🥣 Rømme

Rømme is Norwegian sour cream, that is, fermented cream: at dairies the cream is inoculated with lactic acid bacteria. Norway's 2015 regulation on the quality of milk and dairy products reserves the name “rømme” for dairy products only, and the fat content is stated in the name, for example “35 % fett”.

The richest is seterrømme, with 35% fat; it is considered similar to the sour cream of the summer mountain farms, the seter. Lighter types are lettrømme with 18% and 10% fat. According to Norway's official food composition table Matvaretabellen, 100 g of seterrømme contains 335 kcal, 35 g of fat (22.2 g of it saturated), 2 g of protein, 2.9 g of carbohydrates and 80 mg of calcium; 18% lettrømme has 189 kcal, and 10% lettrømme 118 kcal and 119 mg of calcium.

On the old peasant farm, rømme was skimmed from milk that had stood and soured, and it was offered to the most honoured guests. It is used to make rømmegrøt, a porridge of rømme, wheat flour and milk: the rømme is boiled with part of the flour until fat begins to separate, and the fat is collected and served hot on the side. The porridge is eaten with sugar and cinnamon, alongside cured meat and thin flatbrød; it is made for weddings, births, funerals, haymaking and Midsummer (St John's Day).

Rømme or sour cream? Rømme is Norwegian sour cream, so the idea is the same as for other cultured creams: cream soured by lactic acid bacteria. What sets it apart is the Norwegian rule that only dairy products may carry the name and that the fat percentage is stated in it, as in “35 % fett”. Seterrømme with 35% fat is the rich one, lettrømme with 18% or 10% the light one. Crème fraîche and Greek yoghurt are different products, and only seterrømme gives the fat for rømmegrøt.

On the pack look for the word “rømme” with the fat content in the name: “seterrømme 35 % fett”, “lettrømme 18 %” or “lettrømme 10 %”. Under Norwegian rules the name is reserved for dairy products. For rømmegrøt buy only the 35% type. You will find rømme in Norwegian shops and in the Nordic corner of larger supermarkets or delicatessens; read the fat figure, because it also tells you the calories.

Why it matters to you. For rømmegrøt use only 35% seterrømme: lettrømme is pasteurised and homogenised, and the fat will not separate from it. In other dishes rømme goes with both savoury and sweet food, and into warm and cold sauces. The fat content on the label also tells you the calories: a tablespoon of seterrømme (18 g) gives about 60 kcal.