Svele

Svele is a thick soft pancake, closer to a Scotch pancake than a crepe, made with a batter of flour, eggs, milk, sugar and hjortetakksalt, baker's ammonia, which gives it the characteristic light open texture, cooked on a large flat griddle and served warm, folded, with butter and sugar or with brown cheese. Its association is with the ferries: the cafeterias on the fjord and coastal crossings of western Norway have made and sold them for generations, and the smell in a ferry cafeteria is as much part of a crossing as the view. As bridges and tunnels have replaced ferries, the number of crossings where this happens has fallen, which has given the tradition a nostalgic edge.

What you actually see

• The griddle cooking - thick pancakes made in batches on a flat plate.
• The ferry cafeterias - the traditional place they are sold and eaten.
• The fillings - butter with sugar, or brown cheese folded inside.
• The open texture - the light crumb from baker's ammonia in the batter.

When to go

Year-round; western ferry crossings serve them at any time of day, and bakeries in the region sell them too. The crossings between Hardanger, Sogn and the Nordfjord are the classic settings.

Honest expectations

Fewer ferry routes remain each decade as bridges and tunnels replace them, so the traditional setting is disappearing. Quality varies, and reheated svele is much worse than fresh. It is simple food and not a destination in itself.

Nearby

Ferry crossings across Vestland, particularly in Hardanger and Sogn, are where the tradition survives.