Rømmegrøt {Norwegian pudding}
Rømmegrøt is a warmed Norwegian pudding that our family likes to eat with a hefty drizzle of melted butter and a good sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. It’s a longtime family tradition from my husband’s side!
Rømmegrøt is a Norwegian Family Tradition
My heritage is mostly German. Blake’s is 75% Norwegian, 25% Swedish. And ever since our first Christmas together (1999), I had been hearing about Rømmegrøt in different conversations across his family.
While Blake’s family members were saying I should try rømmegrøt, some were also telling me to give lutefisk a fair shot. Now I’m a fairly adventurous eater, but I could die quite happily never letting lutefisk cross my lips. It’s just something I don’t feel the need to accomplish in my lifetime. Ever since then, I have (unfairly) lumped these two Norwegian foods together in my mind, summing them both up as unworthy of my taste buds.
Boy, was I wrong. (At least about the rømmegrøt…I still haven’t tried lutefisk!)
Be sure to also try a couple more of our favorites, this Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Ripple and our favorite Sour Cream Banana Bread!
Sons of Norway and my First Rømmegrøt Experience
It was a cold March day, sun-less and dreary, when we visited the Sons of Norway in Fargo, North Dakota with Blake’s family.
Stepping inside, there really was no evidence that we were actually in Fargo.
The place gave a nod to its Norwegian ancestry everywhere we turned. The whimsical wood carvings of trolls, beautiful rosemåling, huge framed paintings of valiant Vikings, and oh-so-lovely wallpaper designs were the only decor in this space of dark paneled walls.
.
It was here that I ran head-on into my first experience with rømmegrøt.
And I gave in and let the kind lady hand me a bowl of this simple, warm Norwegian pudding. I was advised to pour some melted butter over the top, followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
After finishing bowl #1, I went back for bowl #2. With more butter and more cinnamon sugar the second go ’round. That stuff was wonderful!
Rømmegrøt Recipe
Then I asked one of the servers if they might be able to share their rømmegrøt recipe with me. Because, first, I wanted to make this at home because it was so delicious. And, second, I wanted to preserve a bit of Blake’s heritage, to pass this tradition on down to our own daughters.
I was immediately invited back into the kitchen, where I met Vivian.
Standing at the stove with a red apron tied around her back, Vivian was stirring the thickening milk mixture, watching the thermometer rise. She chatted me through the recipe and was happy to share it with me.
The recipe showed obvious visible signs of being well-loved, with its crinkled paper and bent corners. Several lines in the directions had been crossed out, with revisions handwritten in ink. Those are always good signs of a tried and true recipe.
So why did it take me so long to actually get around to making rømmegrøt myself? There’s an easy answer to that >>> I lost the recipe and the photos I took that day.
But, thankfully, while organizing photo files earlier this year, I found them again. I proceeded to make a duplicate copy of the photo file and placed it directly onto my computer’s desktop. I’ve been waiting almost all year to share this recipe with you!
Rømmegrøt History
This rømmegrøt recipe is a simple mixture of milk, butter, flour, sugar, and salt, the very same recipe that I enjoyed at Fargo’s Sons of Norway and basically the same recipe that I’ve found in many cookbooks and on many online sites.
But I am now (Dec. 17, 2016) updating this post due to reader feedback. “Rømme” translates to sour cream in Norwegian, meaning a true rømmegrøt recipe would have sour cream in it. This recipe does not, so it would technically be called fløtegrøt. I am not going to change the title of this post and recipe, as this is exactly how so many people know rømmegrøt, including my husband’s entire side of his very Norwegian family. All I can say is that everybody makes their own variations on recipes, in both ingredients and recipe titles, and this is one that has obviously found its own alterations along the way from Norway to America.
How to Serve Rømmegrøt
Blake’s mom (now 84 years old) shared with me that she grew up eating this warm dish two different ways:
- as a side dish, a special treat (especially during the holidays) topped with melted butter and cinnamon sugar
- as a simple meal, served plain with soda crackers for dipping, along with a glass of milk
Loree, my mother-in-law, recalls her own mom making rømmegrøt whenever there was excess cream from milking the cows. This provided an inexpensive way to put food on the table.
And when making this for her own family, Loree remembers her three sons being in favor of her switching from cream to skim milk. This resulted in rømmegrøt that was less rich…which simply meant that her sons could eat more of it.
Loree was sure to share her best advice with me, about how to most enjoy a bowl of warm rømmegrøt:
“Drizzle with melted butter and then add a good layer of cinnamon sugar. Eat the top layer of rømmegrøt, skimming off the tasty crust of cinnamon sugar with a spoon. Then repeat, and repeat, and repeat, until you see the bottom of the bowl.”
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Rømmegrøt {Norwegian pudding}
Our family likes to eat this warm, with a hefty drizzle of melted butter and a good sprinkling of cinnamon sugar!
Ingredients
- 1 qt. whole milk
- 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 c. salted butter, plus more for serving
- cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat milk to 195° F. Stir almost continuously so milk does not burn, scraping the bottom of the saucepan.
- While milk is heating, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- While milk is heating, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Turn off heat and hold until milk has reached 195° F.
- Once milk temperature has reached 195° F, stir flour mixture into melted butter to form a thick paste. Transfer to the heated milk and stir constantly until milk starts to boil. Turn heat down to low and let cook for 5 minutes more, stirring often. Remove saucepan from heat.
- Spoon into individual bowls and serve with warm melted butter and cinnamon sugar (the more, the better!).
Notes
Adapted slightly from the recipe that Vivian Wensel shared with me in the Sons of Norway kitchen in Fargo, ND.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 270Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 140mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 27gProtein: 2g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
As kids on a dairy farm, my mom made “milk mush” often (same idea), we had it on a big plate, pats of butter in the middles and then we would make butter “rivers” out to the edge and eat it by swirling the plate around with a spoon at the edge. At holidays, it was a treat when she made it with cream! I still make it, but was given a microwave recipe so I could make smaller batches and enjoy it any time. Loved seeing this recipe pop up in Pinterest.
Thank you for sharing your memories – I love this! Would you mind sharing your microwave recipe with me? I’d love to try it! If so, please send to: [email protected] with subject Rommegrot Recipe – thank you so much!! -Brenda
Hello! I was looking for a way to use up a couple cups of faintly soured milk. I mostly only use milk in tea but then hate to throw the leftovers away. I made this dish, and it is nice…but somehow not …well, it just seems too…Something. I feel like if I were freezing cold & just coming into the house from trudging through deep snow, I’d LOVE this. But as just a Use Up The Milk leftover, I feel like its missing something for me. I added sliced almonds & a little almond extract, and a sprinkling of poppy seeds in addition to the melted butter & cinnamon/sugar mix. I like it a lot more but I still feel sort of like I’m just eating a bowl of fat. I feel like I want it to have a crust and be a pie somehow. Which is Still like eating a plate of fat but somehow more ok in my head. I know, totally weird. Anyone know how I could turn this into a pie? Would I just toss this into a pie crust & bake for 20 min. on 350 or something? Thanks! I will try using the leftover ‘batter’? for pancakes tomorrow with the addition of a little bit of baking soda and baking powder but I’d like to try a pie next time.
This is Fløyelsgrøt (velvet porridge), also a norwegian dish! Rømmegrøt is made with sour cream and often served with cured meat(spekemat) and flatbread(flatbrød) especially on May 17th . Rømmegrøt and spekemat is “summer food” for me , and for most norwegians :)
My family too, has this as a treat added to the Christmas Eve meal. But only on my mother’s side if the family. They would even fry leftovers the next day as a form of “pancake”.
My Father’s side of the family however, did not consider it a treat. His mother grew up on a dairy farm and it was often a frequent breakfast option. As you mentioned in your article, it was a cheap easy offering for them in times of limited budgets. So for her, it was just “mush” and nothing to be “enjoyed and treasured”.
I love it and make it every Christmas Eve.
I’ve never heard of this. But sounds good..it’s not only the tradition but the love and memories as kids..
My father and his parents were all 100% Norwegian. The food I remember them making were: lefse, krub (sp), lutefisk, donuts, cookies, mush, swedish meatballs and much more that was considered Norwegian food.
Becky – I thought my family was the only one who calls it “krub”. It’s one of my favorite foods.
I wish my Mom was still alive so that I could ask her about this. She was 100% Norwegian but rarely made us Norwegian treats growing up, except at Christmas…Krumkaka (I have her iron), pickled herring, cookies,…sometimes she’d make lefse, but we would eat it faster than she could make it. Her Mom, my Grandmother would make us lefse when we visited (and always a batch or three to go home with us). Missing those traditions…
I’d like to know the Norwegian pronunciation of rømmegrøt. Anyone ?
Also, the pronunciation of klübb.
Thank you !
My family pronounces it “room-a- grute”. We just enjoyed it as part of our Thanksgiving dinner, here in Decorah, Iowa. Join us for Nordic Fest some summer!
Hi Catherine
I’ve given it some thought and hope this explanation will help you in knowing how to say Rømmegrøt.
Write down the name Bert.
Cross out the B and the t.
The “er “ sound is the sound you need to make in the word Rømmegrøt.
When starting the word (the “R”) place your tongue to the roof of your mouth ….tip of tongue near your top front teeth. Your tongue should vibrate a little as you say Røm and then grø
Good luck with it!
PS I was born in Norway and grew up with a surname that had an “o” in it..
Living in Australia was difficult with that name
Hi!
When I came to the United States I tried many words to find the right sound.
The Ø in Norwegian is pronounced the same way as the U in BURN
Have been making Rommegrot for my family for decades as a special Christmas Eve treat! I rarely sway from making it once a year to keep it special, even tho neither me or my husband are Norweigen! It is SOOO easy to make, but very rich and creamy. My mother-in-law, who passed in ’95 started our tradition because she was married to a Norweigen and tried to replicate many of his favorites. However, I drew the line at Lutefisk…. we think it tastes like slimy boiled fish in butter! What are YOUR Christmas food traditions???
Just wondering, is the pudding ever served cold?
Warm
We would not get grot often but when we did we usually put brown sugar on it. My mom would make it once in awhile when we had fresh milk from a local farmer.
My mother made this on the farm and called it milk pie. I begged for it as a child. But as an adult could never find anything similar. Then I found your recipe and knew it was what she made.
Since then I actually traced our ancestry and was tickled to find that we were of Norwegian and Scottish descent. This must have been handed down as a simple dessert for those who had farms with plenty of extra milk and cream.
I love this, Cindi – thanks for sharing! That’s exactly how my MIL relayed her memory of this dish when she was growing up (she’s now in her 80’s) – that this is what they would make with any extra milk and cream.
My Norwegian father made this every Christmas Eve. Used heavy cream that had soured and cooked it up with flour. Served it over steamed rice, cinnamon and sugar. It was a success if butter appeared on the edges. Some cooks would collect the melted butter in a bowl to be pored back onto each serving. It was a whole meal. When I was in Norway, the cousins made me some and used sour cream( like for baked potatoes) and it tasted perfect. I still make it esp if I’m missing my dad.
Hello, Mary. My Norwegian father did the same! Did your father also make Norwegian eggnog on New Year’s Eve?
I grew up the same way! As a kid I remember my father on Sunday morning making sure we all had a bowl of grout to stick to our ribs . I want to thank you for sharing this with me. It’s brought back so many good thoughts of my father.
My mother used to make something very similar except she would put it in a pie shell and bake it. She called it Ritzacoocoo pie. I think the name was just for us kids. We always loved it. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
So fun! I’d love to try that Ritzacoocoo pie!! :)
My children’s grandmother is German and calls this “milk mush” she always added a scoop of her bottled raspberries in with the sugar and cinnamon. Glad I came across this. Thank you
With raspberries? I love that! Thank you for sharing, Nicolette.
My family is not Norwegian, but we ate this as children growing up, for breakfast. We called it Milk Pudding and put sugar and cinnamon on it. My niece is the only one in the family who can make it right today!
Beautiful. Thank you, Cindy!
My grandma used to make this and we had it 2 ways. We had it as supper with salt and pepper and butter then as dessert with sugar and cinnamon. Loved it.
Thanks for the recipe
I am Norwegian on my dads side, but never had this until I visited Norway a few years back. It was served on 17th of May. I was shocked that “ pudding” was the whole meal, nothing else was served. My hosts had made one from scratch & one from a package and wanted me to say which I liked best – really couldn’t tell any difference.