Culinary experiences in Nordfjord

 

In Nordfjord, the animals graze along the fjord and the lush mountainsides, surrounded by towering peaks, blue-white glaciers and roaring waterfalls. A mild climate, excellent soil and long, light summer evenings provide a good basis for high-quality fruit and berries. Agriculture and fishing are part of the fabric of Nordfjord, and these industries still have a strong position in the region. This is manifested in the delicious meat and fish dishes, accompanied by the season's forest and mountain berries, and Norwegian fruit.

The conditions for growing fruit in Gloppen are excellent, which has led to the establishment of two enterprises that make quality food and drinks from locally-grown fruit. Påldtun frukt og bær bottle childhood memories. Everything they make is 100% home-made, based on old traditional recipes with no artificial additives. Cordials, jams and tinned fruit are made from fruit and berries from their own farm and nearby farms. The couple at Gardsbrenneriet AS met each other when they were studying chemical engineering. With their knowledge of chemistry, it was natural for them to move back to the ancestral farm to combine their educations with ‘the good life’ in the countryside. Gardsbrenneriet presses fruit and berries, mainly apples, to make juice and cordial. They also produce stronger stuff, applejack and an apple and pear liqueur called ‘Attåt’. A little further up the fjord at Flo, the conditions are also very good for growing fruit, which the apple drinks from Flo Gardsmat are testament to. 

Fjording is a new company, which is challenging the leading Irish brand by making the first cream liqueur from the Nordic countries, Fjording Nordic Cream. Given that Norway is a country with abundant dairy and spirits traditions, which are the main ingredients in cream liqueurs, it was natural to make a product from a potato-based spirit flavoured with caramel and hazelnut. The company’s name, Fjording, reflects the geographical dimension, that the idea and the products come from the beautiful fjord landscape of Nordfjord. The fact that the founder comes from a family that has kept Fjord horses, has led him to donate USD 1 for each bottle sold to Fjord horse causes to help secure the future of our beautiful national symbol. 

Wild sheep and goats are imbued with the flavour of Nordfjord, and are becoming more and more popular options on Norwegian tables. Stad Kystmat has set up business on the coast of Nordfjord. The founder, who is a former professional snowboarder, farms wild sheep, Old Norwegian sheep or Viking sheep as they are also known. Delicious products are made at the modern farm butchery and production premises. Goats are also an interesting animal that do well off the beaten track. Many types of meat products are made from goats and kids from the farms in Kandal and Kandal Kjøt – everything from fresh cuts of meat to dry-salted and storehouse-dried cured goat legs and ribs, steamed sausages and goat meat and garlic sausages. If you would like to hear an aria, maybe the opera-singer farmer, can oblige. Aabrekk Gard also makes cheese and goat meat products. Delicious meat and cured meat products are made at Jevnlid Garden, where some of the most important ingredients are their respect and passion for craftsmanship traditions. If you are on the lookout for a very special product, maybe linden honey from Breheimen Naturprodukt or ‘gombe’, made from curd and whey, at Fjellestad Gardskjøken will fit the bill, unless you want to head out to the coast and Knutholmen to sample ocean fare.

Proud food traditions

Nordfjord has interesting and proud food traditions. The local farms make sausages, ribs and other traditional food using the very best production methods. Our childhood memories are filled with the tastes and smells of our mothers' kitchens. Barefoot, we climbed the trees in our grandmothers' gardens, hunting for juicy plums. On Sundays, spirits were high around the dinner table, where we feasted on home-made sosakjøt (beef stew) and prune compote. The bountiful cake tables at christenings and weddings are well-known throughout Norway.

Agriculture and fishing are part of the fabric of Nordfjord, and these industries still have a strong position in the region. This is manifested in the delicious meat and fish dishes, accompanied by the season's forest and mountain berries, and Norwegian fruit. In our coastal municipalities, fish is an important resource. A modern fishing fleet and a well-developed fish farming industry go hand-in-hand with world-class processing and export businesses. So here on the coast, they are proud of the high quality of their fish. If you combine the local food and the nature experiences available to you, you will really get a 'taste of Nordfjord' for all the senses.