Pork ribs still most popular at Christmas

Pork ribs still most popular at ChristmasPork ribs still most popular at Christmas.Photo: Gorm Kallestad

Half of us eat pork ribs for dinner on Christmas Eve, while a third choose pinnekjøtt. The Danish period is part of the explanation for the love of pork in some parts of the country.

There are in fact still large geographical differences in what we choose to eat for Christmas, according to a survey Sentio made for Nationen.
While three out of four – 75 percent – choose pinnekjøtt in Western Norway, the proportion in eastern and southern Norway is only 17 to 18 percent. In the south and east the pork ribs dominate. These differences have a deep historical track. And parts of the typical Norwegian Christmas food we have imported from the south.
– The pork ribs and rice porridge is of Danish or German origin.
If we go back even further in time, when Denmark ruled Norway, the Danish and the Danish educated officials took their custom with them to Norway, says consumer researcher Virginie Amilia by National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO).
– Raw material for pinnekjøtt originated from Norway, from sheep herding in the west Norwegian mountains. The conservation method and cooking is also based on knowledge developed locally.
It means that pinnekjøtt has a very strong cultural grounding in Western Norway.
After pork ribs (49 percent) and lamb ribs (33 percent), are turkey (4 percent) and lutefisk (3 percent) as the most popular.
Otherwise the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement that seven out of ten prefer almond to Christmas dinner.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today