Norwegian · soup

Bergensk Fiskesuppe (Bergen Fish Soup)

Bergensk Fiskesuppe (Bergen Fish Soup) reads richness 5.4, sweetness 4.7 and sourness 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Norwegian soup, about 1 hr 2 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 4.1 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 5.0 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 4.6 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.6 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.4 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 2.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 5.4 · Sweetness 4.7 · Sourness 4.5 · Salinity 3.5 · Funk & Ferment 2.5 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Allium 2.3 · Umami 2.2 · Earthy 1.5 · Fruity 1.0 · Bitterness 1.0 · Floral 0.6

What's in it (15)

• fish bones — 800 g
• cold water — 2000 g
• leek — 200 g
• carrots — 200 g
• celeriac — 200 g
• butter — 40 g
• all-purpose flour — 30 g
• sour cream — 200 g
• egg yolk — 200 g
• skinless cod fillet — 400 g
• small fish balls — 150 g
• white wine vinegar — 30 g
• caster sugar — 13 g
• salt — 10 g
• chives — 10 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 2 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 38.6 kcal, 1 g protein, 2.9 g fat, 2.1 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Put the fish bones and heads in a pot with the cold water and the green leek tops, bring slowly to a simmer, and skim off the grey foam as it rises. Simmer 30 minutes and no longer — fish stock turns bitter and glue-like if it is cooked further.
2. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pot. You should have about 1.5 L.
3. Melt the butter in the empty pot over medium heat and sweat the julienned leek, carrot and celeriac for 5 minutes, until they soften without colouring. Cutting them to matchsticks is not decoration: this soup is served with the vegetables suspended in it and they must cook in the same few minutes as the fish.
4. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes, then pour the stock back in gradually, whisking, and simmer 10 minutes.
5. Whisk the sour cream and egg yolks together in a bowl. Ladle a cupful of hot soup into them while whisking, then pour the tempered mixture back into the pot off the heat. From here the soup must never boil, or the yolks will scramble and the cream will split.
6. Return the pot to low heat, slip in the fish cubes and the fish balls, and poach 4 minutes, until the fish is just opaque.
7. Now season with the vinegar, sugar and salt, tasting as you go. The sweet-and-sour finish is what makes this a Bergen soup rather than a generic creamed fish soup: it should be perceptibly sweet and perceptibly sharp at the same time, and the balance is a matter of local argument.
8. Ladle into warm bowls and scatter the chives over.
9. Substitutions: halibut can stand in for the fish bones and heads from cod; halibut fillet can stand in for the skinless cod fillet.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Begova Čorba (The Bey's Soup) — Bosnian
• Potato Salad — Southern
• Ciorbă de Perișoare (Sour Meatball Soup with Borș and Lovage) — Romanian
• Jókai Bableves (Jókai Bean Soup with Smoked Knuckle and Csipetke) — Hungarian
• Cornbread — Southern

Keep reading: what richness, sweetness, sourness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.