Cultural traditions and culinary experience may be the best terms to describe Rakfisk fra Valdres. This is rakfisk (semi-fermented trout) with a characteristic smell and taste, delicate red colour and a firm yet buttery consistency.

The Valdres region is today a primary production area of rakfisk in Norway, with a production history dating all the way back to the 1600s. "Raking" of fish is conservation method using anaerobic methabolism that originated in the inner mountain valleys of Southern Norway, and rakfisk was among the goods sold by farmers on the markeds in the towns.

Rakfisk fra Valdres is processed from trout which has been spawned and farmed in water of Valdres' lakes and rivers by six different rakfisk producers of the region. It is made only from the finest fish which is stored in an anaerobic environment for ageing no later than two hours after slaughtering. Rakfisk fra Valdres comes in three varieties: mild, matured/aged and well-matured/well-aged which are defined after the ageing period.

Rakfisk fra Valdres is one of very few Norwegian food products with a protected geographical indication. This is a public certification scheme for foodstuffs linked to specific regions, tradition or distinctiveness in Norway.

In Valdres, we usually eat rakfisk with a potato tortilla (lefse), flat bread or boiled potatoes and red onion, sour cream (rømme) and butter. It can also be served as sushi.

Certified member businesses in Rakfisk fra Valdres: Noraker Gård, Hande Gård, Haadem Fisk, Røn Gard, Lofoss Fisk and Trøsvik Gård. These producers can use the Rakfisk fra Valdres-label on their rakfisk. 

Every year during the first weekend in November we celebrate the rakfisk with the Norwegian Rakfisk Festival, where a professional panel and a people's panel decide on the best fish of the season. Here you can review a list over the winners from 1993 until today.

Where can you buy rakfisk fra Valdres?

Well-assorted supermarkeds in the whole country sell rakfisk. In Valdres rakfisk is a regular in almost every food store.