several peoples. The various sub-groups have common ethnic...
The Norwegian kjenge | A wooden drinking bowl
Pronunciation Kjenge The kjenge is predominantly used for drinking beer. It is usually round, whereas the kane has a more elongated shape, like a...
Norwegian wood | The art of chopping, stacking, and drying firewood
In addition to writing bestseller historical novels and more, Norwegian writer Lars Mytting has...