To an American Norwegians tend to eat very bland foods, and for picky eaters (I will admit I’m one) it can be a rough adjustment. Walking into a store here you will find a very small selection of foods not from Norway, and that includes American foods such as pumpkin puree! Thanksgiving was a little tricky to pull off here but we’ve managed for two years now!
Tonight I had gløgg! I had run down to the local shop and the walk had me shivering to my bones! Brrrr! Gløgg can be described as a mulled wine made from the run off red wine. Norwegians hate to let things go to waste so they would take the run off, add some spices and a dash of honey and drink it! As time went by (and the drinking age went up) a child friendly syrup was made and you can find it stocked in the shop throughout the Christmas season. Many adults still use wine for that extra “koselig” evening. There have been recipes dating back to the 1800s! Gløgg is also common in Sweden where it is called “glögg”. In my experience the Swedish tend to add more alcohol. In the kind I had tonight you can add some chopped nuts and raisons to add to the taste.
Not everyone likes gløgg and it is a bit of an acquired taste!
Oh shit, it's på norsk! 