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Rayman Zimmerman

Cultural Self Exploration: Norwegian

Erin Lauckner

ND 335: World Food Patterns

April 29, 2022

Cultural Self Exploration: Norwegian

The food culture that we grow up with plays a huge role in our diets throughout our lives. This is

usually passed down with the cultural background of our parents and generations prior. In this course,

we have explored several different food patterns around the world, how to be respectful of those

cultures, and how we can provide nutrition education within those cultures. To better understand

myself and my family, I can explore specific cultures that we relate to and differ from with the country of

origin. In this exploration, I will be diving into my eating habits and food patterns throughout my life to

compare my personal experience with that of the country of Norway and Norwegian culture through

online research.

I grew up in a very small town located in the southwest corner of North Dakota. The closest

grocery store was around 15 minutes from my house and provided a limited variety of foods at a fairly

high cost. There is also a restaurant in the same area, but we seldom ever ate there. It was common for

me to go to the grocery store for snacks after school on my way home and to eat at the café before a

basketball game. My family would usually pick up a large supply of food anytime we were in Bismarck,

ND which is around an hour from my house. The cost of things like fresh fruits and vegetables, milk,

chicken, fish, and snack items were much lower compared to the grocery store back home. Bismarck

also has a wide range of restaurants, and we almost always ate out before coming home. The food

availability had a low effect on the foods I had growing up.

Some of those most common core foods we would make growing up were chicken and

dumplings, roast beef, burgers, steak, lasagna, and spaghetti. Many side dishes with these meals would

include corn, peas, cooked carrots, mashed potatoes, bread, or sometimes a fresh salad. We would

normally have these foods for supper meals. This mealtime was usually prepared by my mother or

myself and my mother, father, and I all ate together at the dinner table most of the time. Lunches at

home would be anything from summer sausage sandwiches or pizza to mac and cheese with hotdogs or
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some type of soup. One of my all-time favorite lunch meals was Kneophla soup and a sandwich. This

meal was much less formal and more of a time to just find something to eat. This was the same for

breakfast. Typically, I would have oatmeal in the mornings a while after my parents woke up, but cereal

or eggs with bacon and toast were also very common breakfast foods. It was also common to have

homemade jams or jellies and bread from people in the area, so we would also have butter and jelly on

toast for breakfast occasionally. I cannot think of an extended period in my life where I have not had

desserts as a part of the day. My mom and I enjoyed making cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream, and bars

almost as much as we enjoyed eating them. We mostly had dessert after supper every day but having

them as snacks at any time was not uncommon. Other snacks included pretzels, chips, fruit, nuts, and

occasionally yogurt. There were several specific foods that we had during holidays and gatherings.

As mentioned previously, my mother is the main cook in the family. When having holiday meals,

my mother spends a lot of time planning, preparing, and serving all the food. For the main holidays that

we gather the family together (Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter), my mother makes a ham, turkey, or

roast and includes side dishes of many or all the following: fruit salad, cheesy hash brown casserole,

green bean casserole, freshly baked buns, and hot fudge pudding. I and my father also help with

anything we could, and it was common for another family to help with dishes and clean up. We would

also be more likely to have wine, iced slush with alcohol, or beer but normally we have water, milk, or

sometimes juice with any meal. The atmosphere and meaning behind food growing up for myself

evolved over time and depended on the day or time of the year.

Food has always been a comfort and a way to bring the family together. I grew up with my

parents and all my siblings had already moved out and lived in different areas. For holidays or any

gatherings with my family, meals are always included as a way for us to have a conversation and sit

down together. Aside from gathering the family together, food has also impacted the way I go about my

day and what I have focused on in my life. I have always had a passion for eating healthy and exercising,
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and food was something I found an advantage to improve my performance in high school sports. Now I

have turned this into a career with my passion for helping others establish a healthy relationship with

food while eating to fuel their bodies. This has changed my life and my family's food culture growing up

has sparked this passion in me. Learning more about the culture my family identifies with and how that

has influenced my food patterns is very interesting. My family identifies mostly as German and

Norwegian, with many staple foods I have always known for being common foods of those cultures. The

online research provided an overview of Norwegian culture and the foods true to Norway and

individuals living there.

The country of Norway has borders with Sweden, Finland, and a small portion of the upper

northwest corner of Russia (Weibull, 2022). This land is in a very similar longitudinal area as Alaska and

therefore has a very similar climate with the temperature being around 45 degrees on average (Weibull,

2022). The colder temperatures do not stop the people who live there from being outside. During the

summer months especially, Norwegians take advantage of being outside by going for hikes, fishing, and

barbecuing (AFS-USA, n.d.). Winter sports are also very common with two-thirds of the entire land

covered in mountainous terrain for practice (AFS-USA, n.d.). The coastline borders the Norwegian Sea in

the Atlantic Ocean and is lined with deep glacial fjords, making this shore much less than a beach

getaway (Weibull, 2022). Nearly half of the current population lives in the southern area of Norway near

Oslo, the capital (Weibull, 2022). This country has a very complex and rapidly evolving past that has

played a huge role in the development of the culture to what it has become today.

Modern Norway has only been around for the past 200 years (Caulkins, n.d.). Back in the very

early years (1 – 1000), the people living in this area were known to have “created social institutions,

oversaw the conversion to Christianity, and left a big impact on European history” (Nikel, et al.). This

very well-known group was first developed in these years known are known as the “Vikings” (Nikel, et

al.). The history of this time is very hard to explore for researchers, but the significance of the Vikings in
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Norway is something that was passed along. The population increased dramatically around 1100 and

was then struck by the Black Death plague in 1349 which wiped out entire communities (Nikel, et al.).

Shortly after that time, Norway became unionized with Denmark and Sweden with the Kalmar Union

(Nikel, et al.). This union later dissolved and led to Norway and Denmark alone as a union and Norway

and Sweden preceding (Nikel, et al.). The country became an independent constitutional monarchy in

1905 after an agreement with Sweden to cut ties (Nikel, et al.). Modern-day Norway is well known for oil

production and breathing-taking scenery and magical skies with the northern lights appearing in the

winter months (Caulkins, n.d.). Norway is also well-known for its food culture and the people who

currently live there.

Norway has a uniqueness in its culture-rich communities and the history is shown as much as

possible. Norwegians prefer to remain isolated in colonies within their country with some effect of

Americanization but mainly on clothing and food (Cauklins, n.d.). With that, they are also known for

prioritizing and caring out several food practices that their ancestors were accustomed to. Religion is

another factor that greatly impacts the food and culture in Norway. Lutheran Christians make up most

of the religious population, however, Catholicism, Islam, and Buddhism are also common (Living in

Norway, n.d.). The foods and preparation methods that are common in a typical Norwegian diet are also

closely related to the location of the country and history.

Norwegians have a variety of foods throughout the year, but the most common foods are typically

found at family events and holidays. Weddings, anniversaries, and Christmas/Christmas eve are very

common feast days in Norway (Caulkins, n.d.). Through research, I have found that more traditional

foods from Norwegian history are consumed more often these days. Norwegians tend to have fish

around three or four times every week which is one of the more common proteins (Moon, 2022). While

there are several types of these foods, some of the most common include the following: Lutefisk

(soaked dry cod that is then boiled, rommegrot (pudding made from cream/whole milk), pork ribs,
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sausage, fattigmann (deep-fried cookie), sandkake (almond cookie), julekake (sweet bread with raisins),

lefse (potato flatbread), and various types of cheese (Caulkins, n.d.). Norwegians also display several of

these foods in a koldt bord (cold table), which is very similar to a Swedish smorgasbord (Caulkins, n.d.).

With common foods known, I then did more research on the meaning of food and food patterns.

Norwegians tend to have around three meals a day with one of those meals being hot and the rest

being cold (Moon, 2022). Another food pattern that occurs within Norwegian culture is that the food is

served when it has finished cooking, not necessarily all at once (Moon, 2022). Another food pattern is

that breakfasts are either huge buffets or lighter portions and the supper meal is almost always a

heavier portion than lunch (Moon, 2022). With Norway having Lutheran Christians as a large population

within the country, holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Good Friday are feast days as mentioned

previously (Caulkins, n.d.). I had noticed several similarities to these foods and patterns when

comparing them to my own growing up.

One of the first foods to catch my attention was lutefisk. While this was not a food I have ever

tried, it was very common to have been prepared in my area and several communities would gather to

eat it. I had always thought this was German food and more of the large German community gathered

because of that. In general, we would have any other type of fish maybe once a month at the most.

Another food that I have had on several occasions is lefse. Lefse with brown sugar and butter was always

one of my favorite sides to have with meals and I only had it on random occasions. There are several

families in my area that make lefse homemade and I remember making it with my after-school

babysitter once a year. Making lefse is something that takes a lot of time, and it is something that people

in my area looked forward to every occasion. Some other related foods to me were pork ribs, meatballs,

cheese, and pudding. With several similar foods, my family also has several similar food patterns.

I grew up with my family having a history of being Lutheran and attending Lutheran gatherings

and services. This relates to how my family celebrated certain holidays and feasts after church, even
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with the foods varying. It was very common for my family and church to have large buffets with several

unique foods for each food group. Another similar aspect of food patterns was the temperature of the

foods and meals throughout the day. This was something I had never realized but was very similar to

how my family usually has meals. Many times, we would have leftovers cold for one of the meals

throughout the day. Lastly, the portions for each meal are very similar to my traditional Norwegian

culture. Mainly on Sundays, we would have a large breakfast, a very light lunch, and regular supper or a

regular breakfast and lunch with the largest portion being at supper.

Overall, I found exploration into my own eating patterns and that of Norway and the traditional

culture to be very interesting. I had always related a lot of foods and food preferences to my family

being mostly German. There were arguably more food relations to my Norwegian heritage than

German. I found this to be very informative and to be an interesting topic for further exploration. I feel

that many of us can make assumptions about our food patterns and how they relate to certain cultures

before understanding the background of the country. This allows for several opportunities for

misunderstanding and relating ourselves to a culture based on bias. The book and research lessen this

risk and set us up for success in discovering why we eat the foods we do and when. Once we can

understand our behaviors from the source and how our ancestors influenced those habits, we are then

able to improve our own and clients’ relationship with food in a respectful manner.

Knowledge Check Questions

1) Lutefisk is soaked dry ______ that has been soaked and then _______.
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a. Salmon, fried

b. Pork, pan-seared

c. Cod, boiled

d. Chicken, battered

e. Both A and C

2) What is the most common religion within Norway?

a. Lutheran Christianity

b. Islam

c. Buddhism

d. Catholic Christianity

e. Agnostic

References
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AFS-USA, N. (n.d.). Norway: Exploring Norwegian culture: AFS-USA. AFS. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from

https://www.afsusa.org/countries/norway/

Caulkins, D. (n.d.). Norway. Countries and Their Cultures. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from

https://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Norway.html

Kittler, P.G., Sucher, K.P., and Nelms, M. (2017). Food and Culture (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.  ISBN-13:

978-1-305-62805-2

Living in Norway. (n.d.). Living in Norway. History and Main Religions / Living in Norway / StudyinNorway

/ Home - Study in Norway. Retrieved April 28, 2022, from https://www.studyinnorway.no/living-

in-norway/history-and-main-religions#:~:text=Today%20Norway%20is%20a%20very,the

%20largest%20religions%20in%20Norway.

Moon, A. (2022, April 28). Food Customs in Norway. USA Today. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from

https://traveltips.usatoday.com/food-customs-norway-21400.html

Nikel, D., Nisbett, T., Paulson, N., Moldver , A., & Gullickson, J. (2022, March 11). Norway timeline: A

journey through Norwegian history. Life in Norway. Retrieved April 28, 2022, from

https://www.lifeinnorway.net/norway-timeline/

Weibull, J. (2022). Norway. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from

https://www.britannica.com/place/Norway