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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Norway
Stew of bone-in lamb and cabbage, layered with whole black peppercorns, slowly cooked and served with potatoes. It was chosen as Norway’s national dish in a popular vote in the 1970s and reaffirmed in 2014.
Traditional dish from Norway
Also known as: får i kål
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Fårikål — Norway
Fårikål means “mutton in cabbage.” The recipe has few ingredients: bone-in pieces of mutton, cabbage cut into wedges, whole black peppercorns, salt and water. Meat and cabbage are layered in a large pot with the peppercorns between the layers, then slowly cooked until the meat falls off the bone. Many recipes sprinkle a little flour between the layers to thicken the broth.
In 1972, listeners of the radio program Nitimen on the public broadcaster NRK chose fårikål as Norway’s national dish. In 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food commissioned a new survey, and fårikål won again, with 45% of the votes, ahead of the meatballs kjøttkaker.
It is an autumn dish: the season coincides with the end of summer on the pastures and the arrival of the new mutton and cabbage. The last Thursday of September is Fårikålens festdag, the fårikål day, when families and restaurants across the country prepare the dish.
It is served with boiled potatoes and the cooking broth.
Norway
Norway’s national dish, chosen in popular votes.
Bone-in mutton (shoulder, neck or breast), cabbage, whole black peppercorns, salt, water and sometimes a little wheat flour.
Hot, in a deep plate, with boiled potatoes; the pot’s broth is served with it.
Autumn, especially September and October; Fårikålens festdag is on the last Thursday of September.
Your questions
Mutton in cabbage: it is a stew of bone-in mutton and cabbage seasoned with whole black peppercorns.
It was chosen in a popular vote on a radio program in 1972 and reaffirmed in 2014 in a survey commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture.
In autumn, especially in September and October; the last Thursday of September is fårikål day.
Flavors of Norway
Norwegian potato-based spirit flavored with spices, especially caraway and dill, and aged in oak barrels. It has European geographical indication as Norsk Akevitt; linjeakevitt barrels cross the equator by ship before bottling.
Creamy fish soup from Bergen, made with a fish-bone broth, vegetables cut into thin strips, fish meatballs and cream. A touch of vinegar and sugar gives it a slightly sweet-and-sour flavor that sets it apart from other Norwegian fish soups.
Large roll of sweet fermented dough with butter, cinnamon and sugar, topped with more sugar after baking. It’s a specialty tied to Bergen’s Hanseatic history.
Sámi stew of reindeer meat with potato, carrot and onion, slowly cooked in broth. It is the Sámi people’s celebratory dish, served at weddings, confirmations and other celebrations; the name comes from Northern Sámi.
Stew of klippfisk, the air-dried, salted cod, with tomato, potato, onion, pepper and olive oil. The recipe reached the coast of Møre og Romsdal through the cod trade with Spain and Portugal, and it is a festive dish in Kristiansund and Ålesund.
Sponge cake covered with meringue and almonds, sliced in half and filled with vanilla cream. It originated in the 1930s at a café in Harstad, Troms, and was voted Norway’s national cake; it is also called verdens beste, “the best in the world.”
Clear broth of lamb and beef with cubes of meat and meatballs, seasoned with ginger and nutmeg, served with potato and carrot. It is a festive dish of Trøndelag; the version Festsodd fra Trøndelag has a Norwegian geographical indication.
Sheep’s head salted, smoked and dried, steamed and served with potato and rutabaga puree. It’s a tradition of Voss and Hardanger, in Vestland, eaten mainly in the weeks before Christmas.
