Rømmegrøt

The story

Rømmegrøt is a porridge of soured cream, wheat flour and milk, and few Norwegian dishes are so closely tied to celebration. Store norske leksikon describes it as mainly festive food, served at weddings, after births, at wakes, at haymaking gatherings and at Midsummer, and most strongly associated with the farm country of eastern Norway. Its winter date is Shrove Tuesday, fetetirsdag, the day before Ash Wednesday, whose name refers to the custom of eating rich, fatty food before the long Lenten fast. Some regions keep their own food customs for the day: in Trøndelag many still eat salted meat, pork, sausages and mashed rutabaga, and in Nordfjord rømmegrøt is often on the menu. The method is what makes the dish. The thick cream is boiled with part of the flour until yellow butterfat seeps out; the cook skims it off and serves it warm in a pool on top of each bowl, with sugar and cinnamon. Cured meats such as fenalår and spekeskinke, with flatbread, often come alongside. In 2027 Shrove Tuesday falls on February 9. Serve the porridge as a light supper with cured ham and flatbread, or in small bowls after a soup.