Treak's history

At Ekte Godt there is a love of sharing what is local and distinctive, and a pride in being able to offer the traditional mountain-caramel, which in earlier times was made on farms and summer mountain pastures in the areas around Jotunheimen. For many, Treak still awakens memories of barefoot summers and of grandmothers who soothed sore throats with a piece of Treak in warm milk, or served it alongside coffee. Treak was often sold by peddlers at fairs and markets, and was a familiar sight in the drawers of the general store.

The roots of Treak stretch far back, all the way to the time of Emperor Nero. Andromachus of Crete, as he was called, was the originator of the medicine Theriachi Andromachi. The remedy consisted of sixty ingredients that were meant to cure all kinds of illnesses, great and small. For over fifteen hundred years it held an exceptional position as a universal remedy. “Teriak,” as people called it, contained a multitude of herbal drugs, oriental spices, balms, and animal‑based ingredients such as lizard and snake meat. Snake meat was highly prized as an aphrodisiac and was supplied by hunters from their own guilds. The best teriak came from Venice and Nuremberg, it was said. In the Middle Ages, production had to take place in the presence of the city’s magistrate, mayor, and physician, who were to ensure that the ingredients were genuine, since counterfeits were often sold around Europe by traveling peddlers.

In this country, teriak was used in the fight against the plague, as can be read in the books about Kristin Lavransdatter: At Reinskloster the nuns had to resort to juniper berries when they ran out of calamus root. The juniper berry, known for its health‑giving properties, gradually became a natural ingredient in teriak, which was commonly found in pharmacies in Norway and the rest of Europe. From 1876, when it became forbidden to add opium, the medical use of teriak declined, until it more or less ceased around the turn of the century.

But the story does not end there. Deep in Norway’s valleys, mainly in Valdres, Hallingdal, and Gudbrandsdalen, teriak had become known as Treak in everyday speech, and the ingredients were far less frightening. The mountain plateaus were full of juniper berries that were gathered and boiled down into a thick juice before cream and often brown sugar were added to make the Treak sweet. Over the years, the old Greek medicine had been transformed into a popular Norwegian treat with a caramel‑like consistency. For many, it was the very first candy ever tasted.