_Nordskbröd_, Norway bread, is made either entirely of rye flour, or of barley with a third part rye. The dough is prepared with cold water, and kneaded a long while, till it does not stick to the hands. Afterwards it is flattened with a rolling-pin of a round shape, but furrowed longitudinally, which is turned by the hands as fast as possible. The edges of the dough, thus spread out, are repeatedly turned in, and the whole, laid carefully on a table, makes a very even cake, as thin as paper, though smoothed with such a rolling-pin. It is baked on an iron made on purpose, being moved about and turned during the process, and subsequently smoothed and polished with a bunch of the heads of rye straw dipped in water.
In times of great scarcity, when nothing better is to be had than seeds of Spurrey, (_Spergula arvensis_,) from the fields, these seeds, after being dried, are ground and baked, along with a small proportion of corn. The bread thus made proves blackish, but not bad.
A kind of cheese is made of sour milk in this part of Norway, for which the following is the receipt.
Take any quantity of sour milk, and boil it till a thick sediment subsides. Then strain it through a linen cloth, so as to get rid of the thin watery part, when the remainder will be of the consistence of flummery. This last must be put into a covered vessel, and allowed to stand by eight days; after which it must be mixed with cream, and stirred about in a plate, or some other convenient vessel; when it should be moulded into an obtuse conical shape, and set by in a cool place, covered up from the air. Should it happen to break, or fall in pieces, it must be stirred up and moulded over again. Leave it till it becomes sufficiently dry, which very often requires a month or two, when a rugged and cellular crust will be formed on the surface, which must be taken off before the cheese is eaten.
As I was rambling about among the hills and gathering strawberries, I perceived a Laplander carrying a fowling-piece, who seemed in pursuit of birds. Indeed I had scarcely noticed him till I heard the report of his gun, when I turned about and observed him to be very near me, though lower down on the hill. The ball struck against a large stone at a very small distance from the spot where I stood. God be praised that it did not hit me! The fellow ran away, and I never saw him after, but I immediately returned home.