Grocery shopping in Norway. Shop along to check out the lack of options! Vlog#9

[@vrenak]

Rema and other small discounter supermarkets literally function by having just the essentials, and then rotating extras in and out, you can't really compare it to big hypermarkets like Walmart for instance, that's like comparing a hot dog stand with a full on restaurant. Obs and Mega are better comparisons to the big box hypermarket.

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

Calling Rema and other discounter supermarkets "small", is quite ridiculous. Even the Rema I usually go to (at Fauske, wich is a small town), is quite large and have a good selection of most products, and almost only "rotate extras in and out" for seasonal products, like stores do all over the world. And comparing these chains with Obs is ridiculous, since Obs sells LOTS of other stuff in addition to groceries, while Rema and the other chains do not.

[@vrenak]

@@johnnymartinjohansen I'm guessing you haven't been to US stores?

[@Carlium]

@@johnnymartinjohansen Dere Fauskinger altså :P Du kan ikkje sammenligne Rema med større butikker som Eurospar eller deler av COOP-kjeden. Walmart og Target er gigantiske i forhold, det som ville være én norsk variant av dem er COOP obs, COOP Mega eller Eurospar.

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

@@Carlium Han dusten jeg svarte, påstod at Rema etc bare har "det essensielle", og det var det jeg protesterte på. Vi har også de såkalte storbutikkene her i regionen, bl.a. i Bodø som er kort vei unna, og jeg har derfor vært MANGE ganger innom dem. For eksempel trenger jeg ikke 50 typer hermetikk fra Obs, jeg klarer meg med 40 på Rema, og det er LANGT MER enn bare "det essensielle". Rema, Xtra, etc har MER ENN NOK utvalg for mine behov, og skulle det likevel ikke være nok, har vi plenty med andre alternativer. Og å sammenligne Mega med Walmart? Seriøst? Vi har Mega på Fauske - både den og andre Mega-butikker jeg har vært på her i nord, er MYE MINDRE enn typiske Rema-butikker, samt 10-15% dyrere. Den ENESTE fordelen de har, er ferskvaredisken, men det har også Xtra, som vi også har på Fauske, til bedre priser.

[@Carlium]

@@johnnymartinjohansen lol, ro deg ned, ok, så e Mega-er mindre her oppe i nord (kommer fra Sørlandet, men flyttet opp til Bodø), den nye mega-en i Arendal e relativt stor. Ingen grunn til og hisse deg opp for noe så ubetydelig :) Det finnes mange landhandler som har stor variasjon i det de selger til å være så små som de e. Coop Obs Sørlandsparken e vel den som kan minnes mest om Walmart etter egen erfaring.

[@zemekiel]

You went to a store that have a concept of few options, but lower prices. You would find more options in Meny, Coop Mega and similar.

[@carla.n.5078]

If you want more options I suggest visit a MENY store if you can. Stores like MENY, COOP MEGA stores tend to have more premium selections and also have a employees working behind a butcher counter or fresh produce counter. Also, frozen pizza like Grandiosa is a staple food in Norway, same as Peanut and Jelly is for Americans, or cheese toast whatnot. So I'd be careful complaining about the selection of frozen pizza in the open, that and Taco... taco Friday is pretty much close to being a religion here.

[@heatherabroad]

Oh we go through some frozen pizza at our house. Don’t even want to admit how many we eat! 🫣 and I too love tacos! So I am thriving in Norway 😂

[@kilipaki87oritahiti]

Oh please. Many Norwegians hate Grandis. Carboard and air. It’s just that we grew up with it, and brainwashed to think it’s any good. Dr. Oetker is much better and the closest you get to proper Italian pizza, but frozen. Yet none beats home made like mothers do.

[@kilipaki87oritahiti]

@@heatherabroad Don’t worry. No one would care nor say anything if you openly talk shit about Grandis or Tacos🤣🤣🤣

[@stevenjohnson7086]

@@kilipaki87oritahiti Absolutely! Frozen pizza is disgusting. Have no idea why people waste money on that. Make it yourself... its so EASY!

[@Aliquis.frigus]

​@@kilipaki87oritahitiDr. Oetker? I prefer Dr. Dre

[@Gazer75]

Less options means less waste. Have to keep in mind there are only about 5.4 million people here in Norway, and I'm pretty sure half of them live within a 90 minute drive from Oslo. Stavanger and Sandnes area have around 200k people or so.

[@TullaRask]

It's also a space thing. We don't have those massively big stores here as in US, and people don't have to drive everywhere.

[@K000H]

Exactly! The amount of food we throw out every single day is sad. I threw out 3 bags(søppelsekker) of bread yesterday. And yet people say they want more.

[@Gazer75]

@@K000H At a grocery store? That's due to some silly regulation I believe. 20+ years ago they used to put leftover bread in the freezer over night and sold them for half the price the next morning. Hotels and shops would also throw food in big buckets that the pig farmers would pick up, but the requirement to document what the pigs eat makes this impossible now.

[@K000H]

@@Gazer75 Yeah they used to, but not anymore. And we do get people who pick up bread and vegetables at times for their pigs or other farm animals. It still definitely happen, though not nearly enough to make a big difference in the amount that is just thrown out.

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

The absolutely only way to keep the prices low and food safety high is by overproduction. Don't allow yourself to get deceived into a green fantasy that can only end in hell. The price of electricity experienced in Norway lately should be a huge warning of how dumb your suggestion is. There's no problem in wasting half the food that is produced. It goes right back into the circle of carbon. Having a goal of zero waste is basically a death cult. Just a small interruption in the market flow means half the population can't eat for a week. Such a society we can't have.

[@iskrystall1766]

REMA-1000 litterally stands for RE=Reitan(surname of owner) MA=Mat(food) 1000 = number of brands/items. It was the idea from the start for this low-price chain that limiting the number of brands or items was a way to make thing cheap, make large deals with suppliers, save space in store and also give customers the impression that this is a great deal(marketing). As you can see they have more than 1000 brands these days, but the priciple still is there to not offer too large selection(for the reasons mentioned above). So one should not expect this store chain(or it's direct competitors based on the same ides) to have a large selection(!) ...and even make it a general observation on all grocery shopping in Norway. based on this..

[@Henoik]

"Det enkle er ofte det beste" (Rema 1000's slogan and a known idiom) can roughly be translated to the English "Less is more".

[@heatherabroad]

Yes!

[@abcabcboy]

That is a very clean, and tidy Rema. Far from all Remas look this good. If you want a wider selection, check out Helgø Meny, or Coop Mega Madla, which is close by.

[@heatherabroad]

I still haven’t gone in Helgø Meny but I have made it most all the other grocery stores. Someone was just telling me that they prefer Meny so I plan to visit it soon.

[@oneandzero6251]

And if somebody wondered, the "leverpostei" or "liverpaste" is really made of the livers of children. You choose which childs liver you want by looking at the face on the top

[@heatherabroad]

🤣😳🤣

[@olehezus]

Every norwegian here is like. Actually, you should go to another grocery store with more options. But you're totally right. None of the norwegian grocery stores have a large selection. It's because almost all norwegian grocery stores are owned by just a handful of billionaires, and they're content with providing a mediocre service at a high price. I would estimate that 1/3 Norwegians regularly travel to Sweden or Finland to shop groceries. So it's obvious that there's a need not being fourfold. If that's not an option where you live, then most cities have at least one "Innvandrersjappe" (immigrantstore), which is usually run by an immigrant who is missing stuff from home. Thanks for sharing your full experience and not just the great parts. I really enjoy your videos.

[@arcticblue248]

Also, have not got to where you have a taste-test ... but if you have not done that yet, let me come with some tips ... hehe Kaviar (yes .. fisheggs hehe), it taste well on hardboiled eggs ... (what ... eggs on eggs ? 😛) Brown cheeze if you test that, is good on Knekkebrød, but also on Kneip (regular white bread) or in waffles. Makrell ... well to be honest I don't eat that stuff hehe, but I suppose its good on regular white bread... but one thing I do like is the liverpostei on white bread ... with slice of white cheeze on top of it, like Norwegia cheeze or something ... its great !!! (but maybe its just me 😛) Also .. don't know how or if people in the south eat that, but up north its old tradition to slice like a fishcake on top of like white bread as a topping ... and on top of that you can use Majones and those go well together ... so you just slice one fishcake and have it on top of the breadslice ... and some majonese on top of it... delicious...

[@Aliquis.frigus]

Would be interesting to see a similar trip to the wine shop.

[@heatherabroad]

Okay! I’ll work on it!

[@carissaeastham3457]

My kids were quite taken by the prices....$39 for bananas! I had to explain currencies to them. Love the videos. And we all got passport photos yesterday....so maybe next year a visit? :)

[@heatherabroad]

Yes my boys are still taking it all in. 299 for a toy?! 😆 and yes the B&B will be open this June to just let us know!!

[@sailingviking7885]

$39 for bananas??? As a Norwegian, who previously has lived in the US for 12 years, I know it can be expensive here for foreigners, but honestly! It must have been NOK39,- (about $4,-)

[@lpdude2005]

That's the price of a basket of imported strawberries from Belgium NOK 39 ( $4). Bananas normally cost from $ 1.5-2.5 per.

[@Muchoyo]

@@sailingviking7885 Even NOK 39 a kilo sounds very exaggerated. More likely half of that, if not lower.

[@siv-nataliekravikamundsen3939]

Go to a store called Obs, it has often more options + it's an (nearly) everything you need in your home kind of store: basic clothes, shoes, some multimedia, kitchen supplies, toys bike and skiies etc etc some has paint and planks apartment next to it too

[@heatherabroad]

Yes we like Obs as well. I tend to go there for bigger shopping trips. 😊

[@arcticblue248]

I'm a northerner ... living and from Finnmark (that top Norway county), anyway so we are quite picky when it comes to fish, I'm from a fishervillage after all... best fish you get fresh, we have a fishstore here that makes great fishcakes and they are so much better than the more commercial stuff you buy from stores ... this same store also makes Whalecakes (whalemeat mixed with some regular meat and made to be like a meatcake)... also sells ofcourse whalemeat for those who want that, they make regular meatcakes ofcourse ... and lots of other fish-stuff... So if you really really want to do taste-test .. I suggest you find a store that specialize in Fish for example .. its more expensive but you get fresher and better raw materials. Also .. as always, yes ... price are higher in Norway but also salaries are higher .... but living in Cities are more expensive than living outside of cities... when it comes to rent and electricity and stuff... food might be more expensive outside of cities.

[@heatherabroad]

Yes! After living in Alaska catching and eating fresh salmon, halibut and rock fish it is hard for me to buy fish at the store.

[@alaskanbassethound]

I’m looking forward to the taste test video. Mackerel paste?!

[@heatherabroad]

Yes! 😳

[@Nevaeh_Elise]

Like this video 👍🏽☺️ keep it up

[@heatherabroad]

Thank you! Will do!

[@olejoergenmalm16]

This is a chain that mostly sells its own brands.

[@Tomhuzz]

There is a shop called "Normal" they have a better wider selection of peanutbutter and other spreads :)

[@heatherabroad]

I have recently discovered that shop!

[@Lassisvulgaris]

There's also Helgø Meny, with a larger selection of everything. Pricy, but worth it....

[@toringepedersen9614]

Heather, I might be mistaken, but I think what you called stinky cheese is skinke ost, which is ham and cheese.

[@heatherabroad]

Yes you are correct! I have since learned. 😆

[@777R25]

Pas mal la vidéo 📹 👍👍👍👏👏👏👏🌍🌍🌍🌍🌍🌍

[@gracekimkellogg3120]

Such a fun video, thank you! Would you be able to post something about farmer's markets, vegetarian options, and/or international grocery stores?

[@heatherabroad]

Maybe! I will se what I can work on. Thank you for watching! 😊

[@michaellockhart6632]

I would do well with the Skippy creamy and from what I thought I spotted in the bread section, home pride whole wheat.

[@heatherabroad]

You would survive! 😆

[@SouthHill_]

Skinke means ham, so the "Skinke Ost" is ham and cheese... Cream? Not quite stinky cheese, but I can see how you interpreted it as that, ha ha.

[@kilipaki87oritahiti]

Why we have different grocery store brands/chains, and often lumped together in one area. Like my hometown had 4. The variety and selection depends heavily on location as well as the size of the store. You will have to go to the mega store ones. I grew up in the suburbs and now live in Oslo. They may have better selection in the big city, but the quality of fresh produce tends to be better outside, but again timing is key. It’s ideal to get it on the days they get new stock, so the earlier the better. And also having foreign stores run by Asians and Middle Easterners they tend to offer cheaper prices, and often better selection, but again varies. It’s all about knowing your options. Of course to an American this may seem odd or very bad compared to what they are used to, but you need to remember, we have heavier and stricter regulations on not only guns, but also when it comes to ingredients in products put in and on tour body as well as food. So many things that are legal over seas is banned here or would never fly. This goes for so many things in general, not just food. So even though the selection is worse, at least it’s not harmful to you. There are of course also farmer markets etc, but more pricey.

[@heatherabroad]

I do like that the food here can be more trusted to have better or while ingredients. I absolutely love the bread and now don’t care for the taste of standard US bread. It has all been an adjustment but we have found what we like and where we like to get it. Here in Stavanger there is also a great international store that carries the random things we like that the typical stores do not have, like fresh okra. Thanks for watching!

[@stevenjohnson7086]

@Gille87 I saw endless harmful food in this video. Soda, candy, chips, highly processed cereals, frozen pizzas, processed chicken nuggets, and more. Endless plastics probably loaded with BPA plastics manufactured in unknown places. Looks like the typical bad American diet to me.

[@stevenjohnson7086]

@@heatherabroad You saw a large "white boy" taco ingredient section thanks to Taco Friday. I really enjoy your videos! Not all hyped up and an honest look into daily considerations.

[@heatherabroad]

@@stevenjohnson7086 thanks for watching! About the processed food and pizzas, my husband and I joke that even the bad foods here must be better made than the US food because of the overall composition of most individuals here (if you get what I mean)! But I think it is mostly just the fact that the majority of Norwegians are more active and it balances out the bad food and ice cream. But I was happy about the “white boy” race section, as you called it! 🤣🤣 And I was surprised how big plastic is here considering a lot of places in the US have banned plastic bags for carrying out your groceries. I expected everyone to have reusable bags here.

[@stevenjohnson7086]

@@heatherabroad Haha! Well… being raised in Southern California and now living in the San Joaquin Valley, I’m not impressed with any store-bought, leading brand taco stuff :) But I’m not trying to be mean! 😅 Yes, the massive use of plastics surprised me, too. Norway seems to pride itself with idealism and leading edge thinking, but like all societies there are glaring contradictions. Massive wealth from massive oil sales while the electric car, electric ship and wind farms are promoted, etc. I have also watched an NRK special concerning the detection of growing obesity issues in Norway, and I can’t ignore the seemingly plausible connection with a growing increase of modern bad food consumption and obesity.

[@hansolav5924]

I suspect the lower prices in the US is(more or less) because of the savings managers do through paying their workers less...

[@heatherabroad]

Maybe… but also there is a lot more bulk buying which tends to bring the prices down as well.

[@hansolav5924]

@@heatherabroad one of few benefits of a larger population, I guess. :)

[@dagduesund5175]

A little FYI about the Cokes and the large section. From my understanding Norwegians per capita are the largest consumers of cola and we are up there for coffee too.

[@heatherabroad]

Well I help with the coffee numbers!

[@TullaRask]

Norwegians try to keep a good healthy diet, that might be the reason why peanutbutter is out. Also you don't really need that many options. Try to make dinner at home from scratch, it's cheaper and very good for you.

[@heatherabroad]

Yes of course! Making meals at home is always the better option!

[@HrRezpatex]

I think it is worth mention that the less people there is, the more lack of options there will be. It only live around 5 million people in Norway after all. If you for example live in a small village with 100 people, you can not have the same options as in London with 10 million people. If you had, 90% of the things would go out on date before it was sold. For the same reason it is less options in Alaska then it is in New York. But even if this is a fact, i really miss bigger options here pretty often, but i understand why we can not have the same options as in London or Paris.

[@heatherabroad]

Yes of course! Just comes with living in a less populated area.

[@hakonkarlsen9571]

I noticed you said stinky cheese, the one right next to the bacon cheese. It's not stinky, but "skinke". Skinke means ham. So, ham cheese.

[@stevenjohnson7086]

Yep... en skinke

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

There are three major reasons why Norway has limited options. Compared to Sweden 2/5, Germany 1/4, USA 1/5 (a recent study was done on the subject) 1) Strong protection of farmers. 2) Norwegian taste is homogeneous. 3) After the breakup of the grocery monopoly in the seventies cheap chains became extremely popular and it was all about price. The chain you just visited was one of the important ones to break up the monopoly and even their name reflects the selection. The ten first years they had only 1000 different items. This has grown to 2000 today. Other cheap chains are, Kiwi (Rema's toughest competitor), Coop Extra/Coop Prix, (the former monopoly), Europris, and Spar. There are also the more expensive supermarkets with twice the selection like Meny (same owner as Kiwi), Coop Mega and if you lived in Oslo: Jacobs. The newspaper VG holds you updated on prices in a competition they call "matbørsen". Rema wins year in and year out. Rema is not a regular chain, but a franchise with local owners. Stay away from Matkroken, Joker and Bunnpris. They are convenient stores only for expensive Sunday shopping when you have forgotten something. Meant for people unable to plan two days ahead. Remember to get a membership (online) and get better deals and bonuses. You're basically paid by allowing them to send you SMS ads. Btw, have you heard about homemade peanut butter?

[@heatherabroad]

Thank you for that information! I’m learning so much. Also,I have never tried to make peanut butter! I will look into the process.

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

@@Aiziee It's all true what I'm saying. For instance, free merchants had to buy milk from the monopolist (Samvirkelaget, later COOP) and the price forced them to sell it at a loss because milk was a very important item to most families indoctrinated into a belief milk is important. Most goods from farmers favored the monopolist. In practical life, there was no competition. I don't know what motivates this clown to undermine the facts, but I've got a pretty good imagination. Still, farmers are monopolists for most agriculture products, but no longer at the retail level. It shows itself by extreme custom barriers. For instance, cheese from France can be taxed at as much as 500%. Farmers ain't even able to produce half as much goods as they receive by handouts from the Gov't. They would in fact earn money by laying on their backs and ordering everything from Poland. It's all a crooked system through and through. Norwegians suffer from this economically and by the poor, third-world-like selection. You will get aware of how bad it is just by a trip to Sweden - not to speak of the rest of Europe.

[@Aiziee]

@Heather Abroad That is not all true what he says. Before 1980 - around when the trade chains started to emerge, there was no monopoly as he states. At that time there were over all Norway many privately owned retail stores, each mostly with only one store in each town or municipality. Some of these were member of an association called 'K-kjøpmannen' which in turn were supplied by the wholesale 'Køff Nord AS'. There may most likely also have been other more regional associations that I'm not aware of. Apart from that, there were some storekeepers running 2-3 stores, like for instance in Oslo 'Jens Evensen', which later became 'Meny'. This page shows how things looked like around Norway at that time: www.adressa.no/tjenester/bildeserier/2005/04/16/45-n%C3%A6rbutikker-i-Midt-Norge-1311811.ece Rimi/Ica - as seen in the pictures, was one of the trade chains that appeared during the 1980'ies though (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimi_(Norway) ) In addition to all the single retail stores and K-kjøpmannen, there were 'Norges Koopeative Landslag' (NKL) which had stores all over Norway. Their stores had names like 'Samvirkelaget' (Translation: 'The Co-operative group')/'S-Laget'/'S-Nærkjøp'/S-...whatever. People just called them 'Samvirkelaget' or 'Koopen'. NKL was from the beginning in 1860 owned by Co-operatives spread over the whole country. Formally the Co-operatives are owned by their member customers. At the end of each year the member customers may get back like 100 to 2000 kr - depending of how much they have spent in the stores during the year. But it is not such that Coop directors and regional heads go hungry to bed. Greedy people do also live in this country: Wages in the 5-15 million range and insane retirement packages that will sum up to 80 millions if they retire at 62 for instance, is not uncommon. Co-operatives were common in many countries a 100 years ago, and is an adoption from England. Grocery Co-operatives are not much common in Europe any more, but Norway is one of the few countries where it has had a standing success. (In general about Co-operatives: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative ) Today we are left with three large market operators : Rema, Coop and Norgesgruppen, and one small: I.K. Lykke, and for that reason there is quite low competition in that business area. This is one of the reasons why grocery prices are quite high in Norway compared to other countries, while still farmers, producers and suppliers struggle with the earnings. A few years ago Norgegruppen(?) had plans to acquire Rema, and we could have ended up with a duopoly, but that acuisitinon was stopped by the Norwegian Competition Authorities. Because of the few trade chains, their market power, and the lack of independent retail stores, we are today closer to a monopoly in this segment than in the 1970'es. I.K. Lykke has 4 % market share and runs the 'Bunnpris' stores. Despite their name 'Bottom price', they have the highest prices. Rema has over 20 % market share and stores named 'Rema 1000'. Coop has over 30 % market share and stores called Coop Prix, Coop Extra, Coop Mega and alike. Norgesgruppen has over 40 % market share and stores called Kiwi, Meny, Spar, Joker, Nærbutikken, and Deli de Luca, MIX, Jafs and even a few more. Deli de Luca and MIX are convenience stores, competing with Narvesen (Reitan-gruppen), 7-Eleven (Reitan-gruppen) and partly gas stations. Jafs is in the 'McDonald'-segment, and both are in a way also competing with gas stations.

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

@@Aiziee Under the monopoly, the free merchants had to buy milk from the monopolist and at a higher price than the monopolist's own retail. This fact alone tells a lot about how crazy it was, only forty years ago. The monopoly is still very much alive but in another form. The monopolist is protected against competition from outside. Norwegian farmers ain't even able to produce half as much goods as the handouts from the Gov't. In fact, they would be better off laying on the couch all year long while buying what they are obligated to deliver from Poland. In forty years we're probably rid of this craziness as well, but I'm far from sure. The Norwegians seem to love parasitism.

[@heatherabroad]

@@Aiziee thank you for the information and extra resources. This is all quite interesting!

[@rolfjohansen5376]

It should be mentioned that REMA1000 is the cheap, cheapo essentials minimum marked ...

[@Lassisvulgaris]

1000 stands for thousand products, just a minimum range....

[@hirken]

at 6:51 beside the juce, there is somthing we call saft, do you know if there is a word for it in english? as I have tried to translate it, but cant find anything that fits.

[@heatherabroad]

I don’t know what that is. Is it like a concentrated juice that you add with water?

[@siv-nataliekravikamundsen3939]

Yes it's a concentrate you mix with water. Bit lemonade-ish

[@meganrush3608]

I like fish cakes… well the Korean ones anyway.

[@heatherabroad]

Maybe they will be yummy!

[@Mosern1977]

The great thing about the lack of options in Norwegian grocery stores, is that if you ever visit someone else, you'll know they have the exact same stuff that you are used to eating. Also - eating is taking away from the things that mater - like working and paying taxes. So stop enjoying food, and get back to work.

[@heatherabroad]

😂

[@palkallevag6557]

this is next to the university in Stavanger

[@heatherabroad]

Yes is it 👍🏼

[@stream2back]

Actually we drink more soda pr capita than almost everyone. If not more than anyone ;)

[@heatherabroad]

And how about ice cream?!!!

[@stream2back]

@@heatherabroad I don't know, but I'm guessing we are high up there ;)

[@stevenjohnson7086]

@@stream2back Stop drinking that poison. You will begin to lead the galaxy in diabetes, obesity and heart problems

[@Rainy_Day12234]

Food prices there seem to be twice as expensive as in the United States.

[@heatherabroad]

They are a bit more expensive when comparing most items.

[@Lassisvulgaris]

Average income in Norway is 500.000 NOK pro annum.....

[@Lassisvulgaris]

Ah, yes. Pizza Grandiosa, the most sold food product of Norway. I still don't understand why the Italians never declared war on us.....

[@heatherabroad]

Haha!! We definitely consume our fair share of frozen pizza. With like Big One though. The classic for the kids and the smoking hot chicken for us adults!

[@renehoyvik]

Why be wasteful with 1000 options, when you can have 10 options that are all high quality? 🤷‍♂

[@heatherabroad]

I do find that if you have a big family the shopping options here are more wasteful in the packaging area. Such small containers a family of 4 goes through more glass and plastic.

[@rytterl]

@@heatherabroad but we recycle to a whole other degree here. So it's not even CLOSE to all the trash and shit you dump in the same trashcan in the us.

[@fredmidtgaard5487]

The discount shops have few options but low prices. You can choose eg Mega instead. They have a lot of brands but higher prices. Or you can buy from an online shop. Norway does not have what you call "stinky cheese!" Unfortunately! I have to buy them from Denmark.

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

Norway doesn't have "stinky cheese"?? Really?? We have the stinkiest of all: Gammelost.

[@fredmidtgaard5487]

​@@johnnymartinjohansen That is NOT stinky cheese! Second: It takes only a couple of months to make "Gamalost"! The procedure to make good, stored cheese is complicated and Norway never learned it. Only two Norwegian cheeses are made using something similar to the stored cheese technique: Ridderost and Jarlsberg. Both are very mild. If you don't believe me then talk to one of my colleagues at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences who work with cheese making as a science. Gamalost is a fast-made new cheese infected with fungus. The lack of knowledge on cheese making in Norway is so embarrassing.

[@shellbelltx5103]

No BlueBell?😳😔😪

[@heatherabroad]

No!! But we were also deprived in Alaska, so we have gotten used to it. We indulge when we visit our parents.

[@SugarBomb69.]

This hurt my heart to hear that someone outside Norway is complaining the options we have in the store :C Many of us are happy of what we have and what we get you can make so many fantastic dishes with so little, if you have lots of skills

[@heatherabroad]

Oh, sorry it came across that way. I said some may not like it but it works for us. We are used to it as we had less options in Alaska as well.