Buying Food in Alta
Buying food in Alta can be ‘hit-and-miss’. Most fruit and vegetables are old, soft and colourless in the stores. I was lucky to finally get a mango that was decent after three years in Norway. I celebrated with a fruit salad and yoghurt breakfast.
Most often food is of poor quality. Fungus, mold and squishiness is all too common. The shops have tricks too. Coop keeps their fresh food cold. This crisps everything up so when you pick up an onion it feels firm and dry. As soon as you get it home it is squishy and juicy. It is frustrating to buy food that is sealed with a skin. Often oranges are dry inside or you get little nasties like fungus in your avocado.
Variety is a big problem too. You have to go searching for months to find what you need. There is only one store in Alta that sells maple syrup, one store that sells ranch dressing and one store that sells… These food items are very pricey but if I don’t by them then the store might decide not to sell it any more. If they stop selling maple syrup how am I supposed to have Norwegian-style Canadian Waffles!?
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Best way to have fresh fruits and vegetables on the table is to avoid the exotic ones.You have strawberries in your area, you eat strawberries. You have potato, you eat potato. Actually I do not know how many types of fruits can grow so up north (I guess few). Sometimes we buy spoiled exotic fruits and vegetables when we have fresh ones produced locally. for example, right now we have figs ready to eat, but it is difficult to find them in the stores (fortunately I have a tree in my orchard) so we buy bananas or pineapples coming from far way.
Anyway, if it is difficult to find fresh stuff in Alta I can only imagine what you find in small villages…
Oh, I can sympathize! I live in a little town (about 5000 people) and it’s mostly Southern fried fare- turnip greens, iceberg lettuce, green bell peppers. I have to drive an hour to get an artichoke or raspberries, or baby lettuce. It gets frustrating! On the good side, I’ve learned how to make yogurt and fresh mozzarella. Oh, you have those GLORIOUS cloudberries right now–I am jealous!!!!!!
Internet shopping is my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!! But right now, avocados are so cheap, I wish I could send you a CASE!!!!!!!
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from L-Jay:
Hopefully we will be able to grow some delicacies next year on the farm, like tomatoes and lettuce…lol.
Maybe you could open a little specialty store to provide some competion and variety for the benefit of Alta residents who would appreciates such an outlet. It might take a little time to become profitable and worthwhile. The time factor might be a problem now that you have many farm projects going on but it might be work for you. Another option could be a co-op where you and other like minded people would get together and form a buying co-op, specializing in both local products as well other items of interest to the members. The co-op could be run by volunteer members, having limited business hours, and minimal store facilities. Just an idea that might or might not work for you.
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from L-Jay:
We would love to do this – in fact, we hope to do this in the future. We will be starting small but hopefully we will be able to develop a Community Support Agriculture (where locals can subscribe to our produce). But we won’t be able to grow mangos and watermelons…lol. We’ll have to rely on the shoddy big store grocers for our tropical fixes.
I grew up in Iowa in the 40′s. Fresh fruit and vegetables in the winter months were impossible to find….or very expensive for less than desireable choices. I didn’t even know what an avocato or a mango was. We ate canned fruits and vegetables….and we were thrilled when frozen vegetables came out!
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from L-Jay:
(I get asked a lot by the check-out chicks what items are… spring onion, alfalfa and butternut squash are just some items they didn’t know! lol)
May I ask a silly question? Why don’t people use greenhouses? Would the vegetables not grow in them even during winter? I’m no gardening expert so I’m just asking in general.
LOL!! Wait! Don’t answer my silly greenhouse question. I forgot about the sun setting for months during winter. But would you still be able to grow stuff in a greenhouse during the warmer months and then can it for winter?
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from L-Jay:
To grow ‘winter’ crops in the Summer we don’t need greenhouses but Summer crops will not grow in Summer without them. At the moment I have some cherry tomatoes growing in my sitting room window that are coming up nicely. It is necessary to use grow lights to extend the season. This Winter we will be experimenting with growing some Summer plants in Alta’s dark season. Fingers crossed.
I am so relieved to learn avocados can be found in Norway!
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from L-Jay:
You know, I have never used the slicer. I’m not game enough…lol.
Not sure if it’s any consolation but Oslo is similar when it comes to food. I’m a vegetarian, so it’s maybe even harder for me because I eat mainly fruit and veg. I have now a habit of looking under every ruccola tray because I find them very often mouldy and with fungus. Same with cucumbers and peppers, all of them wrapped tightly in plastic
After a few months of eating dull and crying after the UK, I discovered the joy of shopping in Sweden 
I also have to credit the immigrants’ stores in Oslo, they are excellent and provide a good variety of exotic spices, lentils and fruit/veg not prepacked and not mouldy. Maybe there are some in Alta too?
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from L-Jay:
We are close to the Finnish border so have buses that do day shopping trips there – I haven’t been yet though.