NORWAY

GLADMAT FESTIVAL

Norway is bordered by Sweden, Finland and Russia. The long stretch of the coast of Norway over the North Atlantic is the setting for its famous fjords and glacial valleys.Since World War II, Norway has experienced rapid economic growth and is now one of the richest countries in the world.

This country offers great cultural activities based on the strength of their identity. Among these major activities is the Gladmat Festival, held every July in the town of Gladmat. Because of the greatness of this festivity, around a quarter-million people visit and attend the festival annually and it becomes the meeting point between producers and consumers of food, particularles all the Nordic countries. In this essay we want to talk about the most traditional food of the Gladmat festival in Norway.

The version of the Gladmat festival this year was held between 25th and 28th of July, and many people because it is the biggest and the most important gastronomic festival in Scandinavia. Besides being a festival which sees large numbers of diners, this is also a festival of trade and commerce in which producers and businessmen make deals to sell different products and gastronomic products that relate directly with this market. Also, this festival gathers annually to the best chefs from around the world who prepare their best dishes, some Nordic and some other exotic to expand the menú.

Norway´s food is recognized for being traditional History, geography and even the weather influence on their food too. Most of their popular gastronomic dishes are based on the preparation of a variety of fish from the country. The smoked salmon is the most internationally known and popular gastronomic dish from Norway. This preparation requires the putting of pieces of the salmon on the wood, where the smoke penetrates it, but covered so that it does not touch the resin from the wood.  There are two types of smoked salmon, the cold one, which is cured in low temperatures and the hot one, in high temperatures.

Another popular gastronomic dish from Norway is the Rakfisk, which is made from trout or sometimes chars (both types of fish), which are salted and fermented for two or three months, or even a year and then it is eaten without cooking. This is an old dish that seems to have begun in the mid-fourteenth century. It is speculated that this dish is shared throughout the Scandinavian region, the culture of hunters who must preserve meat for long.

In conclusion, Gladmat is a food festival that takes place in Stavanger Norway and where takes place the biggest display of food production and culture. In addition, it is a festival where the most important chefs gather to show the best of the cuisine from different countries. Well beyond purely Nordic cuisine in the gastronomic festival on Gladmat other more exotic dishes can also be found, like the smoked salmon and the Rakfisk.

Created by

Carlos Alberto Manrique

Daniella Acevedo

Daniella Gonzalez

Alejandro Murillo

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