Rock Island daily Argus., 1886-12-08
NORW EGIAN DISHES.
"RUIAMAH" WRITES ABOUT THE
COOKERY IN NORSELAND.

A Generous Use of Butter and Cream.
uakinS .'Fiskepudting"-Ano Pc
culiar Dish-The Poor Mans Food"
The National Bread.
The success, and deliCacy of half the Nor
weeian dishes is due to the generous use OF
butter and cream. and the vigorous and con-
scIeutious way in which they beat and stir
anvilins that requires such treatment. My
curiosity about certain national dishes was
gratiiicd one morning in certain Christiana
kitchen that was bright With sunlight and
shining brass and copper pans The red
checked cook was all smile; and good nature
at having company in her domain, and my
hostess put on an apron and took part in the
demonstration lesson given me. This hostess,
too, was one Of the most charming women |
have ever met. simple unaffected, democratic
and Norwegian through and through. She
spoke the four great languages of Europe
French, English, German and ltalian-and
had Travelled in those countries, and her cul-
turc in art and literature was as thorough as
her knowledge of cookery.
The first thing zone was TO make 'Flske-
pudding" which is the standard and rather
winter dish of Norway The cook produced
fine large haddocil that had been properly
cleaned and skinned and cut it lengthwlse
into three long strips With the point of u
bru1 knife she began with the tail end of
each strip ana scraped it Off in Il fine pulp
until all the flesh had been removed from the
bones. This pulp she put in a stone mortar
! nc
smooth and stiff as Jelly. She added little
salt and a teaSpoonful of butter, worked it for
good ten minutes and put it then into Il
| large earthen bowl She changed her pcstlc
| for Il wooden potato mashcr, and beating up
| the yolks of two eggs with q cupful of thick
| cream added that mixture to her fish pulp by
single spooufuls well worked into the mass.
| After that a half pint of cream and little
| ground allSpice was introduced, the vigorous
| beating was continued for awhile, and then
thc stiff and rrothy mass was turned into a
deep huttercl tin, that was tightly covered
and set i'll pot of boiling water for three
hours
vt the end of three hours the top was GOV
cred with hot Goals TO brown the pudding
| and it was ready for the table, stiff, hight
| Cumnound that was served with q rich cream
| and Cau.r sauce. When not baked as one
pudding, the fish is mOldcd into balls that ar,
| boiled or steamed in 4 covered tin for III,
| three hours. then fried brown in boiling fat
and served either with or without a sauce
These balls are also served with curry, %
small balls are put n u thick fish soap. ii
eating this Fi5kcpudding, it i, hard 10 belieV
that 1t Is really made OF fish, as after all tn
beating AMI ituHdtng and working the pud
| ding l. a. fine and smooth ., blanc mango
| Fresh cod can be used rs well as haddock
and in is season makes hy far the best pud
ling. In frying fish Norwegian cooks hav
a great way Of busting each piece with grate
cheese 10 give it piquant favor.
Another dish peculiar to all Scandinavian
Is the rodrroI or rel food in literal tranSla
tion, and thi, rel Jelly, with whipped cream
| has been a standard dessert at all countr
inns. II make it they take the juice c
either raSpbcrlics or culrants, boil it wit
sugar and thicken either with potato, sago c
curn starch Using these chickering's maxi
it cloudy instead of transparent, and unit
the potato thickening was explained rodgro
was a great Inystcry to me
Another country dish Is fiodgrod, or ron
uccrod. commonly called poor mans food
md travellers Who so far OH the beaten trac
ia the interior, and depend upon sacters an
- h,uoorcr peasant huts for accommodation
a2uic.imos G1r nothing else for weeks. Ih
,oar mans fpod heenls with pint of Il
| bikes: cream, which Is boiled i'll tin set
4.,ila. water \ little salt Is added, al
what ifour Is stirred in and made perfect
mp1fh A4it slowly hollS clear butter rlS
n drops, and that Is carefully SKINNED G
iato a cup as long as globule of 1t can
found. More -four is stirred in, and whit
=. the porridce is at its thicllest hot boiled mi
is used to thin it When thoroughly cook,
d, this porrijgc Is eaten with the butter that
skinned from the boiling cream. 1t is a We
n !l dish. and a little Of 1t Is satisfyin
Traveller, who have had any long experien
,cith fladgrol make faces at the mention
lts name although they were delighted wi
their first fcasts that consisted Of one dish.
Tho national bread of Norway is the 4
Iro. or fiat bread that is hardly thicker TIL
Q piece of paper, and is baked in large she'
about once wear and stored away in
stabburs adjacent to every farm house. 1t
brought out as needed and freshened by ben
put in the oven for few minutes, and lar
dish of fla bro is always a feature of i
fables Fla bro is made either of broy
harley flour OF oatmeal stirred up with 5;
and water, and has no particular taste
substance to it. II is one Of those things I'll
n person eats absent -mindedly and automi
icslllv. like pop corn and Tom Thumb pr
zcls.-Christiqna Cor GlObe-Demccrat