Rakfisk

Rakfisk is trout, usually from the mountain lakes of Valdres, gutted, salted in brine and left to ferment in a cool cellar for anything from two months to a year; the process is a preservation method from a time before refrigeration, related to Swedish surstromming but milder. The fish is never cooked. It is served in thin slices with lefse or flatbread, sour cream, red onion, potato and often aquavit, and the smell is strong enough that it divides Norwegians as much as visitors. The autumn is its season, and the Norsk Rakfiskfestival at Fagernes each November brings producers, competitions and thousands of visitors to a town of a few thousand people.

What you actually see

• The fermented trout - fish cured for months and served uncooked.
• The accompaniments - flatbread, sour cream, onion and potato.
• The Fagernes festival - a November gathering of producers and judges.
• The Valdres cellars - the cool storage where the fermentation happens.

When to go

November and December, the traditional season, with the Fagernes festival in early November the focus; rakfisk is sold year-round but is at its most seasonal in late autumn.

Honest expectations

The smell and taste are strong and genuinely divisive, and no amount of preparation makes a first encounter neutral. Fermented fish carries a small botulism risk if improperly handled, so buying from established producers matters. Portions are usually small for good reason.

Nearby

Fagernes and the Valdres valley are the heartland; Jotunheimen and Valdresflye lie north.