Sodd

The story

Sodd is one of Norway's oldest words for food cooked in broth. It comes from the Old Norse verb for boiling, and Store norske leksikon notes that it is older than suppe, the everyday word for soup. MatPrat, the recipe site of Norway's egg and meat information office, points to a description of sodd in the saga of King Håkon the Good, written in the 1200s. Across Norway, soup made from meat broth was once a Sunday dish rather than daily fare, but the tradition is strongest in Trøndelag, in central Norway. There, trøndersodd is festive food for the big events of family life, and since 2012 Festsodd fra Trøndelag has carried a protected geographical indication. The broth is lamb or mutton, kept clear, with cubes of boiled meat, small meatballs of finely ground meat and cream, and carrots. Potatoes are cooked separately so their starch does not cloud the pot. Some cooks grind the meatball meat many times over, and an Innherred saying holds that a good sodd has so much meat and meatballs that you could walk across it without getting your feet wet. Make the broth the day before, and keep flatbread on the table, as Norwegians always do with sodd.