Shopping for food

We shop several times each week for a couple of reasons. We have limited storage and refrigeration AND we cook meals for up to 20 people at a sitting. So, we often fill our cart. Speaking of carts. Being uneducated Americans we thought at first that we had to rent the shopping cart. Hey, they were all chained together and required 10 kroner ($1.79) to unlock the chain. We eventually realized the kr.10 was just a deposit to make sure people leave the carts at the pickup places around the parking lot and structure.

That they do. The carts are always hooked back together for the pickup guys to bring them back into the store. You never have carts blowing across the lot or sitting in the middle of the spot where you want to park.

One of the great pleasures and great deals in Norway is the bread. If you buy three loaves at a time it costs only 13 kroner or $2.32 per loaf - but you have to buy three. (We freeze it.)

The bread is sold in fresh whole loaves racked up and waiting.

It isn't baked in pans but in the old fashioned loaves. Some is stone-baked and some is baked in regular ovens.

If you want it sliced you have to slice your own. There are a couple of slicing machines in the store. Sometimes you must stand in line while two or three other people finish slicing. Norwegians buy a lot of bread. As soon as you close the hopper the machine starts slicing.

Down comes the fresh (and still warm) loaf.

Now just to put it on the holder thingy and slip a plastic bread bag over it. Right at this point in our story a nice lady in a store uniform told us that we could not take any more pictures in the store. Opps, I didn't know that it was "ulovelig." We obeyed.

If I were the store people I would want the good word about their fabulous bread spread around the world. None the less, I will go with their wishes. This is my favorite Norwegian bread. It is Rugstump or whole grain rye so it is makes great toast. It is not flavored with caraway seeds like some ryes in the U.S. You should taste it with a little Norwegian Blueberry jam. Mmmmmm.

I have been thinking about why photography is forbidden in the market. It may be to keep an embarassing state secret. Don't tell anyone but I think Norwegians, who have traditionally been very health conscious, have been overly influenced by over-weight, out of shape Americans. They have developed a taste for soda and American style pizza. Look at those prices! -40%!!!



Eat your heart out Costco. This is the heart of the beverage section and the Coke is on sale for 40% off the regular price.

There are multiple cases filled with frozen pizza. Many flavors and brands are featured with great sale prices.

More pizza...

This, I am told, is the single top selling item in all of Norway - Grandiosa! We have yet to eat a frozen pizza here. There are many pizza restaurants all over town. They deliver too. We have had some fresh made pizza while working on a service project. It has a whole different taste than what we are used to - much milder, low garlic and less tomato (pizza) sauce - it was OK. 

Sorry, we never got to the fruits and vegetables section. They are very high quality stuff and you can buy just about anything that you can think of - except jicama.