A Look at Norway's Salmon and Cod Industries (Oh, and Waffles)
Last week, I visited Norway to check out the salmon and cod scene. While restaurant and drinks editor Andrew Knowlton has been evangelizing about Norway for as long as he's been at Bon Appétit, I was astounded by how incredible it actually is. Stunning scenery, waffles for every meal, plenty of aquavit, and so much fish. What's not to love? Click through for some of the highlights.
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.1/20Kvaroy
Indre Kvaroy is a teeny tiny island off the coast of central Norway with a population of about 65. The island has one grocery store, a pub, a dairy, and a lot of adorable houses. Most of the island's inhabitants work at an organic and Blue Circle-approved salmon fishery.
2/20Stockfish Drying
Since cod is so abundant in Norway, the Norwegians preserve it by making stockfish, or air-dried cod. Different in texture and flavor than salt cod, stockfish uses only the salty (and very cold) ocean air to dry out the fish—preserving it for several years.
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.3/20Stockfish Shed
The stockfish are dried on wooden planks, sheltered from the rain and snow. Their little hangout is enclosed with wire to keep out birds.
4/20HAM
Chef Geir Olsen cures, dries, and ages his own ham, made from pigs from a neighboring island. Most of these hams are aged for one to two years, but some will stay here for up to five years.
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.5/20Salmon
We took a trip to the salmon farm and the fisherman pulled out a few young fellas for us to get a closer look. While these little ones are about two pounds each, they can grow up to 18 pounds.
6/20Lumpsucker
This little angel is called a lumpsucker, and he is a friend to many—but especially salmon. Lumpsuckers eat the lice that plague salmon (both farmed and wild) and just generally hang out, being adorable. Their roe is incredibly delicious, and seeing a lumpsucker is considered to be one of the first signs of spring in Scandinavia.
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.7/20Pollock
The Norwegians say "saithe," we say "pollock." There's not a huge market for these in Norway—most pollock sold is from cod bycatch and turned into fish cakes.
8/20Haddock
The waters around Kvaroy are also rich in haddock, which is sort of thought as an inferior cod. I was able to catch one (which should give you an idea of how many there must be). My kind hosts weren't familiar with American chowder, so I took this guy back, cleaned him up, and turned him into a Maine-style chowder with ingredients from the one store on the island. I even think Deputy Editor and resident Mainer Scott DeSimon would have approved.
9/20Wolffish
In case you were wondering, this fish exists. It's called a wolffish, and while slightly terrifying, it's actually pretty delicious.
10/20Eggs
There is one perfect little restaurant on the island called Olea's Kitchen, run exclusively by Lili and Geir Olsen (she hosts, he cooks). To call the breakfast spread elaborate would be an understatement. Among other things, there were smoked mackerel, cured reindeer, fish roe salads, and these delightful eggs with tiny sardines and paprika.
Alison Roman11/20Gravlax
When you own a salmon farm, you make a lot of gravlax.
12/20Aquavit Martini
If I ever order an aquavit martini and it doesn't come with a tiny shrimp, I'm going to feel cheated.
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.13/20Tiny Shrimp
Speaking of tiny shrimp, look how little these shrimp are. Very similar to Maine shrimp, these little fellas love the cold water up here and are quite abundant.
14/20Aquavit
At pretty much every dinner, somewhere between the middle course and the entree, someone broke out the aquavit. This one was my favorite. And that label! Swoon.
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.15/20Cod Tongue
We had several courses of local fish and specialty Norwegian foodstuffs I didn't know existed—like cod tongue. Did you know cods had tongues? I did not. Seasoned with salt and pepper, seared, then basted with butter, they were heavenly little pillows of cod. Almost scallop-esque.
Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.16/20Cloudberries
Native to Scandinavia, cloudberries are members of the mulberry family. They taste almost as if an apricot and a raspberry got together to create something very magical. At Olea's Kitchen, they served it as a "soup" with vanilla ice cream and a waffle (waffles are everything over there). I ate this whole bowl, then had seconds.
17/20Kanelbolle
Oslo has a chain of awesome bakeries called Apent Bakeri, and they turn out some of the cities best breads, pastries, and pizza. There, I met my pastry soulmate: kanelbolle. Basically a Norwegian cinnamon bun, kanelbolle is not too sweet and has the right cinnamon-swirl to dough ratio. Bonus: The dough itself is scented with cardamom.
18/20Beer
The Norewegians seemed to have figured something out that we Americans have not: Sixteen ounces of beer is the correct amount of beer every time. Twelve-ounce cans are not an option over there.
19/20Waffles
Did I mention they really dig waffles over there?
20/20Waffle
My last meal in Norway was at Maaemo, Oslo's two-starred Michelin restaurant. There were 24 other mind-meltingly incredible dishes, but it seemed appropriate to include the last bite—a waffle. The best one I had, by a million miles—er, kilometers.
