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North Dakota

North Dakota food refers to the food eaten in North Dakota, which is a Midwestern region state of the United States, bordering Canada. The cuisine of the state is marked by influences from Germany, Norway and Russia. Meals are served here in smorgasbord or buffet style manner where a variety of dishes are laid out on a table and guests help themselves with what they want to pick and choose.

Ingredients Commonly Used in North Dakota Foods

Meats like pork, beef, lamb, chicken and venison are ingredients common to North Dakota food. Besides this milk and milk products find use in the various recipes of the region. Processed meat is often used in dried or smoked form. Garlic, pepper, mustard, etc. are used as seasonings.

Popular North Dakota Dishes

Here are some of the popular dishes that form a part of the cuisine of North Dakota-

Fleischkuekle: It is a pie made of flatbread and meat, which is a German Russian dish, brought to the region by immigrants.

Knoephla: It is a dumpling that is traditionally served with soups like potato and chicken soup. It is another dish of German- Russian influence.

Kuchen: It is a German dessert which may be in the form of a cake, pastry or pie. Cheesecake, coffee cake, rolled pastry, or pastry of cake or pie-like form is some examples.

Lefse: It is a flatbread from Norway, which is made with milk or cream, potato and flour. This soft traditional bread is baked on a griddle.

Summer Sausage: It is the term for a sausage that keeps well without refrigerating, which may be done by drying or smoking it. The meat may be cured with salt and seasonings of black pepper, mustard seeds or sugar are often added.

Krumkake: It is a waffle cookie made of eggs, flour, butter, cream and sugar, usually prepared at Christmas time. The dish is originally from Norway and has now become a part of North Dakota food.

North Dakota Cuisine Trivia

Annual fellowship dinners are hosted by churches in North Dakota, one of which is the famous Norwegian Lutefisk Dinner which is hosted by the First Lutheran Church in February.

The Norsk Hostfest is a festival is celebrated annually in October in Minot in North Dakota. The festival lasts for five days and features North Dakota food mostly focused on Scandinavian dishes, as well as some German ones.