To learn more about the traditional Norwegian dish rømmegrøt, I interviewed my grandmother, Lynn Carlson. My grandfather, Dave Carlson, is a second generation Norwegian American. Dave's mother immigrated from Norway to America as a young woman for economic opportunities. Dave still has many cousins in Norway that he stays in contact with and has visited multiple times. Due to Lynn's history, she doesn't have ties back to Norway like her husband Dave does. However, both of my grandparents love to embrace Norwegian heritage. One of the ways that they do this is through food. In true Norwegian tradition, Lynn enjoys preparing rømmegrøt as a special dish for her family at Christmas time.
Ingredients
2 cups sour cream 1 cup flour 1 1/2 cups milk 1/3 cup whip cream Butter Cinnamon/ sugar Raisins
Bring sour cream, whip cream to soft boil for 5 minutes. Sift and stir in 3 tbs flour, 1 at a time. Keep at low heat while adding remaining flour and milk intermittently. After all is added bring to a boil and cook for an additional 5 minutes on low heat while storing
Serve topped with melted butter, raisins and cinnamon sugar
Rømmegrøt is a dish prepared for special occasions, most traditionally saved for Christmas time. As stated by Kaplan in The Minnesota Ethnic Food Book, rømmegrøt is as much of a symbol as it is a food for many people (1). Other than at Christmas time, rømmegrøt is also served to brand new mother's, field hands, and served at other Norwegian holidays (2.) A relative of mine in Norway said that it used to be often eaten by lower class individuals because it was so rich but also so cheap to prepare. Now, rømmegrøt is more commonly prepared for celebrations.