Rømmegrøt – Norwegian Sour Cream Porridge

One of my favorite Norwegian dishes is rømmegrøt, or sour cream porridge. I have so many fond memories of eating rømmegrøt in rustic log cabins while hiking in the mountains during summer trips to Norway growing up.

Rømmegrøt is a porridge made with sour cream, milk, and a bit of flour, and then topped with cinnamon and sugar. Norwegians usually serve rømmegrøt with a glass of raspberry juice on the side, as well as sometimes cured meat and Norwegian flat bread. Porridge is one of the oldest hot dishes in Norway, and Norwegians have been making sour cream porridge for centuries.

And while you might think that a cosy bowl of warm porridge is perfect winter food, rømmegrøt is actually usually eaten in the summer, especially on special occasions and holidays like Sankthans (Jonsok, or Midsummer), Olsok, and Barsok. It’s also commonly served in mountain cabins and farms open to visitors. Ans there’s nothing more satisfying after a long hike in the mountains than a warm bowl of rømmegrøt.

So of course when I moved to Norway as an adult I was very excited to introduce all of my visitors from abroad to this delightful porridge. I love how far back through Norway’s history rømmegrøt’s roots stretch, and it’s one of the most distinctly Norwegian dishes I know. Even when I would make rømmegrøt in the US I would feel transported back to the Norwegian mountains while eating it.

But it turns out not everyone finds rømmegrøt as appetizing as I do. Maybe you have to have grown up eating it to love it, or maybe rømmegrøt is just one of those dishes that people either love or hate. Consider yourself warned. I personally love the tangy flavor of sour cream porridge, but if it’s too weird for you, you could instead try the similar but milder semulegrøt (semolina porridge).

If you do love it though, the good news is that it’s quite easy to make! The only real trick here is to make sure that you’re whisking the porridge constantly after adding the milk, so it doesn’t get any lumps. And ideally you want to find a sour cream with a very high fat content. Norwegians use seterrømme to make rømmegrøt, which has 35% fat, though I have also made it with lower fat sour cream in the past (don’t tell my grandmother).

Don’t worry too much about getting all the fat out of the porridge. I usually just spoon out as much as I want to add back to the top while serving.

Rømmegrøt is incredibly rich, so even a small bowl will likely fill you up. This is another reason why it’s such a perfect dish to enjoy at mountain cabins – after a bowl of rømmegrøt you’ll certainly have the energy to hike back home again.

I also love that each person can add the spices to their individual bowl. I always like to add extra cinnamon to mine, while others might prefer to go heavier on the sugar or butter.