Cod Surprise
Great Uncle caught a 6kg cod in the Alta fjord. He stopped by the farm to give it to Farmor and Farfar. We all sat in the kitchen watching Great Uncle gut and fillet it with expertise. And of course, the fish-out-of-water Aussie had her camera with her.
Cod is a prized fish in Norway and one of its biggest exports. The fish is (almost) as good as Salmon. (Apples and oranges.) But there was an extra special surprise inside! The egg sac (or ‘roe’ in English). I thought ‘What are these Norwegian’s going to do now? Make home-made caviar?’ Nope. That’s a Russian thing I was told. In Norway they like to boil it, slice it and you guessed it – put it on bread.
Farmor was so kind to hold up the egg sac for me. Phew! I looked back at the fish and wondered how such a bigger thing could come out of such a big fish. The sac was wrapped in tin foil and boiled. (I’m sure the fresh roe didn’t smell half as bad as when it was boiling.) Unfortunately I wasn’t around for the eating. But there is always more fish in the sea.
Apparently, you can buy sliced roe in cans here in Norway.
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Many English words actually come from old Norse language – brought by Vikings to England in medieval times. Here are some words you have probably uttered without realising you are speaking Norwegian!
In the winter we rest.
The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line.
A traditional Advent Calendar is made with an orange and cloves.
Nisse parties happen in many kindergartens, primary schools, church and community groups in Norway. They are a casual celebration of the julenisse (Christmas elf) tradition especially for children (but the big kids love them too).
The sun never goes down during this season but the mountains to the East are so high that the sun still has to raise above them in the morning hours and an artificial dawn-effect wakes the city.
You can buy it in tubes next to the mayo as a sandwich spread!
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from Moose:
That’s what we call caviar in Norway – which is a mashup of smoked roe, oils, salt, sugar and starch. Not quite like the complete sliced egg sac you can buy in a can.
I’ve was given something similar in Italy~ quite a delicacy from the typical munchies!
I have to confess that the first time I saw it I was really skeptical. But every time my mother-in-law makes cod, she serves it with roe and liver. And I have to say, it is not bad at all… And rich in Omega-3, if you need a little encouragement, hehehe.
But that was huge!!!