Why does the butter separate out in cream porridge?

By slow cooking of rich, sour cream the fat separates out as butter. It is skimmed off and poured over the porridge at serving – a hallmark of genuine rømmegrøt.

What do I do if the porridge burns at the bottom?

The original advises scraping away the burnt crusts and washing the pot before you thin the porridge further with milk, so the burnt taste does not spread.

Cream porridge (rømmegrøt)

Cream porridge/rømmegrøt from Kogebog for skole og hjem (Erken & Caroline Steen, 1900), p. 102. Cooked from ¾ l sour cream, 250 g wheat flour and 2¼ l milk. The cream is simmered, the flour is sprinkled in in two stages until the butter separates out and is skimmed off, and the porridge is thinned with boiling milk. The total price at the time was kr. 0.88.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken & Caroline Steen, Kogebog for skole og hjem, 1900-utg. s. 102 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Fløtegrøt (rømmegrøt) er en av de mest tradisjonsrike norske festgrøtene, kokt på sur fløte/rømme der fettet «smøret» skilles ut og øses over ved servering. Retten hørte til høytid og gjestebud og krevde håndlag for å få smøret til å skille seg pent. Fra Kogebog for skole og hjem (Erken & Caroline Steen, 1900).

How to make it

1
Simmer the cream
Let the sour cream (rømme) simmer for 10 minutes.
2
Sprinkle in half the flour
Sprinkle half of the wheat flour in through a sieve (colander) while stirring. Let it cook slowly until the butter (fat) separates out and comes to the surface.
3
Skim off the butter
Skim off the butter that settles on top with a spoon, and set it aside.
4
Sprinkle in the rest of the flour
Sprinkle in the rest of the wheat flour and stir well.
5
Thin with milk
Bring the milk to a boil and thin the porridge little by little with the boiling milk. If burnt crusts form in the pot, scrape them away and wash the pot before you thin further.
6
Boil, salt and serve
Give the porridge a good boil, take the pot off the heat and salt. Serve with the skimmed-off butter on top.

Changes from the original

Mengdene er beholdt metrisk; ¾ l og 2¼ l er oppgitt som henholdsvis 7,5 dl og 2,25 l for tydelighet. «Sur fløde» er modernisert til sur fløte/rømme, «dørslag» forklart som sil. Datidens priser er bevart i kildeteksten og cost_1900.

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Frequently asked questions

Why does the butter separate out in cream porridge?: By slow cooking of rich, sour cream the fat separates out as butter. It is skimmed off and poured over the porridge at serving – a hallmark of genuine rømmegrøt.
What do I do if the porridge burns at the bottom?: The original advises scraping away the burnt crusts and washing the pot before you thin the porridge further with milk, so the burnt taste does not spread.

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