A Taste of Norway in the Ozarks

In 2018, I took a trip to Norway, and it was a time and place where I really learned how to taste and appreciate quality food. I was traveling with my friend Anna Saunders, who many of you know as Private Chef Anna. I went to meet up with her after her staging gig wrapped up, and she picked me up from the airport with a thoughtfully packed lunch in tow. The wrap she put together featured something I never tasted before. It was Brunost, which Americans call brown cheese. This tan-colored whey cheese tastes like a creamy cross between cheese, caramel and butterscotch, and it was love at first bite. One highlight of the trip was staying with Anna’s cousin, who is also a chef, and she introduced us to a new way of enjoying Brunost. She and her family love putting it on ginger snaps with a bit of lingonberry jam and blue cheese as a Christmas treat. If you’re not a blue cheese fan, there are other ways to enjoy Brunost. I personally love putting it on a piece of Neighbor’s Best by Neighbor’s Mill Bakery & Café with some mixed berry preserves for breakfast. Lucky for us, you don’t have to travel to Norway to get this delicacy. Brown Derby Wine Center & Marketplace and Hy-Vee on Sunshine carry it under the brand Ski Queen.