Extraordinary Norwegian dishes you’ve probably never heard of
Klippfisk -- literally "cliff fish" -- is dried and salted cod, in a tradition dating to the 17th century.
Tina Stafren/Visitnorway.com
A Western Norwegian Christmas treat, smalahove is a whole sheep's head. To prepare, burn off the wool and skin, remove the brain and salt the head. Servings are half a head each, so it's perfect for couples.
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The delicacy known as cod tongue is actually the underside of the cod chin. A popular way of serving them is to toss in seasoned flour and then fry in butter.
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Norway's cold waters mean seafood takes longer to grow, making the flesh extra plump and tender.
Maureen O'Hare
Seagull eggs are a delicacy in northern Norway. Locals like to eat them hard-boiled and washed down with a pilsner beer from Tromso's Mack's brewery.
Anders Gjengedal/Visit Norway
A number of tour operators offer king crab safaris to Kirkenes, on the border with Russia, between December and April.
Terje Rakke/Nordic Life - VisitNorway.com
Lutefisk is a gelatinous mix of dried fish and caustic lye soda, eaten at Christmas. When we visited the Lutefisk Museum on a sunny day in May the entire building was empty of staff and customers, but a stack of letters to Santa lay in the corner.
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Lutefisk might only be a Yuletide treat, but the Skipperstuen restaurant opposite the Lutefisk Museum serves a summer-light and frothy fiskesuppe (fish soup) with tender chunks of salmon and white fish.
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Gamalost is a hard, crumbly brownish-yellow cheese with a sharp, intense flavor and a pungent scent to match. If it was good enough for the Vikings, it's good enough for us.
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Norwegian's soft heart-shaped waffles are often eaten with brunost, a goat's cheese made from caramelized whey, with a sharp, sweet-savory dulce de leche taste.
Terje Rakke Nordic Life
Salty licorice is an acquired taste, but if you like your aniseed strong and your gustatory receptors tingling in tandem, it might just be the candy for you.
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Elk has a "dry, more wild taste," says Fenaknoken's Eirik Braek, but reindeer is a "much smaller animal so it's much sweeter."
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The crowberry is a black cold-climate berry found in northern Europe, Alaska, Canada, Greenland and beyond. Oslo's Fuglen cafe-bar serves crowberry cocktails.
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"This is a map of Norway," explains Eirik Braek, holding a vacuum-packed leg of lamb and using it to explain the variety in the country's regional cuisine.
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Torrfisk, or stockfish, is unsalted air-dried fish, usually cod. It even got a mention in a 13th-century Icelandic saga.
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Cloudberries are golden-yellow and only found in the wild. Their rarity earned them the nickname "Arctic gold."
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Rakfisk is salted, fermented trout, and it packs a pungent -- and delicious -- punch. Fenaknoken makes Norwegian-Japanese fusion sushi with rakfisk and wasabi.
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Norway is one of the few countries that still practices whaling. The meat has a gamey taste, similar to venison.