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Chefs recreated 200-year-old dishes: “Surprisingly good”

In Norway, women from wealthy families prepared their own meals. This was not the case in other countries in the 19th century.

The bourgeoisie always served soup as the first course for dinner. This is how they used up all their leftovers.

(Photo: Nina Kristiansen)

Nina Kristiansen journalist

Published 9 March 2025 - 00:01

65 people sit eagerly, waiting for food from the 1800s.

The occasion is the launch of a cookbook containing 200-year-old recipes. This evening, some of these dishes have been recreated by chef Heidi Bjerkan from Credo, the café at the National Library in Oslo.

First up is the soup.

“Soup was always served first. They made broth from leftovers, because all food had to be used,” says Ragnhild Hutchison.

She is a historian and the author of the cookbook På borgerskapets bord. Mat, kultur og oppskrifter 1790-1830 (At the bourgeois table. Food, culture, and recipes 1790-1830).

Duck neck broth soup, with meatballs and duck meat. Soup was always served with rusk, made from dry bread scraps.

“We have followed the old recipes but had to make some interpretations. The recipes state which spices to use but not how much,” Bjerkan tells sciencenorway.no.

Sofi Marie Lindroos (left) and Solveig Bergene are happy with the soup. “It had a lot of flavour and was quite salty. The rusks added a nice texture,” says Sofi. They did not feel like they were being served leftovers. “If so, this is leftovers at its finest. The broth is good, made from bones. And the duck meat has a dark, distinct gamey taste,” says Solveig.

“Recipes from the past are the closest we get to a time machine. We can’t experience the past, but by cooking the food they ate, we can taste it,” says Hutchinson.

In 1801, the population of Norway was around 880,000 people. There were only about 10,000 residents in the capital, Christiania. Most were poor. Only a few families belonged to the bourgeoisie.

These were families where the men were involved in trade both at home and abroad.

Hutchinson’s cookbook contains recipes from three women of the bourgeoisie. She also provides insight into the society surrounding food.

Ragnhild Hutchison is a historian and managing director of Tidvis, a company that shares information about history in various ways.

Patriotic food

Today, we talk about local food, bit back then, it was called patriotic food, according to the historian.

“Leading public debaters at the time strongly advocated for supporting Norwegian farmers and businesses by using Norwegian products,” says Hutchison.

That did not stop trade with foreign countries, nor did high tariffs on imported goods.

The market at Stortorvet (the grand plaza) in Christiania, now Oslo, in 1830.

From the mid-18th century, there was great growth in foreign trade. Exports of Norwegian timber, fish, and metals increased sharply, while prices for many foreign goods fell.

The bourgeoisie were at the centre of this trade.

“New goods were constantly arriving in Norway, and they first reached the merchants' wives, who experimented with dishes from Paris, Amsterdam, and London,” says Hutchison.

“Wealthy farmers also brought home lemons, almonds, and coffee when they visited the cities, but these foods were primarily for the rich. Most people who lived in the cities were poor and had little opportunity to buy imported goods for a long time,” she says.

The second course of the evening was halibut with cream sauce and lemon. “The recipe calls for a whole lemon slice, but that would overpower the taste of the fish, so we opted for smaller pieces,” says head chef Heidi Bjerkan.

Camilla Holm Soelseth loves halibut, including the dish she was served at the National Library. “I came straight from work, so I could have eaten more. But it's only the second course,” she says.

Focus on pure flavours

“New ingredients and dishes first became trendy among the bourgeoisie before slowly spreading across the country and becoming part of Norwegian food culture,” says Hutchison.

She compares it to the arrival of sushi in Norway.

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“You had to be quite a hipster to enjoy sushi at first, but taste is just as much in your head as it is on your tongue. Trying new things gives you social status,” she explains.

Hutchison reminds us that taste changes over time.

“Good taste in the 16th and 17th centuries meant piling on the food to show wealth. But when more people gained access to sugar and spices, this changed. By the 19th century, status came from knowing how to use new ingredients correctly,” she says.

This shift made moderation in spice use fashionable, with a greater emphasis on pure flavours.

Additionally, frugality became a valued virtue.

“There was a deep concern for farmers, and excessive consumption was discouraged as part of a moral upbringing,” says Hutchison.

The king introduced restrictions: farmers were not allowed to serve more than four courses, and both wine and coffee were forbidden for them. Those who broke the rules faced fines.

“The bourgeoisie were allowed eight-course meals with four desserts. For the nobility and the royal court, there were no restrictions,” says Hutchison.

The main course was aged, smoked duck breast and leg, served with duck sauce. “This is heavenly. It couldn’t possibly have tasted this good in the 19th century,” said dinner guest Kari Saanum.

A selection of pickled vegetables was a common side dish.

Spiced carrot pudding was served with the main course.

The vegetables were stewed or stuffed with cream and spices. Alongside cabbage stew, guests were served cauliflower mash and stewed peas.

From left: Marianne Welle, Signe Torp, Kari Saanum, and Ina Skåra all agreed that the main course was surprisingly good. “The barley was a nice alternative to potatoes. And the carrot pudding was fantastic – I hope we get the recipe,” said Saanum. Marianne Welle did not entirely agree: “It felt a bit too much like cake for a main course,” she admitted. “The pickled vegetables were good. And the creamed dishes felt familiar,” said Ina Skåra. “My mother could have made that cabbage stew. It's nice to have so many side dishes, we've probably become lazier these days,” said Signe Torp. “There's a lot of good food here, but we couldn't eat like this every day,” said Welle.

Mothers helped their daughters marry well

“Working on this cookbook made it clear to me how actively women participated in all parts of society. The women of the bourgeoisie weren’t just sitting at home twiddling their thumbs,” says Hutchison.

The Scottish journalist and travel writer Henry David Inglis visited Norway in the early 1600s. He was surprised that Norwegian women in the bourgeoisie cooked their own meals. Back home in Scotland, women from wealthy families would never work in the kitchen.

It was important for these families that their daughters married well. Their mothers taught them how to cook, shop for ingredients, and manage a household. This gave them a great advantage in the marriage market.

“It was demanding. Fruit and vegetables arrived in the summer and autumn and had to be pickled. Livestock was slaughtered in late autumn, with the meat dried and salted to last through the winter. Supplies from abroad were unreliable and could be stopped by weather, war, and pirates,” says Hutchison.

Inglis also noted that Norwegian bourgeois women lagged behind their French and English counterparts when it came to education, music, and literature. hey could not hold interesting conversations about anything other than food, he wrote.

Chicken pâté was dish number four. Game, such as wild duck or pheasant, was usually served after the main meat course.

“The pâté didn’t just live up to expectations, it was even better,” said Stein Halvorsen. “It is more of a tart or quiche than a traditional pâté. Great chicken flavour and wonderfully creamy.”

Dinner at 1 pm

In the 19th century, dinner was served at 1 pm and lasted for many hours.

At 9 pm, people ate a late supper, with a variation of the same dishes from dinner.

The women of the bourgeoisie ran the kitchen, while maids cleaned and tidied the house.

“The maids often came from small farms and homesteads, where the food was completely different from what was served in bourgeois homes. They were not familiar with the dishes, ingredients, or the kitchen equipment,” says Hutchison.

Housewives also feared that their servants might steal from them.

For dessert, guests enjoyed boiled pears, prune compote, whipped cream, and brown macaroons.