A Journey trough local food history

 

–The stars have to align if you are going to achieve anything at 600 metres above sea level – says local food guide, Hanne Rimala Herfjord. Nevertheless, Røros has become the nation’s local food capital.

For several summers, Hanne has guided visitors in their search for authentic local food traditions and new culinary experiences.

– It’s been fun! Groups vary in size from 15 to over 30, and it is really interesting. People find it so exciting, and it often turns out to be as much a journey into their own food culture as ours when they discover parallels and similarities to the food traditions here – enthuses Hanne, who has a background as a museum guide and teacher of cookery and nutrition.

 

 

EXCLUSIVE

Local food guide, Hanne Rimala Herfjord, describes tjukkmjølk (literally ‘thick milk’) as Røros’s answer to Champagne. Tjukkmjølk is now a geographically protected food name, along with the likes of Parma ham, Feta cheese and the famous French bubbles.

 

FARMING ON THE SIDE

During the winter half year, local food safaris only take place if specially requested, but for the rest of the year there are regular tours. During the Christmas market, tours run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

-Røros has its own specific history, but has also been greatly influenced by the Sami people’s heritage and food traditions. The town’s structure and what lies behind the facades contributed significantly to what the population ate in the past. Everyone, rich and poor alike, ran a farm besides working for the mining company – tells Hanne.

Visitors in the 1700s observed that farmers ate exclusively corn and dairy products, and little or no meat.

 

GEOGRAPHICALLY PROTECTED FOOD NAMES

–The staple diet consisted of rye, barley, oats, tjukkmjølk and skjørost (a kind of dry cottage cheese, made from skimmed milk). Skjørost was first mentioned in 1646 and has, along with tjukkmjølk, become a geographically protected name product, like champagne and cognac. During the tour we will taste tjukkmjølk and, even though it is unfamiliar, some may even like it enough to buy some themselves.

A tjukkmjølk tankard would have been part of the essential equipment carried by a miner – in addition to dried herring, salted meat and corn. Hanne also talks enthusiastically about the thirty or so producers of local food, collectively known as Rørosmat, who both make traditional food and develop new variants on the theme.

 

HARD TIMES

Today’s local food safari guests can see what it would have been like to live in the town’s little wooden houses in days gone by.

–Growing conditions on the moor were harsh and those who did not take full advantage of the summer mountain pasture almost up to Christmas, had problems in the ensuing winter.

Animal feed was hard to come by in the town, and scarcity was rife. At Doktortjønna, just outside the town centre, traces of pollen from barley and rye have been found but, with the advent of the Little Ice Age at the end of the 17th century cultivation of corn became almost impossible. Growing conditions in the early 18th century could be fantastic one year and disastrous the next. The wealthy grew corn to feed to their animals, well knowing that it would not have time to ripen for their own use.

 

UPHOLDING TRADITION

The town’s rich folk, on the other hand, enjoyed a much broader diet; Doctor Møller’s extravagant New Year’s ball in the mid 1800s apparently left nothing to be desired.

The late 1990s saw an emerging awareness around the importance of protecting the local food heritage. Central in this role was Brekken Women and Family Association’s ‘Old Food’ evenings in Brekken, north of Røros.

–Worried that old traditions were in danger of dying out, they began to make surpølse (literally ‘sour’ sausage), røroskål (a dish of mixed meats and root vegetables), and trout served together with soured cream porridge. Methods of slaughtering in the region ensured that the whole animal was used.

Today, we can thank the efforts of Rørosmat (Association of local growers and producers) for putting Røros firmly on the food map of the country. They have been very good at supporting one another – explains our guide.

 

A TREAT FOR THE TASTE BUDS

Guests on the local food safari can look forward to a real taste of Røros, using the very best of local ingredients.

Food and local ingredients are central to our understanding of local history – not least, what it took to run a farm in these parts and provide sustenance for the town’s population – says Hanne, and reveals that her personal favorite meal causes some guests to wrinkle their noses.

–It doesn’t get much better than trout and soured cream porridge – together! I eat it far too seldom! The porridge is slightly sweet beside the salty fish, a bit like a white sauce. I suggested to the family that we might have it for Christmas dinner, but I was outvoted -laughs Hanne.

At the Christmas market we talk about Christmas food traditions too, as these often include food not often eaten the rest of the year. Johan Falkberget wrote in 1946 that “Christmas food was – and still is- lutefisk (stockfish treated in lye) and rice soup.”

The taste of Røros is so rich and varied!

 

Book this experience in summertime.