Analysis of Food Heritage Project
Food is a major part of anyone’s culture, and that applies to immigrants too. A large number of Norwegians emigrated from Norway to the United States to get a better life. That is a major change for them, and therefore they needed to have something that tied them to their home country’s culture. Language and behavior may easily change, but food and recipes are something that can last forever. Recipes might change, but there will always be the memories and the tie back to their ancestors. Many of my ancestors immigrated to the United States. In fact, 9 out of 11 children in one family took the long journey across the ocean. In Norway, there is a common staple tradition that close to everyone follows every single Christmas. That is the tradition of the seven types of cookies that is supposed to be present in every home. These seven vary, but the traditional ones are: smulteringer, sandkaker, sirupsnipper, berlinerkranser, goro, krumkaker, and fattigmann. In her book The Minnesota Ethnic Food Book, Anne R. Kaplan explains this cherished tradition: “Better known to the world at large is the Norwegian tradition of baking cookies. Many hours of kitchen work in mid-December result in a profusion of delicacies---both Scandinavian and American. Norwegian cookies come in many distinctive shapes, but all have a rich, buttery texture and are available in every home. Eaten with coffee throughout the day as guests drop in, given to children, munched while watching television---the cookies are a tradition of indulgence without regret.”[1] Cookies are easier to manage during Christmas, because the only preparation that is necessary before serving, is to put all of them on a serving tray and provide a beverage. The two Christmas cookies I have chosen for the Food Heritage Project are sjakkruter and serinakaker because of their significance to my personal Christmas experience. An interesting common thing about these two recipes is that they include four of the same ingredients: margarine, flour, sugar, and vanilla-flavored sugar. This might be due to the fact that these are basic and essential ingredients that would be in any normal home. If for some reason it would not be, it would be easy to acquire. It is also quite easy to bake and prepare, therefore it is a perfect moment to let children join the baking.
Sjakkruter does not have that rich of a history in Norway, but serinakaker have been a staple recipe for Norwegian households. These types of cookies, or småkaker, have been a cherished tradition in Norway because of their status as a Christmas staple. Because of this honored tradition, the Norwegians would have brought these småkake recipes over to the United States in order to make sure this tie to Norwegian culture would not be lost. Therefore the småkaker will be used for the same purpose also in the immigrant culture: bringing families together. Sjakkruter and serinakaker have always had a specific significance to me. The process of baking and preparing the cookies give me a sense of nostalgia, of nationalism, and of celebration. My family always makes them during advent and/or Christmas, and it does not feel right unless they’re right there next to me during our Christmas celebration. They are easy to make, therefore even when I was little, I could join in the baking. There are so many memories from making these two småkaker, but most of them are just sitting with my family and snacking on the deliciousness. Now that I’ve been in the United States for almost three years, keeping the ties to Norway is important. That is why I liked these two recipes so much, is because these ingredients are easy to find in this country. If they are not, it is easy to find substitutions that would work just as well. Since they are used all over Norway, as staple foods it is easy to find out who eats them. The family that made them, their friends, and anyone else that would be offered the småkaker may eat them. The good thing about such a food is that there is not direct connection to any religion or ethnicity; they can be consumed by literally anyone during Christmas or any time people decide to make it. There is no specific time they should be made, but most people make them sometime in December. Because of its versatility they can be consumed in the home, at meetings, as gifts, or just as an afternoon snack. In my research I interviewed my grandparents, Else and Magnus Sørhus, and my parents, Marte-Marie Sørhus and Sigmund Dahl Pedersen. They were able to provide not only different Christmas food traditions, but also their insight on sjakkruter and serinakaker. One famous feature of småkaker that came up in the interview was that “Many people call it out-and-in cookies. Because they go out-of-the-box and into-the-box.”[2] Most småkaker in Norway are put in large cookie/cake tins and kept there, only to be taken out and put on a tray when the guests arrive. Smaller children might pick out a handful of cookies and eat them constantly. However, even though it is a cherished staple, some parts of the tradition of making them have disappeared over the years as “very many people buy cakes or go to Christmas fairs and buy these cookies”[3] according to Marte-Marie Sørhus Pedersen. With the busy schedules many people have, both in Norway and immigrant cultures, they don’t always have time to sit down for a couple hours and make different types of cookies. It is not only the entire experience surrounding the småkaker that’s changing, but also slight changes in the recipe itself. According to Marte-Marie Sørhus Pedersen, “we use less flour, and we make them in bigger portions now.”[4] While the amount of flour has changed, it is the colors that have improved the most. A standard recipe of sjakkruter would only include two colors for the dough: brown and white. However, the method for creating those has changed: “In one of the recipe books it said cocoa, and for the white ones we used flour to make them more white. We also used egg and sugar. Then the “normal” dough becomes lighter.”[5] Cocoa is still used for the brown section of the dough, while it depends from family to family whether or not they decide to make the normal section of the dough. Most people also decide to add more colored sections, as it creates a more colorful end product. During Christmas the mostly used colors are red and green.
[1] Anne R. Kaplan, Marjorie A. Hoover, and Willard B. Moore, “Norwegians” The Minnesota Ethnic Food Book. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1986), 114.
[2] Marte-Marie Sørhus Pedersen. Skype interview by Ellen-Marie Sørhus Pedersen, October 24, 2015.
[3] Ibid., October 24, 2015.
[4] Ibid., October 24, 2015.
[5] Else Sørhus. Skype interview by Ellen-Marie Sørhus Pedersen, October 24, 2015.
