Kringler. Nordic pretzels of various forms of sweet, salty, filled, crispy and soft. But one kringle stands out as one of the most well-known in Norway and it hails from Bergen. It also happens to be a permanent fixture on the 17 Mai (Grunnlovsdag) table, as it finds its place alongside spekemat (cured meats) and rømmegrøt.
Bergen is known in Norway for their vannkringler, a traditional pastry still consumed today. The recipe is simple: flour, water, yeast and salt. The technique is masterful, as the dough is rolled out thinly and then tossed and twisted around before being sealed with a gentle blow. Before being baked until a golden brown, they are placed in a hot water bath, hence bestowing them the name vannkringler, or ‘water ring’.
This tradition is thought to be influenced heavily by Dutch and German salesman operating in the area of Bryggen, the old trading wharf of Bergen. Being easy to store and with a long shelf-life, vannkringler was purchased by many fisherman, who would take them along their journeys. It is said that empty caskets would be used as storage for the vannkringler by northern Norwegian fisherman as they headed back home. (more…)
A Norwegian breakfast and lunch is never complete without a slice of bread or a type of knekkebrød. These ‘crisp breads’ or ‘breaking breads’ which are flat and dry, resembling a cracker, probably originated in Scandinavia close to 500 years ago. Some sources say that crisp bread was a staple of the Vikings as they could store them for long periods of time. These crisp breads would have been baked on hot stones, while today’s knekkebrød is baked in the oven. Baking them in the oven is what makes these crisp breads so different from the Norwegian flatbrød, which is baked on a flat griddle, much like lefse.
As the sun rises, I find myself in the room I grew up in. The interior may have changed over the years I have been gone, but the memories have been imprinted across the walls, something that new paint cannot erase.
The smell of melting butter amidst flaky dough fills the room. A slight hint of orange and vanilla. As I wait for the minutes to pass, I cozy up to my chair and read more about the famous pastry known in Norway as wienerbrød, or translated to viennese and commonly referred to as danish in English. The aroma is well-known across bakeries in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. It’s a pastry that was indeed created from bakers in Denmark, but not solely by their own efforts. It was a result of inspiration and the borrowing of techniques, like most recipes today. By standing on the shoulders of others, they were able to create a new, inspired pastry.
Serving lamb, for instance, is not an old tradition. For the long, dark Norwegian winters delay the gestation period for sheep, meaning lambs are not large enough to be ready by Easter. The lamb is either imported or from last year’s yield. Nonetheless, lamb is important to the table today. Often served on the bone, it is roasted with simple herbs and seasonings.
