A bowl of kleppmelk. Image source: https://www.thedockyards.com/kleppmelk-norwegian-dish-dating-viking-age/
Traditional dinner: Kleppmelk served with sugar and cinnamon.
Kleppmelk (dumpling milk) is a creamy soup commonly eaten in Northern Norway, Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. It consists of thick dumpling dough formed into balls, simmered in milk and topped with cinnamon and sugar. Despite its light sweetness, this is no dessert, but is considered a main dish. The word klepp comes from the Old Norse word kleppr, meaning a rock or large stone, and melk means milk.
Kjaert barn har mange navn is a Norwegian axiom meaning “beloved children have many names.” Depending on where you’re from in Norway, the dish may be called many different things. There’s kleppsuppe from Trøndelag, krumvelling, kleppemelk and klot(e)velling (Oslo), and klubvelling or bollemelk (bun milk) from Northern Norway. Kleppmelk is also known as kleppsuppe (klepp soup) and many other dialectic variations.
You are unlikely to spot this modest dish at a Norwegian restaurant, but there are plenty of internet posts dedicated to this traditional food. It is a nostalgic family favorite, often associated with one’s mor or bestemor (mom or grandma). In an adorable YouTube video, Filipa and her father Finn-Erik cook both oldemor (great-grandma) Johanna’s classic recipe and a jazzed-up version of kleppmelk. Filipa’s dad promises her that Kleppmelk er mye bedre enn det høres ut som—æ digga det da jeg var liten. “Kleppmelk is much better than it sounds—I loved it when I was little.”
There is even a Facebook page simply titled Bollemelk/Kleppmelk, with a whopping 18,000 followers and some lively debate about whether to spice things up by using cardamom in the boller, or to leave sugar out entirely. One thing is clear: most people’s reaction to this dish is nam nam, or yum yum!
Try the recipe for Kleppmelk, here.