Scandinavian waffles

Heart-shaped Scandinavian waffles.

They are heart-shaped like in a Chris Isaak song. They are the epitome of Nordic hospitality and warmth. Waffles have a special place in the heart of Scandinavians.

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Waffles are eaten in all of the Scandinavian countries, but they have a special place in Norway. Waffles are just as important to Norwegians as the croissant is to the French. Waffles are ever-present in Norway, they are sold at cafés and made at home. Like another iconic Nordic dish, meatballs, they represent a sense of belonging. The taste of home.

You may sit under a palm tree in Palermo. Stay at a bed and breakfast in Brooklyn. Barter in a medina in the Middle East. The scent of waffles sends us home. Nowhere is this truer than in the Norwegian Church Abroad, Sjømannskirken.

Seaman waffles

The Norwegian Church Abroad was established in 1834 to serve as church for Norwegian seamen. Today 31 churches are spread around the world from Dubai to San Francisco. They are popular for Norwegian couples that want to get married abroad, but most of all they are social and spiritual havens open to all Norwegians; you can come by just to read Norwegian newspapers or have a cup of coffee and a waffle. Waffles and the Norwegian Church Abroad are tied together like a sailor’s knot. Each church abroad has their own particular waffle recipe, and during their yearly campaign “Hjertevarme” they hand out thousands of heart-shaped waffles as a symbol of generosity.

The most common way to eat the waffles in Norway is with brown cheese - or with sour cream and jam.

The most common way to eat waffles in Norway is with brown cheese or with sour cream and jam.

Volunteer waffles

Dugnad is one of the few Norwegian words that have seeped into the English language. And waffles and dugnad are intertwined. Numerous young volunteers have sold waffles to raise money for their school trips or for humanitarian causes. As in the story about Gimsøy secondary school, where the pupils during two hours managed to raise 80 000 kroner (13 500 dollars) to the Red Cross in the Philippines in the wake of typhoon Haiyan in 2013. The sum was a result of door-to-door donations and the sale of cakes and waffles.

Compared to American of Belgian waffles Scandinavian waffles are thinner and heart-shaped. They are not served as a dessert with whipped cream but rather as a meal in itself or served with afternoon coffee. They are usually sweet, not savory although there is a Norwegian counterpart to chicken and waffles, where they accompany a sausage. Scandinavian waffles are also delicious left-over food because they can be made with a wide array of milk products ranging from milk, butter milk, yoghurt, cream or sour cream. My mother always makes waffles when she has some old cream or sour cream to be used.

Waffles can also be eaten as tacos.

Singing waffles

Come on in and have some waffles, my mother would yell from the kitchen window. I would stop my work, usually painting the house or doing gardening work, rush in and wolf down hot waffles straight out of the waffle iron. One of the many adorable things about waffles, is their informal ease. You do not need clean hands, nice clothes or a chair to savour them. The best waffles should be eaten straight away and addresses only your appetite. Such waffles makes me sing.

Hospitable waffles

But do sit down with your waffles – and enjoy the taste of hospitable waffles. Waffles are commonly eaten with butter and brown cheese or a dollop of sour cream and jam. Scandinavian waffles do not require any yeast and can be whipped together in a hurry, making them easy to offer to guests. And in rural Norway, guests just come by. Where I come from in the North of Norway neighbours and friends knock on the door several times a day. One neighbour comes by to exchange the latest woman’s magazines. Another comes by just because he is a neighbour and it is a lovely day. In a culture where there is a lack of cafés, the café moves to your home. And in these homes the smell of coffee and freshly cooked waffles is the smell of hospitality.

Waffle break with cloudberries – best break there is.

Outdoor waffles

Norway is one of the most sparsely populated countries in Europe. In a population of 5,1 mill roughly 20 percent live in cities with more than 50 000 inhabitants. The rest live in rural areas or small towns with less than 25 000 inhabitants. My country is a country with plenty of space and wilderness. Even in the capital Oslo, the wilderness is just a 20-minute ride from downtown while in most other parts of Norway the forest starts where your garden ends. Dotted all over the Oslo Forest, like lighthouses, are wooden cafés. They pride themselves on whipping up the best waffles you can get in the forest.

One of my finest waffle moments was in the outdoor, after a trek. My brother cooked waffles over open fire using my mother’s old non-electric waffle iron. Eating the waffles with the view to the birch woods, the slender fjord and the snow-capped mountains looming above made these simple waffles a meal to cherish.

Scandinavian waffles are the smell of hospitality.

Scandinavian waffles is the smell of hospitality.