Written by Alexandra, Ashlyn, Hallie, and Lizzy
Sugar in Norway
Coming from the United States where you can find sugary snacks and treats at every corner, you should prepare yourself for a longer walk to satisfy a sweet tooth in Norway. Beginning in the 1920s, Norway enacted a general tax on foods and beverages containing added sugar. Initially, this was designed to increase revenue from luxury goods, but more recently has turned into a measure to reduce Norwegian’s sugar consumption. This tax is evident with Norway’s limited dessert options and designated dessert restaurants. To combat our sugar withdrawals, we often took advantage of hotel complimentary candies and gas station ice cream bars. Although Norway is not known for its delicious cuisine, compared to an American diet, a Nordic diet has an abundance of omega-3s, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Despite these heart healthy foods, our hearts are longing to return to the simple delights at home.
Hotel Breakfasts
Throughout our journey north we stayed at many Radisson Blu hotels with large breakfast buffets. In the United States, hotel breakfasts normally don’t have too many food options, let alone healthy ones. They’re filled with pancakes, waffles, donuts, and cereal. Because of this, when we originally heard breakfast buffets, our minds expected the sugary options we are used to. However, this was not what we found here in Norway. The buffet was filled with fresh meats, fish, bread, yogurt, and an assortment of eggs prepared in different ways. This left many to get creative with breakfasts. Some tried open-face sandwiches with fresh cheese, salmon, and salami, while others stuck to a more familiar option of eggs, toast, and yogurt.
Taco Fridays & Waffle Dinner
The Svolvær cabins have kitchens, which gave us the unique opportunity to make home-cooked group meals. On the Friday night before our Northern Lights trip, we participated in the Norwegian tradition of Fredags Tacos (Taco Fridays). Our class worked together to prepare all the toppings, including pico de gallo, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, and a whopping seventeen pounds of beef. Once everything was prepared, we all lined up in one cabin to make our tacos. Through the experience, we learned that preparing food for 35 students is very labor-intensive and takes a lot of planning. Ultimately, however, it was rewarding to eat a meal that took so much teamwork to pull together. The Norwegian weekly ritual of Fredags Tacos represents a sense of community and celebration, which we all got to experience in a small way that Friday night. We were certainly all celebrating when the intensive meal prep was over.
We also made late-night waffles, which is a traditional Norwegian treat often topped with jam, sour cream, and brown cheese. Some cabins stuck to the traditional Norwegian style waffles, while others got more creative with their toppings. People experimented with ice cream, peanut butter, bananas, butter, and more. Each cabin cooked its own waffles, so the prep was not as difficult, but the large amount of butter needed for the waffle recipe was shocking for everyone. We found that eating late-night waffles in cozy cabins with a mountain view gave us all a moment to appreciate our time in Norway together.
Critics’ Review:
Brown cheese 1.5/5
Reindeer 5/5
Fish soup 4/5
Stockfish 0.5/5
Fish soup from the Nusfjord Resort restaurant. (photo taken by Ashlyn Jore)
The delicious Norwegian breakfast buffet at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Stavanger (Photo taken by Alexandra)
A traditional Norwegian Waffle with lingonberry jam, sour cream, and brown cheese. (photo taken by Lizzy)