I just spent a week in Oslo and central Norway. Shame on me, but to be honest, I didn’t expect that much in terms of cheese and wine. Well – I’ve been wonderfully „disappointed“ and the food was gorgeous (yes, I did eat whale, and it was delicious) on all levels. A lot of restaurants had very good wine lists including many German Rieslings (true, wine does come at a price with the Nordic Normans – but that’s better than no wine at all).
Can you imagine my surprise and happiness when I discovered Eva Fricke’s Rheingau Riesling at the wonderful Røros Vertshuset?! So onto cheese: the trip (which I undertook courtesy of the generosity and organisational skills of a number of Norwegian tourist agencies – thanks to everybody!) started in Oslo, and as soon as I’d checked in at the hotel I walked up the Bogstadsveien to Fromagerie, arguably the most renowned address for cheese in Oslo. It’s a cheese lovers‘ heaven (offering even more more deliciousness in the form of ham etc on top), with a brillant selection from France, the UK and Norway, all in mint condition. Obviously I just had to buy a piece of brunost, brown cheese. The one from Undredal on the Sognefjord is a completely different beast than the Tine stuff you find on every Norwegian breakfast buffet. It has a little cow’s cream added to the goats‘ whey which is boiled down unto the point of caramelizing. Perhaps that’s what makes it much richer, but also way more complex and less cloying (you can read more about it here). Its maker, French Pascale Baudonnel and her Norwegian husband, have been at the forefront of defending Norwegian cheesemakers‘ right to make cheese from unpasteurized, raw milk for a long time. Life is funny sometimes – that it should take a foreigner to fight for this in the land that for many stands as the symbol of nature and personal freedom…
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