Recipe: Icy Fruity “Saft” Sodas

What is Saft?

• Saft is a Scandinavian sweetened juice concentrate or syrup made from fresh fruits, traditionally lingonberry and elderberry. You can drizzle saft over pancakes, waffles, or ice cream. You can also add it to flat or carbonated water for a refreshing alternative to commercial sodas like Coke or Sprite.

Let's Learn About Norway!

• Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a northern European country located on the western half of the Scandinavian Peninsula, next to Sweden. Finland and Russia are on Norway's northeast border. The North Atlantic Ocean (Norwegian Sea) lies on Norway's western shores, the North Sea to its southwest, and the Barents Sea to its north. 
• Norway is a Nordic country, an area of northern Europe and the North Atlantic. This designation is not only geographical, but Nordic countries also share similar histories, cultures, and languages. The other Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. 
• The country's land area is 148,729 square miles, somewhat larger than the US state of Montana. Approximately 5.4 million people live in Norway, about 4 million more than in Montana.
• Almost half of the population of Norway lives in the far southern part of the country, near Oslo, the capital and largest city. 
• Norway's government is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, which means Norway has a monarch or king, a prime minister, a president of the "Storting" (legislature), and a Supreme Court. 
• The official languages are Norwegian and Sámi (a Uralic language). Other recognized national languages include Kven (a Finnish dialect), Romani, Scandoromani, and Norwegian Sign Language. 
• Much of the country is mountains and glaciers, with many fjords and about 50,000 islands along the coastline. A fjord (fee-yord) is a deep, narrow inlet caused by glaciers. There are about 400,000 lakes in Norway and over 200,000 registered islands. 
• Visitors to Norway come to see the fjords along the Norwegian coastline, the mountains and glaciers, and the landscape in the Arctic Circle.
• The Svalbard archipelago, also a part of Norway, is in the Arctic Ocean and home to the polar bear, walrus, arctic fox, and Svalbard reindeer. The moose is the largest animal on the Norwegian mainland. 
• The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway. 
• Some of Norway's famous cultural contributors include the classical pianist and composer Edvard Grieg, the expressionist painter Edvard Munch, the playwright Henrik Ibsen, and the novelist Sigrid Undset, a Nobel Prize winner for Literature.
• Norway has many examples of historical architecture built using wood from the forests, and timber remains a popular building material. 
• The world's longest road tunnel is in Norway. The Lærdal Tunnel is 15.23 miles long. Built from 1995 to 2000, it runs between Lærdal and Aurland. 
• Fish, including salmon and herring, is an important part of Norwegian cuisine. Cheese, like Jarlsberg and brunost (brown cheese), and bread are also staples of their diet. Traditional dishes include the national dish "fårikål" (lamb and cabbage stew), "lutefisk" (rehydrated dried cured codfish), and "smalahove" (a dish made from sheep's head).

What's It Like to Be a Kid in Norway?

• Families in Norway tend to be small. Kids are allowed and encouraged to be quite independent.
• Norwegian kids go to school from mid-August to late June. They learn English beginning in primary school. 
• Fun activities include Hunderfossen Adventure Park, Høyt & Lavt Climbing Park, and various waterparks, including natural swimming holes and water slides at the Potholes in Nissedal. Kids may also enjoy hiking and viewing the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) with their families. 
• Popular sports for kids in Norway include association football (soccer), skiing and other winter sports, handball, athletics (track and field), and bicycling. They are not scored or ranked in their sport until they reach the age of 13.
• "Basse" is a traditional Norwegian ball game played with balls made from strips of rubber bicycle tubes or rubber bands. The goal is to use your body, except arms and hands, to keep the ball from falling into your designated circle while you try to get it into another player's circle.  
• One dish kids like to eat in Norway is "pølse i lompe" or "sausage in pocket." It is similar to a hot dog and is often eaten on birthdays. Popular desserts include "krumkake," a waffle cookie, and fruit pies, especially with berries and apples. 
• For school lunch, kids usually bring packed lunches ("matpakke") consisting of fruit or veggies and an open-faced sandwich with toppings ("pålegg") like cheese, ham, hard-boiled or scrambled eggs, and smoked salmon.