Gravlaks

Gravlaks is salmon fillet buried, which is what the name means, in a mixture of coarse salt, sugar and chopped dill, weighted and left in a cold place for two or three days while the cure draws out water and firms the flesh; sometimes aquavit or white pepper is added. It is served raw in thin slices with hovmestersaus, a sweet mustard and dill sauce, on bread or with potatoes. The name records the original method: medieval Nordic fishermen buried lightly salted salmon in sand above the tideline, where it fermented slowly, closer to today's fermented fish than to the mild cure now used. It appears on cold tables at Christmas, Easter and 17 May and in every supermarket year-round.

What you actually see

• The dill cure - salmon packed in salt, sugar and dill for several days.
• The mustard sauce - hovmestersaus, sweet and dill-flecked, served alongside.
• The thin slicing - raw cured fish cut fine across the fillet.
• The cold table - its place on festive spreads through the year.

When to go

Year-round in shops and restaurants; Christmas, Easter and 17 May are when it appears on festive tables. Supermarket versions are widely available and vary in quality.

Honest expectations

It is raw fish, with the usual caveats for vulnerable eaters. Mass-produced versions are often over-sweetened and soft compared with a proper home cure. Most Norwegian salmon is farmed, a point of some debate about environmental impact.

Nearby

Sold nationwide; the Namsen and other salmon rivers supply the wild fishery, though most gravlaks is farmed.