A students guide to Norwegian food

Norwegian Food HabitsNorway’s cold climate with its short summer and limited amount of arable soil has made food production challenging. The traditional food culture has for generations therefore been quite simple. Food preservation - drying, smoking, and salting have been more important here than in many other countries. Livestock and grain have always been the staple crops from Norwegian farms, and today’s diet is influenced by such products: a variety of types of milk, butter, cheese, meat, bread and other cereal products. Since the Middle Ages, fish from the North Sea and Norwegian Sea such as cod and herring have been important for Norwegians. Fish continues to be a staple part of the Norwegian diet nowadays as well. The potato has also been a dear and trusted friend on dinner plates of Norwegians, from the very first day it came to the country some 250 years ago. The potato became as important to Norwegians as rice is to Asians. Today, however, boiled potatoes are commonly replaced by pasta and rice. Fast food nationThe manner in which food is prepared has also changed a lot. There are not many households with maids or cooks today! The demanding every-day lifestyle of modern Norwegians has left little time for cooking. That is why fast food and ready-to-heat or ready-to-eat products have become very popular. In fact, Norwegians are Europe’s top consumers of frozen pizza. What your Norwegian friends eatNorwegians like to think they have an exotic and international menu. Even though we use many of the names of international dishes likekebab, taco, pizza, wok, etc., we tend to make all dishes more Norwegian. For example, we reduce the spices- to the extent that many non-Norwegians get the impression that our food does not taste of anything at all. We are known to have very tender taste buds!  There are a few other things that many foreigners find rather peculiar - the bread, the milk, and the organizing of the meals. Many Norwegians like to drink milk every day when they have their bread – and not with cookies like the Americans do. There are many types of bread. The typical Nordic ones are “darker” or less refined than others, like the white bread the British use for toast, for instance. When to eat, what, and how much?Bread, as mentioned before, forms an important basis for our food culture. Most people eat bread at least twice a day; for breakfast, at lunch (at noon) and sometimes in the afternoon. Compared to many other countries our breakfast is rather big - it provides more energy- and consists of cereals or slices of bread with your favourite spread, milk or fruit juice and coffee or tea. Common spreads are different types of jam, cheese, “makrell i tomat” (mackerel in tomato sauce), different types of sliced ham and chicken, meat, pâté, and boiled or fried egg. Even sliced fresh fruits, like bananas, and vegetables like tomatoes and cucumber are enjoyed on the bread. Everyone is taught at an early age “not to skip breakfast”! The reason is simple: our lunch at noon is not a warm dinner-like meal, as in many countries, but usually a light meal of “bread-and-spread” once again. Therefore it is even more important to give the body enough fuel in the morning after a long night’s fast, so you can be a productive and active student until dinner in the afternoon. LunchBringing “matpakke” (a packed lunch) to work or school is a very widespread Norwegian habit.  Professors and university students alike leave home with a lunch box or a paper package of slices of bread or a sandwich. Norwegians have a rather short lunch break - not like the Spanish siesta - and are thus able to leave work earlier in the afternoon. Many people also bring some fruit or vegetable to have a snack between meals, which is a great way of getting an energy “boost” when your concentration starts to fall. In general, bringing your favourite food together with some fruit for lunch, snacks, etc. is a lot cheaper than buying your meals at restaurants and canteens.  If you enjoy a hot cup of coffee or tea, buying a thermos may be a good investment. Bring hot water in the thermos, a cup and your favourite tea bags or instant coffee to the university. Water from the tap!In Norway we can drink water directly from the tap, and many students have a bottle of water with them wherever they go which they fill up over and over again. It is also possible to buy bottled water, with or without bubbles, and at restaurants you can order a glass of water and they usually will not charge you, as they get it from the tap. Your body needs more energy in the winterIn the cold winter season energy requirements increase - and one simply has to eat more.  Nuts, avocados, bananas, eggs, and extra fat (oil, margarine) in and on top of your food will easily increase your energy intakes. Try to avoid soda and candies, because they will give you a lot of sugar, but not the sustainable energy that you need in the long run. Your body needs more Vitamin D tooBe aware that you need extra Vitamin D, especially in the winter when there is little sun. Important foods which contain Vitamin D are “tran” (cod liver oil), “ekstra lett melk” (milk in the green/blue container), eggs and fish.  People in the north also use special lamps which imitate the sun’s rays during the winter as an additional way of getting enough Vitamin D. The sun helps the body to extract vitamin D from your food, that means no sun; no intake of vitamin D. The "daylight lamp" works as an extra source of daylight and will help your body to extract the vitamin D. Kantina has these lamps both at Hovedkantina and at Akutten. Did you know?“Tran” or cod liver oil is a Nordic specialty - but not enjoyed as food. It is taken as a supplement because it contains a lot of omega 3 polyunsaturated fat - healthy fat, especially for the brain.  “Tran” also contains Vitamins A and D that are crucial to maintaining strong bones and good vision.Vitamin D is made in our bodies - in our skin to be precise. The skin of Nordic people is adapted to the relatively small amounts of sun that we have through the year. People with fair skin are able to synthesize Vitamin D within the skin once a few sunbeams strike it. Darker skin types have more protection against the rays and thus need more sun to synthesize Vitamin D.This is the reason why people with darker skin, and anyone who spends a lot of time indoors, are more prone to developing a Vitamin D deficiency -  thus the reason why everybody is recommended to drink a spoonful of “tran” every day and eat a lot of fish.