Norwegian cuisine is not organized into starter-main-dessert but around open-faced sandwiches (smørbrød) and cold tables (koldtbord) where everyone composes their own plate. The day follows three rhythms: frokost (morning, bread, cheese, fish), middag (main hot meal, often fish or root vegetables), and kveldsmat (evening snack). Berries, fermented dairy, and preserved fish appear at every meal, and celebrations open the koldtbord, a grand table of shared cold dishes.

Salting, sweetening, and wrapping raw fish in dill to "grave" it without cooking or smoking: this is the emblematic gesture of the North. Along with smoking and vinegar marinating, it is how, for centuries, the riches of the fjords were preserved through the long winters. Dill, juniper, and rye are the three accents of Norwegian taste.