The 19th-century Norwegian table does not follow the starter-main-dessert pattern but the course of the day: *frokost* (morning) of bread, butter, and preserved fish; *middag* (midday), the real hot meal around a soup or porridge; *kveldsmat* (evening snack), light. On festive days, the *koldtbord* is added, a groaning board where you pick marinated fish, cheeses, and sweets. Preserved fish and fermented dairy (*rømme*, curdled milk) structure the year more than vegetable seasons, scarce under this climate.

Thick cream left to sour, *rømme* is the fatty, tangy soul of Norwegian cuisine: it binds the soup, becomes festive porridge, accompanies fish. With caraway (*karve*) and wild berries (cloudberries, blackcurrants), it marks the taste of Grieg's country.