Norwegian cod | Seafood from Norway (2024)

FAQs

Norwegian cod | Seafood from Norway? ›

Norwegian cod is in season all year round. Norwegian Atlantic cod is a white fish in the cod-family. This cod thrives in colder waters compared to the other cod-species, like the pacific cod. The world's largest cod stock lives in the waters outside the Norwegian coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

Perfect conditions for skrei

According to Berglund, the best cod in the world is the cod known as skrei – more on that below – which lives at the northern edge of the Barents Sea, almost closer to the North Pole than the northernmost tip of mainland Europe.

GOOD STOCKS, GONE STOCKS

Currently, most Atlantic cod comes from Russia, Norway and Iceland. These countries have large stocks which have been well managed. For hundreds of years until about 30 years ago, there were also big cod fisheries in the North Sea and the Grand Banks off Newfoundland and New England.

Cod - a sustainable superfood

As a wild-caught, sustainably managed fishery, Norwegian cod has a very low carbon footprint. It is super healthy too. With a fat content typically lower than three percent, it is an incredibly lean option, pretty much carbohydrate-free and packed full of healthy protein.

The Norwegian word for cod is “torsk”. It comes from Old Norwegian "tursk", which means turret (dried fish). Skrei dries on racks outdoors for months. The gentle and salty coastal air has just the right amounts of sun, rain, snow and wind, which is perfect for the fermentation process.

Skrei: the king of Norwegian cod

Some of the best fish the ocean has to offer is the Norwegian skrei.

I had heard about Norwegian salmon before going to Norway, but I did know the scale of the production. Its the world's most popular fish; sold in over 100 countries. According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, Norwegian salmon is used in 22 million meals everyday!

Most Pacific cod comes from the Bering and Barents Seas and the Gulf of Alaska and is harvested by the United States, Canada, Russia, and the Republic of Korea.

Portugal is the world's biggest consumer of cod, with 20 percent of all cod caught around the globe being eaten here, an average of 35 kilograms per person, per year!

Is Norwegian cod farmed? ›

Along the Norwegian coast there are several cod farmers with an increasing number of suppliers to the industry. Cod is a popular species and cod farming makes it available fresh throughout the year.

In Norway there are also producers of farmed cod along the coast of Norway. The Norwegian Atlantic cod has meant the existence for people along the coast of Norway for thousands of years – not just as food, but also as trading goods.

It noticed that as the size of the cod caught in the fjord south of the capital increased, so too did the amount of mercury in their bodies. The concentration has nearly doubled since records began, from around 0.15mg/kg to just less than 0.3mg/kg.

Mutton and cabbage stew, or “fårikål” in Norwegian, has repeatedly been named Norway's national dish. It even has its own festive day on the last Thursday in September. Throughout the autumn months, people all around the country arrange lamb stew parties. “The dish is perfect if you want to invite a lot of people.

The fish is dried to preserve it

The fish does not freeze into pieces, but it doesn't rot either. The fish simply dries in the sun and wind from late winter until spring. Then, it is bone dry and easy to transport but still retains its key nutrients.

Two types of cod in Norwegian waters

The stationary coastal cod and the migrating Norwegian-Arctic cod. Coastal cod lives on the seabed in shallow waters along the coast, while the Norwegian-Arctic cod – the larger part of the total Norwegian cod stock – inhabits an area in the Barents Sea until it is sexually mature.

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In flavour terms, it's widely agreed that Atlantic cod has a slightly sweet taste, with large flakes that fall apart easily when cooked. Pacific cod has a milder, more savoury flavour profile accompanied by firmer, chunkier flakes. Preference is very much down to consumers' personal tastes.