Reindeer Meat

Many of Norway's indigenous Sami people still herd reindeer, and reindeer (reinsdyr) meat is a must-try for anybody visiting northern Norway. It is normally eaten with mashed potatoes and cranberry or lingonberry sauce, but you can also buy it dry or made as kebabs and sausages on special occasions like Sami People's Day (February 6) or during Troms' street food festival, SMAK (third week of September).

If you want to indulge, go to Emmas Drmmekjkken or Vertshuset Skarven in Troms, where you may dine with a view of the fjord.

With a fat content of only two per cent, reindeer meat is very lean. Beef typically has a fat content of nine percent, with lamb as high as 17 percent. Reindeer meat also has more than twice as much vitamin B12 than, say, veal or lamb. Vitamin B12 is essential to the human diet to prevent anemia, among other things. So you definitely have to try this reindeer meat when you visit Norway.