Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Selv den høyeste hyllen i krydderskuffen er full av økologisk salt og pepper. - Even the highest shelf in the spice drawer is full of organic salt and pepper.

Selv before a noun phrase means even: Selv den høyeste hyllen... = Even the highest shelf...
selv om = even though/although.
selve = the ... itself (emphasis on identity): selve hyllen = the shelf itself.
selveste = the very (often honorific/emphatic): selveste kongen = the very king.

Why is it den høyeste hyllen, not just høyeste hylle or den høyeste hylle?

Norwegian uses “double definiteness” with adjectives before definite nouns:

Article + adjective + definite noun: den høyeste hyllen.
Without the adjective you would say: hyllen (the shelf).
With an adjective but no article/definite ending is ungrammatical in this context: not den høyeste hylle.

Can I say hylla instead of hyllen?

Yes. In Bokmål, many feminine nouns can be treated as either feminine or masculine:

Masculine definite: hyllen.
Feminine definite: hylla. Both are correct. Choose one style and be consistent.

Is høyeste the best word for a “top” shelf, or should I use øverste?

For vertically stacked things like shelves, Norwegians often prefer øverste (“uppermost/top”) over høyeste (“highest” in a general sense). So:

Very natural: Selv den øverste hyllen ...
Your version with høyeste is still grammatical and understandable.

Why is it i krydderskuffen and not på krydderskuffen? And what about på hylla?

i = in/inside, so i krydderskuffen (in the drawer) is right.
For items located on a shelf, you use på: på hylla/hyllen (on the shelf).
In this sentence the shelf itself is the subject (“is full”), so you don’t need på.

How is the compound krydderskuffen formed? What’s the -s- doing there?

It’s a compound: krydder (spice(s)) + skuff (drawer) + definite -en. The linking -s- (called “fuge-s”) is common in Norwegian compounds: krydderskuff(en) = the spice drawer. Write it as one word in standard Norwegian (a hyphen is only used for special clarity needs).

Why is it er full av and not er fulle av or er fullt av?

Predicative adjectives agree with the subject’s gender/number:

Masculine/feminine singular: full (Hylla/Hyllen er full av ...).
Neuter singular: fullt (Skapet er fullt av ...).
Plural: fulle (Hyllene er fulle av ...). Here the subject is singular (hyllen/hylla), so full is correct.

Is full av the only option? What about fylt med or full med?

full av is the most idiomatic: “full of.”
fylt med = “filled with,” also fine, a bit more literal/physical.
full med occurs in some speech, but standard written Norwegian prefers full av.

Why is it økologisk salt og pepper and not økologiske?

Salt and pepper are mass nouns here; the adjective stays in its base form: økologisk.
One adjective before the first noun can scope over both: økologisk salt og pepper = organic salt and (organic) pepper.
You could repeat it: økologisk salt og økologisk pepper (more formal/emphatic).
Use økologiske with plural count nouns: økologiske epler og pærer.

Are salt and pepper countable in Norwegian?

Usually they’re uncountable mass nouns:

Indefinite mass: salt, pepper.
Definite mass (specific known batch): saltet, pepperet.
Plurals exist in special contexts (e.g., chemistry: salter = salts), but that’s not typical for table salt/pepper.

Where would ikke go if I negate the sentence?

Place ikke after the verb:

Selv den høyeste/øverste hyllen i krydderskuffen er ikke full av økologisk salt og pepper.

Can I move Selv later in the sentence?

No, not with the same meaning. Selv means “even” only when it precedes the element it emphasizes: Selv den øverste hyllen... If you put it after the noun (e.g., hyllen selv), it means “the shelf itself,” which changes the meaning. A neutral alternative for “even” is til og med: Til og med den øverste hyllen ...

Why is it høyeste (with -e) here, and when would I use høyest?

Attributive superlative (before a noun) takes -e: den høyeste hyllen.
Predicative superlative (after the verb, no noun) drops the -e: Denne hyllen er høyest.

Do I ever need definite forms after full av? Could I say full av det økologiske saltet og pepperet?

You can, but it becomes very specific: “full of the organic salt and the pepper (we’ve mentioned).” Normally you mean it generically (“organic salt and pepper”), so use the bare mass nouns: full av økologisk salt og pepper.

Any quick pronunciation tips for tricky sounds like ø, y, and the doubles?

ø (as in økologisk): rounded front vowel, like the vowel in French “peu.”
y (as in krydder, hyllen): like German “ü” (rounded English “ee”).
Double consonants (e.g., dd, ff, ll) signal a short preceding vowel.
Stress pattern here: SELV den HØY-e-ste HYLL-en i KRYD-der-SKUFF-en er FULL av ø-ko-LO-gisk SALT og PEP-per.

Is a “spice drawer” the usual place to talk about a “top shelf”? Would krydderhylle be more natural?

A drawer normally doesn’t have shelves, so in real life you’d more often say:

krydderhylle (spice rack) or krydderhyllen/hylla (the spice shelf/rack). The sentence is grammatical, but a more typical wording would be: Selv den øverste hyllen i krydderhyllen er full av økologisk salt og pepper.

Could I use selveste here for emphasis (e.g., “the very highest shelf”)?

No. Selveste attaches to titles/names or unique nouns for emphatic identity (e.g., selveste kongen). For “even the highest/top shelf,” stick to Selv den øverste/høyeste hyllen (or use Til og med den øverste/høyeste hyllen).