Summer

Seasonal food and drink

Blueberries are common in Norwegian forests and mountains, and will start to ripen in the middle of summer in Southern Norway, and a bit later further north. In July and August, you will see roadside booths offering locally grown strawberries and cherries for sale.

When the summer sun is out, so will the Norwegians be. Barbequeing vegetables, fish, meat and poultry for dinner is a Norwegian summer institution, and at the first sign of summer Norwegians of legal drinking age will flock to pubs offering a pint out on the pavement or in a beer garden. This “utepils” (literally “outdoor beer”) is so ingrained that the first opportunity for it will often be mentioned in the national press. We wouldn’t like to miss the year’s first beer in the sun, would we?

A typical summer dish is freshly caught mackerel, with sour cream, fresh potatoes and cucumber salad. Another popular summer choice is cured pork or mutton, served with sour cream and flatbread.