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How to pack a Norwegian sandwich, the world’s most boring lunch

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Re: How to pack a Norwegian sandwich, the world’s most boring lunch

#11

Post by colanderman »

mogadsheu wrote: post #6

Former Norway resident here, 3yrs. Their lunch traditions are definitely basic, as they were not a wealthy country for hundreds of years before striking oil in the 60s. The point to remember is that while the fare is basic, the quality is typically very good. Their cheese is extra creamy and nutritious, as is the bread. The same goes for the milk. Many Europeans won’t drink the milk here in the States because the qua…

I like bread, and have visited many countries. The loaf I remember most is from Norway. Crusty outside, chewy inside, overall delicious.

Re: How to pack a Norwegian sandwich, the world’s most boring lunch

#14

Post by kristofferR »

I feel like this article somewhat undersells brødskriver. They can be delicious.

Most important is good bread, which is super common here, despite it being totally unavailable in most other countries. All ordinary grocery stores get freshly baked bread every day, whole in paper bags of course.

For example - with a thick slice of butter, then some oven-baked liver paste and two slices of gherkin on top and boom - you have something delicious in a single minute.

Re: How to pack a Norwegian sandwich, the world’s most boring lunch

#16

Post by opdahl »

I'm a Norwegian, and where I work I have the option of eating a big warm lunch, but I very rarely do. I've noticed that eating a big lunch makes the following hour extremely unproductive, so for the last year I have made a matpakke with 3 slices of bread. Normal _pålegg_ is liver paste, cheese or peanut butter. I can easily go through my lunch in just few minutes, and even while working at the same time.

My thought process is that I'd rather be more productive during working hours and go home early, than waste 2 hours in the middle of the day on a heavy calorie lunch.

Re: How to pack a Norwegian sandwich, the world’s most boring lunch

#17

Post by hnaccy »

diehunde wrote: post #2

In Chile, eating this kind of sandwich is also very common. Not so much for lunch but for dinner. Sometimes even just bread and butter. I feel in the US people are obsessed with eating "nice and flavorful" stuff instead of eating something because you actually need to eat.

>I feel in the US people are obsessed with eating "nice and flavorful" stuff instead of eating something because you actually need to eat.

It can be both...

Re: How to pack a Norwegian sandwich, the world’s most boring lunch

#18

Post by signal11 »

mstade wrote: post #5
cerberusss wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just like Dutch lunch. Indeed, I'm not sure what's special about it. Definitely not limited to Norway. My previous girlfriend was also Dutch and used to this kind of lunch. Her employer sent her to London for a month, and she got used to expensive lunches. Spending a couple of pounds everyday on lunch, hoo boy, that adds up.

My experience living in London was that most of my colleagues were perfectly content picking up a sandwich from the nearest EAT or Waitrose or whatever. Every day a tired, boring sandwich for lunch. I just couldn't understand it. Some stores were just aisle after aisle of sandwiches, I'd never seen anything like it.

There was some previous discussion about sandwiches on HN (!): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20895267

A lot of people clearly like eating their lunch at their desk. I suspect it’s a cultural thing — while I enjoy the occasional meal away, most of the time I like eating at my desk.

Re: How to pack a Norwegian sandwich, the world’s most boring lunch

#19

Post by peterwwillis »

mogadsheu wrote: post #6

Former Norway resident here, 3yrs. Their lunch traditions are definitely basic, as they were not a wealthy country for hundreds of years before striking oil in the 60s. The point to remember is that while the fare is basic, the quality is typically very good. Their cheese is extra creamy and nutritious, as is the bread. The same goes for the milk. Many Europeans won’t drink the milk here in the States because the qua…

The milk quality in the US is fine, it's just different. Each carton has been pasteurized differently, then homogenized, fortified, and contains milk from thousands of cows. There are lots of other differences that affect flavor, mouthfeel, aroma. We may also use different cows, environment, etc.

Re: How to pack a Norwegian sandwich, the world’s most boring lunch

#20

Post by jvagner »

zabzonk wrote: post #9
cerberusss wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just like Dutch lunch. Indeed, I'm not sure what's special about it. Definitely not limited to Norway. My previous girlfriend was also Dutch and used to this kind of lunch. Her employer sent her to London for a month, and she got used to expensive lunches. Spending a couple of pounds everyday on lunch, hoo boy, that adds up.

I worked in the Netherlands on and off for several years, and the thing I never got used to was how appalling the lunches were. I did a presentation at KLM corporate headquarters, and at lunch asked the people I was presenting to - "How do you put up with this, day after day?" They all looked glum, and said "There is no alternative". And don't get me started on what passes as Chinese food in the Netherlands.

I lived in suburban Amsterdam and the food truck that came at lunch specialized in those puffy-bread and single slice meat/cheese sandwiches. I usually bought two and combined the ingredients and tossed the second bread.

Might've been more palatable with better bread, but these were typical bad lunch sandwich bread buns.

That said, I can live on PB&J, especially with fresh PB and a good bit of toast.

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