Fløtegrøt

Thanksgiving with the family is often a good opportunity to get together and make nostalgic, traditional foods. For our family, that includes such classics as potato klub, potstickers, and "party salad." This time, we decided to tackle a Norwegian favorite known as rømmegrøt. Although we had never made it before, rømmegrøt is a staple at Norwegian and Scandinavian events in the upper midwest. Or so we thought! Upon further research, I discovered a split in the recipes. Some started simply with heavy cream while others required turning the cream into sour cream overnight. As it turns out, it is only the latter that is truly rømmegrøt, and the non-sour version is actually called fløtegrøt. It appears that as the dishes made their way to North America and proficiency in the Norwegian language declined, "rømmegrøt" came to refer to both. I suspect what most people around here have called rømmegrøt is, in fact, fløtegrøt. Whatever you call it, it's delicious and surprisingly simple to make.

As always, I aggregated several recipes to make this one. The basic structure is the same, although there is some variance in the amount of flour. For this recipe, we used the full 1 cup, but the result is at the high end of thickness that I would want. My recommendation would be to cut it down to 3/4 cup and see how that goes. The most surprising thing when making this is how the butterfat almost immediately separates out once the flour is added. It's one of those things that seems like it won't work but just does. This recipe is most closely based on one from The Best of Scan Fest by Cheryl Long, although that book calls it rømmegrøt. I must also give credit to the 1950 First Lutheran cookbook (also the source for the party salad recipe) from Roseau, Minnesota. The recipe there, called "flodegrod," follows the same steps, although it lacks any measurements. Given the relative simplicity to make, I'm a little disappointed I waited this long to make it. An added bonus: "fløtegrøt" is pretty fun to say!

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 to 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• Sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter for serving

Instructions

In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over medium heat. Continue boiling for 10 minutes, stirring to prevent burning. Sift the flour into the cream a little at a time, whisking to combine. 

As butterfat starts to separate out, tilt the pan and use a spoon to remove and reserve in a dish.

Heat the milk in the microwave to 180 F. Slowly add the milk while whisking. Once combined into a smooth mixture, fold in the salt and sugar. Continue cooking over medium heat while stirring for 5-10 more minutes. 

Portion into small dishes and top with lots of melted butter (combine the reserved butterfat with some more butter), cinnamon, and sugar. Serve warm.