Wednesday 15 September 2010

Dream porridge from Dalsland (western Sweden)

If you wanted to know who you were going to marry, you could prepare and eat some dream porridge. The porridge had to be prepared by three girls. It was important that the greatest silence be observed throughout the procedure. When the water began to boil, each girl would throw in a handful of salt and a handful of flour. When the porridge was ready it would be divided into three equal portions, and each girl would eat one portion, without adding any milk. Then they would go to bed, still in total silence, without having anything to drink. The dream porridge would be prepared and eaten three nights in a row, and on the third night the girls would see their future husbands in their dreams. He would be bringing water to quench their thirst.

From the Norwegian foodways website Tradisjoner
Thanks to Emma Lundenmark for drawing it to our attention.