Cuisine of Denmark
Encyclopedia
Danish cuisine is shaped by the practice of fishing and farming, including the cultivation of the soil for raising crops and the raising of domesticated animals, and the history of Denmark
. Danish cuisine is known for its open sandwiches (Smørrebrød
), meat balls (Frikadeller
) and sweet pastry. When it comes to drinking, Denmark is known for its beer (Carlsberg
and Tuborg are world famous breweries) and its bitters
, such as Gammel Dansk
. Danish kitchen is heavily influenced by the French
and also other European countries, especially its neighbours in Scandinavia and Germany.
Before the widespread industrialisation
of Denmark (c. 1860), small family-based agriculture
formed the vast majority of Danish
society. As in most agrarian societies, people lived practically self-sufficiently, and made do with the food they could produce themselves, or what could be purchased locally
. This meant reliance on locally available
food products, which form the basis of the traditional diet: cereal products
, dairy product
s, pork
, seafood
, apple
s, plum
s, carrot
s, potato
es, onion
s, beer
, and bread
. Long winters and a lack of refrigeration
meant that foods which could be stored for a long time came to predominate. This helps to explain the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in many traditional recipes, and the emphasis placed on seasonally available foods.
In the new Danish cooking style, dishes are sometimes lighter, smaller, more nutritious
and generally offer more focus on fresh vegetables. This mode of cooking is increasingly international, highly influenced by Asian cuisine, especially the cuisine of Thailand
. Despite this, the traditional cuisine is still very popular, especially in the young generations.
Germany's proximity has also provided a long-term influence. The area now making up northern Germany
was at times throughout history under Danish rule, and there are still many Danish people living in this part of Germany (Southern Schleswig
and Holstein
), as well as Germans living in southern Denmark (Northern Schleswig).
The food cultures of southern European countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece, have also influenced the Danish cooking.
Although historically the average Danish person did not travel widely, in more recent years this has begun to change. Danes are travelling more now, and to further, more distant, and exotic destinations. Another influence that brings greater focus on exotic cooking has been the growing availability of exotic food products in the supermarket, and aggressive marketing efforts to make these more acceptable in the average home. These products have become more available primarily because of the growing immigrant population (Turkish
, Pakistan
i, Indian
, Chinese
, Thai
, Africa
n) in Denmark.
s is a costly affair, with the average price running higher than that of the European average. This is due in part to the country's high taxes, which are included in the cost of restaurant meals, and also to the comparatively high wages that the staff are paid. Because of the latter, tipping is neither required nor expected unless service is exceptionally noteworthy.
Due to the cost, Danes have traditionally eaten out infrequently. While this is beginning to change, especially in the bigger cities and among younger and more affluent people, the typical Dane saves eating out at restaurants for special occasions. When they do eat out, it is usually a lengthy, relaxed affair, consisting of many courses and drinks. Danish people will typically arrive at a restaurant at 7:00 p.m. and stay until 10:00 p.m. or later.
Denmark has a number of fine restaurants; these are found not only in the larger cities, but also in the countryside hotels and lodges (kro). The kro (roughly equivalent to an inn, but held in higher social regard) provides lodging as well as meals and drinks, and has played a long role in Denmark, especially the royally privileged lodges.
In the big cities, and in shopping districts, there are many more reasonably priced eating places, including such chain fast food possibilities as McDonald's and Burger King
, which are not very popular or recogznized among Danes.
The most common quick food restaurant is the "burger bar" or "grill bar" which typically features hamburger
s, pizza
, hot dog
s and a wide variety of other fast food staples. These can be found in every town in the country, large or small. Other commonly-found fast foods include Turkish and Middle East food specialties such as falafel
, shish-kebab and spit-roasted meat (most often shawarma
) with salad
in pita bread, or wrapped in durum wheat based flatbread
.
Another common quick food alternative, the "original" fast food outlet in Denmark, is the pølsevogn
(sausage wagon), where one can eat a variety of different sausage
s, including Denmark's very famous red sausages, røde pølser
. These hot dog-like sausages are long (ca. 20 cm long), thin (about the diameter of an index finger) and bright red. They are traditionally served on a small, rectangular paper plate along with a side order of bread (similar to a hot dog bun
, but without a slice in it), and a serving of both ketchup
, Danish remoulade
sauce, which is somewhat similar to American relish
, and mustard. The sausage is hand held, dipped into the sauce and eaten. The bread is eaten alternately, also dipped into the sauce.
When the sausage is served in a traditional hot dog bun, it is called a "hot dog". It is commonly served with remoulade, ketchup, mustard, onion (either raw or toasted, i.e. ristede) and thin sliced pickles on top. Ristede onions are similar in taste to French-fried onion rings. Another variety is the French hot dog (Fransk hotdog) which is a sausage stuffed into a special long roll. The roll has a hole in the end, in which the hot dog is slipped into, after the requested condiment has been squirted in (ketchup, mustard, different kinds of dressing).
The simplest sausage wagons are portable and very temporary, but most are more permanent. They are typically a metal wagon with an open window to the street, and a counter where one can stand and eat the sausage. More advanced wagons may be built in and include limited seating, usually both inside and outside.
Through the years the number of sausage wagons has dropped as competition from convenience stores, gas stations and kebab and pizza-places has increased.
. These are plentiful, especially in the bigger cities, and usually offer soup
s, sandwich
es, salad
s, cake
s, pastries
, and other light foods, in addition to the expected coffee
, tea
, beer
and other beverages
. Increasingly international café chains have become dominant in the capital Copenhagen
these include currently two Starbucks
at the International Airport and several of UK Caffè Ritazza
, which can be found at Copenhagen Airport
, Magasin Torv by the Magasin Du Nord department store, and at Copenhagen Central Station. The Danish coffee bar Baresso Coffee, which serves mainly coffee and tea related products like Starbucks, is present Copenhagen
, Odense
, Svendborg
, Aarhus
, Aalborg
, Hellerup
, Randers
, and the Faroe Islands
as well as Copenhagen Airport
and MS Crown of Scandinavia.
is buttered bread
, a variety of cheeses such as the Danish skæreost (sliced cheese), a buttery creamy white cheese
(often Danish havarti
, Danbo
or Danish tilsit), ham
, fruits, strawberry
jam and a lot of coffee
. Sometimes traditional cold cuts, like rullepølse, kødpølse and Danish salami
, are also eaten.
Some Danes also eat different types of cereal with milk for breakfast, yoghurt with honey or ymer or A38 which are yoghurt-like milk products (similar to junket) with cereal or crumbled bread on top.
Another traditional breakfast, especially among the elder in the traditional villages, are oatmeal porridge and bread-and-beer-soup (øllebrød
).
Bread takes many forms: at breakfast it is most often a white bread known as franskbrød (French bread), baguette, rolls (boller, birkes, rundstykker) or croissants. The "Danish pastry
", which is also eaten at breakfast (although mainly in the weekends and at corporate breakfasts), is called wienerbrød (Viennese bread) and it comes in many varieties. A festive breakfast calls for a shot or two of Gammel Dansk
(Old Danish), a Danish stomach bitter
.
Eating breakfast out of the house is not common, although hotel restaurants serve breakfast for their guests. In the cities it is becoming more common to eat brunch
out in restaurants during weekends.
It is rather common to invite guests to a morgenbord (literally: morning table) on special occasions. The types of occasions would include, but are not limited to: wedding anniversaries, confirmations and 'round' birthdays. Such a celebration typically features more of the sweet Wienerbrød
, "brunsviger" (a soft dough with thick brown sugar topping) and lighter breads, foregoing the heartier breads (rugbrød
) of the day-to-day breakfast.
, however many prefer to bring along a packed lunch
—the madpakke (lunch "package"), typically carried in a madkasse (lunch box). This typically consists of a few pieces of smørrebrød (see below) from home.
Smørrebrød (originally smør og brød, meaning "butter and bread") usually consists of a piece of buttered rye bread (rugbrød
), a dense, dark brown bread. Pålæg (meaning put-on, actually "that which is laid on [the bread]"), the topping, then among others can refer to commercial or homemade cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish, cheese or spreads.
This is essentially the base on which the art of the famous Danish open sandwich
, smørrebrød is created: A slice or two of pålæg is placed on the buttered bread, and then decorated with the right accompaniments, to create a tasty and visually appealing food item.
Some traditional examples include:
(in Swedish
, Smörgåsbord). It is usually served at lunch time. The cold table may be a buffet arrangement prepared away from the dining table, or more likely it will consist of the many and varied items being brought to the dining table and passed around family-style.
As a first course (or first visit to the buffet table) one will in all likelihood eat pickled herring (marinerede sild), or another herring
dish. The most common herring is marinated either in a clear sweet, peppery vinegar
sauce (white herring), or in a red seasoned vinegar (red herring). It may also come in a variety of sour cream
-based sauces, including a curry
sauce which is very popular. The white herring is typically served on buttered, black rye bread, topped with white onion rings and curry salad (a sour-cream based sauce, flavored with curry and chopped pickles), and served with hard boiled eggs and tomato
slices. Herring can also be found which is first fried, and then marinated this is called "stegte sild i eddike" (lit.: Fried herring in vinegar). On extra festive occasions a prepared silderet (herring dish) might be served in which the herring pieces are placed in a serving dish along with other ingredients. Examples might be herring, sliced potato, onions and capers topped with a dill sour cream/mayonnaise sauce, or herring, apple pieces, and horseradish topped with a curry sour-cream/mayonnaise sauce.
Herring is usually served with ice cold schnapps, which according to Danish tradition, helps the fish swim down to the stomach. Also the high alcohol content of schnapps helps dissolve the fat left in the oral cavity after eating the fish, this allows the lunch participant to more readily taste the different dishes.
As a second course one will in all likelihood eat warm foods (lune retter) served on rye bread with accompaniments. Some typical warm foods would be:
Beer
(in particular the Danish brands— Tuborg, Carlsberg or more local brands such as Faxe
, Albani
, Thy Pilsner and Ceres
) is the preferred beverage during this meal, especially with lune retter, and through the rest of the cold table meal. It is also quite acceptable to have another shot or two of akvavit along the way. Children sometimes drink soft drink
s instead.
Next comes a selection of cold cuts (pålæg) and salads, as might be found on prepared smørrebrød.
Finally a variety of cheeses and fruit is served, along with crackers or white bread.
A special variation on det kolde bord is the Christmas
lunch, a festive holiday smorgasbord, served during the holiday season. A traditional julefrokost is a family event on Christmas Day or shortly after. However, during the whole of December all groups of people (coworkers, members of clubs and organizations) generally hold their own annual julefrokost on a Friday or Saturday evening. The "lunch" may include music and dancing, and usually continues into the very early hours of the morning with plentiful drinking either on the premises or in after-hour bar
tours. All over Denmark train
s and bus
es run all night during the julefrokost season and the police are on a special lookout for drunk drivers.
A very special part of not only the julefrokost but of most festive, celebratory meals is the selskabssang (party song). These songs are very special to Denmark. They are sung to traditional tunes, and have specially written lyrics that fit the occasion.
Similar to the julefrokost is the påskefrokost (Easter
lunch) which is also widely celebrated, however not as widely as the julefrokost.
is the one meal of the day where everyone can be gathered. Due to the pressures of the modern life where both parents are likely to work, and the children are in school or pre-school institutions.
Danes enjoy inviting people over for dinner. These are often elaborate affairs with many courses. Special events are often celebrated with family and friends at home, and such a celebration is not complete without a sit-down dinner. Often the food is placed in the middle of the table so everyone can serve the amount they wish. It is considered rude and greedy to begin eating before everyone has food on their plate. You don't leave the table before everyone has finished.
s set out, such as nuts
or potato chips (franske kartofler, literally: French potatoes). Some traditional favorites include:
, although a wide variety of other appetizers are becoming more common. Common traditional appetizers include:
is often a meal on its own, or served with bread. It can also be served before the main dish.
, seafood
and meat
are prominent parts of any traditional Danish
dish.
Denmark has a long tradition of fishing since it is surrounded by the sea, consists of many islands and a 7000 kilometer coastline. It is the country that exports most fish in the European Union and one of the world's greatest fishing nations. Fish consumption is a natural part of the Danish food tradition.
The most commonly eaten fish and seafood are:
Fish from Bornholm
, Iceland
and Greenland
also has a special place in the Danish cuisine. The island of Bornholm, a part of Denmark located in the Baltic Sea
, to the east of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland, is noted for its smoked fish items. Iceland and Greenland have long shared histories with Denmark, and the fish from these North Atlantic lands is a sign of quality.
As regards meat-eating, the Danes primarily eat pork
: salted and smoked pork, hams, pork roasts, pork tenderloin, pork cutlets and chops are all popular. Ground pork meat is used in many traditional recipes requiring ground meat. Danish bacon
is generally of good quality (in Denmark; exported Danish bacon is of exceptional quality), and available in both the striped and back varieties. While still in first place, pork has lost ground to turkey, beef and veal in recent years.
Beef is also very popular in the modern Danish kitchen. Danish cattle is primarily used for dairy and Denmark has a centuries-old tradition of dairy products. Hence, cattle bred for its meat was rare and thus expensive. Dairy cattle rarely makes good meat cattle - especially after several years as dairy cows. For that reason beef has usually been ground and cooked as patties or cooked as boiled roast or soup. Today steak
s are nevertheless popular. Especially culotte steak is a classic dish to serve for guests.
Chicken
is also popular, both served in the old traditional way, but also as a tray of frozen chicken pieces ready to put into the oven, lørdagskylling (lit. Saturday chicken) which is a quick and cheap way to feed a family.
Grilled lamb is a traditional dish for Easter.
recipes are almost ubiquitous in Danish cooking. It has captured this important position in spite of its relatively short career in the Danish kitchen. The potato was first introduced into Denmark by Huguenot
s immigrating to Fredericia
, Denmark from their native France in 1720. Around 1750 King Frederik the 5th
encouraged widespread cultivation of the grasslands on the Jutland Peninsula
, by enticing German immigrants to move to Denmark and cultivate potatoes.
The potato is considered an essential side dish to every warm meal. A common expression is "Jeg er en heldig kartoffel!" (I am a lucky potato!). This gives an indication of the exalted and well-loved position that the potato takes in the life of the Danish people.
Especially prized are the season's early potatoes, such as those from Samsø
.
Some favorites:
The potato's flexibility is almost limitless.
Pasta
and rice
have made great inroads into the Danish diet.
s and condiment
s are an important part of the Danish meal:
Denmark is known for good chesses. It can be part of the breakfast, lunch, salads and it can also be served as a dessert after dinner as a so called ostebord or ostetallerken (translated: cheese table or cheese plate) with wine grapes, crackers and wine.
While the traditional, commonly-eaten cheese (skæreost) in Denmark is mild, there are also stronger cheeses associated with Danish cuisine. Some of these are very pungent. Blue cheese
can be quite strong, and Danish cheese manufacturers produce molded cheeses that span the range from the mildest and creamiest to the intense blue-veined cheese internationally associated with Denmark. Another strong cheese is Gamle Ole ("Old Ole"- Ole is a man's name), a pungent aged cheese that has matured for a longer period of time. It can be bitingly strong. It is often served in combination with sliced onion and aspic (sky) on Danish rugbrød
spread with lard.
Strong cheeses are an acquired taste for Danes too. Elderly Danes who find the smell offensive might joke about Gamle Ole's smelling up a whole house, just by being in a sealed plastic container in the refrigerator. One might also refer to Gamle Ole's pungency when talking about things that are not quite right, i.e. "they stink". Here one might say that something stinks or smells of Gamle Ole.
Denmark lost a long legal battle with Greece, to use the term "feta
" for a Danish cheese produced using artificially blanched cow's milk. Since July 2002, feta has been a protected designation of origin
(PDO), which limits the term within the European Union
to feta made exclusively of sheep's/goat's milk in Greece.
Some Danish cheeses include:
s are very popular, and a wide variety are readily available at supermarket
s or local produce stands. Many people grow fresh herbs either in the kitchen window, in window boxes or outside, weather permitting. Most commonly used herbs and other seasonings in Danish cooking:
had to withstand long storage during the winter to become a part of the traditional cuisine. Fruit is generally eaten in smaller portions, often as an accompaniment to cheese, or as decoration with desserts.
Fruit that is traditionally associated with Danish cuisine:
A combination of strawberries, red currants, black currants, blueberries and mulberries is known as "forest fruits" (skovbær) and is a common component in tarts and marmalades. A popular dessert is made from boiling down one or more berries (and/or rhubarbs) into 'rødgrød (red porridge) med fløde (with cream)'. Cream is poured on top, but may be substituted by milk.
Rødgrød med fløde is often jokingly used by Danes as a shibboleth
, as it contains the soft "d" several times, which is only found in the Danish language, which most foreigners find difficult to pronounce.
Bread is a very important part of the Danish table. It is usually enjoyed at home, in the workplace or in Danish restaurants and is usually based primarily on rugbrød
, which is sour-dough rye bread
. It is a dark, heavy bread which is sometimes bought pre-sliced, in varieties from light-coloured rye
, to very dark, and refined to whole grain
. It forms the basis of smørrebrød
, which is closely related to the Swedish smörgås, literally 'spread bread' (smør is butter
). Traditional toppings include sild, which are pickled herrings
(marinerede - plain, krydder - spiced, or karry - curried), slightly sweeter than Dutch or German herrings; thinly-sliced cheese
in many varieties; sliced cucumber
, tomato
and boiled eggs; leverpostej, which is pork
liver-paste; dozens of types of cured or processed meat in thin slices, or smoked fish such as salmon
; mackerel
in tomato sauce; pickled cucumber
; boiled egg, and rings of red onion
. Mayonnaise
mixed with peas
, sliced boiled asparagus
and diced carrot
, called italiensk salat (lit. Italian salad), remoulade
or other thick sauces often top the layered open sandwich
, which is usually eaten with utensils. It is custom to pass the dish of sliced breads around the table, and then to pass around each dish of toppings, and people help themselves. Hundreds of combinations and varieties of smørrebord are available.
A famous and very old restaurant in Copenhagen
's historic Nyhavn
harbor, Ida Davidsen
, serves up many imaginative combinations, and the fridge in a typical Danish home will often be stocked with toppings for rugbrødsmad, or "rye bread meal", which is a way of saying "a plain normal lunch." Denmark has strong traditions of special types of food eaten at particular times of the year, such as smoked eel with slices of a sort of scrambled-egg loaf eaten on rye bread at New Year, accompanied by beer. Other types of bread are sold in supermarkets and in bakeries, which are important shops in every town and shopping centre. Many people still bake at home, particularly boller, which are small bread rolls, and often the traditional kringle
, which is a long cooked dough with currants
and a brown sugar
and butter
paste. Home-baked bread uses moist yeast
, the major brand Malteserkors being a division of Carlsberg Brewery. In the great trucking strikes of 1998, yeast was one of the first products to be sold out in shops, indicating the importance of home baking in Denmark. Sliced white bread
is known in Denmark as franskbrød, literally "French bread", and is not as common as it is in many other western countries. People often eat jam with cheese on crusty white bread for breakfast
, and also very thin slices of chocolate
, called pålægschokolade
.
Another popular way of consuming bread in Denmark is as tiny buns for long hotdogs, made out of white bread, which are available in small kiosks everywhere and in pølsevogne ("sausage-vans") that move about in the cities.
There also exists a vast amount of other types of sweets and candy, ranging from gum drops and dragée to mints and caramel
sweets. Bland selv slik (lit: mix yourself candy) is common in Danish supermarkets and kiosks, and consists of an amount of plastic boxes, usually between 20 and 50, each containing a different type of candy, which is then put into a paper bag with a small shovel-like object. The paper bag is then weighed, and paid for.
Both Danish and imported candy are found in these box assortments, and the shape, texture and flavor differences are often extremely creative. Candy have been manufactured resembling a vast amount of objects, such as flying saucers, tennis raquets, soccer balls, butterflies, and even more strange, also teeth and toothbrushes.
) not only from the traditional French and Italian kitchen, but also from many other more exotic gastronomical sources. These come often from either the travels of cooks, but also their immigration into Denmark from all over the world.
Danish cuisine has also looked inwards at the rich possibilities inherent in Danish traditional cooking, and in this way attempted to redefine itself, using local products and cooking techniques that have in the past been used in limited ways.
Older Danish food-lovers, however, stick to their old traditions, and cook as described above. It is also exceedingly common in families that mothers and fathers cook together and teach their children how to cook, as food and eating is a very important subject in family life, and a central element in the pursuit of hygge.
In both 2010 and 2011 the Copenhagen restaurant Noma
(short for nordisk mad - Nordic food) was named the world's best restaurant by the renowned Restaurant (magazine) Top 50
.
One of the most famous Danish TV chefs is Claus Meyer who has his own show about the Nordic Cuisine on BBC Television.
Regardless of this, substantial criticism has been directed at the nutritional content of Danish food; for example, at the ratio of meat, side dishes, and salad on the plate. Nutrition information campaigns have been trying to get the Danes to become healthier by eating less meat, fat, and sugar, and more raw vegetables. Instead of a healthier diet, however, the results too often have been feelings of guilt and a view of food as something which is just the correct fuel for the body's machinery.
History of Denmark
The history of Denmark dates back about 12,000 years, to the end of the last ice age, with the earliest evidence of human inhabitation. The Danes were first documented in written sources around 500 AD, including in the writings of Jordanes and Procopius. With the Christianization of the Danes c...
. Danish cuisine is known for its open sandwiches (Smørrebrød
Smørrebrød
Smørrebrød usually consists of a piece of buttered rye bread , a dense, dark brown bread. Pålæg , the topping, then among others can refer to commercial or homemade cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish, cheese or spreads...
), meat balls (Frikadeller
Frikadeller
Frikadeller are flat, pan-fried dumplings of minced meat, often likened to the Danish version of meatballs. They are a popular dish in Germany, where they are known as Frikadellen, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Poland , Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands...
) and sweet pastry. When it comes to drinking, Denmark is known for its beer (Carlsberg
Carlsberg
The Carlsberg Group is a Danish brewing company founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen after the name of his son Carl. The headquarters are in Copenhagen, Denmark...
and Tuborg are world famous breweries) and its bitters
Bitters
A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...
, such as Gammel Dansk
Gammel Dansk
Gammel Dansk is a Danish alcoholic beverage produced by Danish Distillers Ltd. in Dalby, Denmark in southeast Zealand . Traditionally it was drunk by Danes at certain festive occasions, often in connection with breakfast meals, brunch or at wedding anniversaries and birthday celebrations...
. Danish kitchen is heavily influenced by the French
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
and also other European countries, especially its neighbours in Scandinavia and Germany.
Before the widespread industrialisation
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
of Denmark (c. 1860), small family-based agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
formed the vast majority of Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
society. As in most agrarian societies, people lived practically self-sufficiently, and made do with the food they could produce themselves, or what could be purchased locally
Local purchasing
Local purchasing is a preference to buy locally produced goods and services over those produced more distantly. It is very often abbreviated as a positive goal 'buy local' to parallel the phrase think globally, act locally common in green politics....
. This meant reliance on locally available
Local food
Local food or the local food movement is a "collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular...
food products, which form the basis of the traditional diet: cereal products
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
, dairy product
Dairy product
Dairy products are generally defined as foods produced from cow's or domestic buffalo's milk. They are usually high-energy-yielding food products. A production plant for such processing is called a dairy or a dairy factory. Raw milk for processing comes mainly from cows, and, to a lesser extent,...
s, pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
, apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s, plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, carrot
Carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
s, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s, beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, and bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
. Long winters and a lack of refrigeration
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
meant that foods which could be stored for a long time came to predominate. This helps to explain the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in many traditional recipes, and the emphasis placed on seasonally available foods.
In the new Danish cooking style, dishes are sometimes lighter, smaller, more nutritious
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
and generally offer more focus on fresh vegetables. This mode of cooking is increasingly international, highly influenced by Asian cuisine, especially the cuisine of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Despite this, the traditional cuisine is still very popular, especially in the young generations.
Influence from abroad
France has been historically a strong influence. The French language and culture has had a strong influence in the royal house, and in the upper classes. This has also had an influence on Danish cuisine.Germany's proximity has also provided a long-term influence. The area now making up northern Germany
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
was at times throughout history under Danish rule, and there are still many Danish people living in this part of Germany (Southern Schleswig
Southern Schleswig
Southern Schleswig denotes the southern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig on the Jutland Peninsula. The geographical area today covers the thirty or forty northernmost kilometers of Germany up to the Flensburg Fjord, where it borders on Denmark...
and Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
), as well as Germans living in southern Denmark (Northern Schleswig).
The food cultures of southern European countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece, have also influenced the Danish cooking.
Although historically the average Danish person did not travel widely, in more recent years this has begun to change. Danes are travelling more now, and to further, more distant, and exotic destinations. Another influence that brings greater focus on exotic cooking has been the growing availability of exotic food products in the supermarket, and aggressive marketing efforts to make these more acceptable in the average home. These products have become more available primarily because of the growing immigrant population (Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i, Indian
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n) in Denmark.
Eating out
Eating out in Denmark's restaurantRestaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s is a costly affair, with the average price running higher than that of the European average. This is due in part to the country's high taxes, which are included in the cost of restaurant meals, and also to the comparatively high wages that the staff are paid. Because of the latter, tipping is neither required nor expected unless service is exceptionally noteworthy.
Due to the cost, Danes have traditionally eaten out infrequently. While this is beginning to change, especially in the bigger cities and among younger and more affluent people, the typical Dane saves eating out at restaurants for special occasions. When they do eat out, it is usually a lengthy, relaxed affair, consisting of many courses and drinks. Danish people will typically arrive at a restaurant at 7:00 p.m. and stay until 10:00 p.m. or later.
Denmark has a number of fine restaurants; these are found not only in the larger cities, but also in the countryside hotels and lodges (kro). The kro (roughly equivalent to an inn, but held in higher social regard) provides lodging as well as meals and drinks, and has played a long role in Denmark, especially the royally privileged lodges.
In the big cities, and in shopping districts, there are many more reasonably priced eating places, including such chain fast food possibilities as McDonald's and Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, which are not very popular or recogznized among Danes.
The most common quick food restaurant is the "burger bar" or "grill bar" which typically features hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
s, pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
, hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
s and a wide variety of other fast food staples. These can be found in every town in the country, large or small. Other commonly-found fast foods include Turkish and Middle East food specialties such as falafel
Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...
, shish-kebab and spit-roasted meat (most often shawarma
Shawarma
Shawarma is a Levantine Arab sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats. The meat is placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day. It is eaten with pita bread, tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus,...
) with salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
in pita bread, or wrapped in durum wheat based flatbread
Flatbread
A flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
.
Pølsevogn
Pølsevogn
Pølsevogn is a Danish word literally meaning "sausage wagon".These hot dog stands can be found in most municipal areas of Denmark, and even in parks. They are essentially hand-pulled carts with room for one person inside making the hot dogs. Sausage-wagon food is popular among tourists and Danes...
(sausage wagon), where one can eat a variety of different sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
s, including Denmark's very famous red sausages, røde pølser
Pølser
Rød Pølse is a type of boiled sausage very common in Denmark and Norway. Since hot dog stands are ubiquitous in Denmark some people regard røde pølser as one of the national dishes. Their most noticeable aspect is that the skin often contains a traditional red dye making it bright red...
. These hot dog-like sausages are long (ca. 20 cm long), thin (about the diameter of an index finger) and bright red. They are traditionally served on a small, rectangular paper plate along with a side order of bread (similar to a hot dog bun
Hot dog bun
A hot dog bun is a type of soft bun shaped specifically to contain a hot dog. The original purpose of this bun was to make it possible to eat hot dogs without burning ones hands....
, but without a slice in it), and a serving of both ketchup
Ketchup
Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
, Danish remoulade
Remoulade
Remoulade or rémoulade, invented in France, is a popular condiment in many countries. Very much like the tartar sauce of some English-speaking cultures, remoulade is often aioli- or mayonnaise-based. Although similar to tartar sauce, it is often more yellowish , often flavored with curry, and...
sauce, which is somewhat similar to American relish
Relish
A relish is a cooked, pickled, or chopped vegetable or fruit food item which is typically used as a condiment.In North America, relish commonly alludes to sweet pickle relish-like sauce that often condiments hot dogs, hamburgers and other types of fast food.-Description and ingredients:The item...
, and mustard. The sausage is hand held, dipped into the sauce and eaten. The bread is eaten alternately, also dipped into the sauce.
When the sausage is served in a traditional hot dog bun, it is called a "hot dog". It is commonly served with remoulade, ketchup, mustard, onion (either raw or toasted, i.e. ristede) and thin sliced pickles on top. Ristede onions are similar in taste to French-fried onion rings. Another variety is the French hot dog (Fransk hotdog) which is a sausage stuffed into a special long roll. The roll has a hole in the end, in which the hot dog is slipped into, after the requested condiment has been squirted in (ketchup, mustard, different kinds of dressing).
The simplest sausage wagons are portable and very temporary, but most are more permanent. They are typically a metal wagon with an open window to the street, and a counter where one can stand and eat the sausage. More advanced wagons may be built in and include limited seating, usually both inside and outside.
Through the years the number of sausage wagons has dropped as competition from convenience stores, gas stations and kebab and pizza-places has increased.
Café
Another reasonable place to eat is at a caféCafé
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
. These are plentiful, especially in the bigger cities, and usually offer soup
Soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
s, sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
es, salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
s, cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
s, pastries
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
, and other light foods, in addition to the expected coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and other beverages
Drink
A drink, or beverage, is a liquid which is specifically prepared for human consumption. In addition to fulfilling a basic human need, beverages form part of the culture of human society.-Water:...
. Increasingly international café chains have become dominant in the capital Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
these include currently two Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
at the International Airport and several of UK Caffè Ritazza
Caffè Ritazza
Caffè Ritazza is a chain of retail outlets owned by Select Service Partner . It provides a range of coffees, pastries, ciabattas, panini and alcoholic drinks at many sites internationally.- Locations :...
, which can be found at Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality...
, Magasin Torv by the Magasin Du Nord department store, and at Copenhagen Central Station. The Danish coffee bar Baresso Coffee, which serves mainly coffee and tea related products like Starbucks, is present Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Odense
Odense
The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
, Svendborg
Svendborg
Svendborg is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark. The town is in Svendborg municipality . Svendborg is the second-largest city on Funen and has a population of 27,009 ....
, Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
, Aalborg
Aalborg
-Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....
, Hellerup
Hellerup
Hellerup is a Danish town of Region Hovedstaden, located in the Gentofte Municipality in Denmark. It is bordered to the east by the sound Øresund and to the South by Copenhagen and counted among the most affluent areas in Denmark....
, Randers
Randers
Randers is a city in Randers municipality on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 60,656 . Randers city is the main town of the municipality and the site of its municipal council.-Overview:Randers municipality has 94,750 inhabitants...
, and the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
as well as Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality...
and MS Crown of Scandinavia.
Breakfast (Morgenguffer)
A traditional breakfastBreakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
is buttered bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
, a variety of cheeses such as the Danish skæreost (sliced cheese), a buttery creamy white cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
(often Danish havarti
Havarti
Havarti or Cream Havarti is a semi-soft Danish cow's milk cheese. It is a table cheese that can be sliced, grilled, or melted....
, Danbo
Danbo cheese
Danbo is a semi-soft, aged cow's milk cheese originating in Denmark, where it is a common household cheese.The cheese is typically aged between 12 and 52 weeks in rectangular blocks of 6 or 9 kg, coated with a bacteria culture...
or Danish tilsit), ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
, fruits, strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
jam and a lot of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. Sometimes traditional cold cuts, like rullepølse, kødpølse and Danish salami
Salami
Salami is cured sausage, fermented and air-dried meat, originating from one of a variety of animals. Historically, salami has been popular among Southern European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for periods of up to 10 years, supplementing a possibly meager or inconsistent...
, are also eaten.
Some Danes also eat different types of cereal with milk for breakfast, yoghurt with honey or ymer or A38 which are yoghurt-like milk products (similar to junket) with cereal or crumbled bread on top.
Another traditional breakfast, especially among the elder in the traditional villages, are oatmeal porridge and bread-and-beer-soup (øllebrød
Øllebrød
Øllebrød is a traditional Danish dish - a type of porridge made of rugbrød scraps and beer, typically hvidtøl. A thrifty dish, it makes it possible to use the rest of the bread scraps so that nothing is wasted. The idea originated from monastic living, when monks would dip their bread into hot beer....
).
Bread takes many forms: at breakfast it is most often a white bread known as franskbrød (French bread), baguette, rolls (boller, birkes, rundstykker) or croissants. The "Danish pastry
Danish pastry
Danish pastry is a sweet pastry which has become a specialty of Denmark and neighbouring Scandinavian countries and is popular throughout the industrialized world, although the form it takes can differ significantly from country to country...
", which is also eaten at breakfast (although mainly in the weekends and at corporate breakfasts), is called wienerbrød (Viennese bread) and it comes in many varieties. A festive breakfast calls for a shot or two of Gammel Dansk
Gammel Dansk
Gammel Dansk is a Danish alcoholic beverage produced by Danish Distillers Ltd. in Dalby, Denmark in southeast Zealand . Traditionally it was drunk by Danes at certain festive occasions, often in connection with breakfast meals, brunch or at wedding anniversaries and birthday celebrations...
(Old Danish), a Danish stomach bitter
Bitters
A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...
.
Eating breakfast out of the house is not common, although hotel restaurants serve breakfast for their guests. In the cities it is becoming more common to eat brunch
Brunch
Brunch is a meal eaten between breakfast and lunch. The word is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch.-Origin of the word:The 1896 supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary cites Punch magazine which wrote that the term was coined in Britain in 1895 to describe a Sunday meal for "Saturday-night...
out in restaurants during weekends.
It is rather common to invite guests to a morgenbord (literally: morning table) on special occasions. The types of occasions would include, but are not limited to: wedding anniversaries, confirmations and 'round' birthdays. Such a celebration typically features more of the sweet Wienerbrød
Danish pastry
Danish pastry is a sweet pastry which has become a specialty of Denmark and neighbouring Scandinavian countries and is popular throughout the industrialized world, although the form it takes can differ significantly from country to country...
, "brunsviger" (a soft dough with thick brown sugar topping) and lighter breads, foregoing the heartier breads (rugbrød
Rugbrød
Rugbrød is a very commonly used bread in Denmark. The common rugbrød usually resembles a long brown rectangle, no more than 12 cm high, and 30–35 cm wide, although shapes and sizes may vary, as well as the ingredients...
) of the day-to-day breakfast.
Lunch (Frokost / Middagsmad)
The majority of adult Danes work, and therefore eat their lunch at work. Many work places offer a lunchroom cafeteriaCafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, however many prefer to bring along a packed lunch
Packed lunch
thumb|A typical American bagged lunchthumb|[[Bento]] packed lunchA packed lunch is a lunch prepared at home and carried to be eaten somewhere else, such as school, a workplace, or at an outing...
—the madpakke (lunch "package"), typically carried in a madkasse (lunch box). This typically consists of a few pieces of smørrebrød (see below) from home.
Pålæg and smørrebrød (open sandwiches)
Rugbrød
Rugbrød is a very commonly used bread in Denmark. The common rugbrød usually resembles a long brown rectangle, no more than 12 cm high, and 30–35 cm wide, although shapes and sizes may vary, as well as the ingredients...
), a dense, dark brown bread. Pålæg (meaning put-on, actually "that which is laid on [the bread]"), the topping, then among others can refer to commercial or homemade cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish, cheese or spreads.
This is essentially the base on which the art of the famous Danish open sandwich
Open sandwich
An open sandwich, also known as an open face/faced sandwich, Ulrich Sandwich, bread baser, or tartine, consists of a single slice of bread with one or more food items on top.- In various countries :...
, smørrebrød is created: A slice or two of pålæg is placed on the buttered bread, and then decorated with the right accompaniments, to create a tasty and visually appealing food item.
Some traditional examples include:
- Dyrlægens natmadDyrlægens natmadDyrlægens natmad is the Danish name for a piece of smørrebrød upon which a particular selection of meats is laid....
(translated, Veterinarian's midnight snack) -- On a piece of dark rye bread, a layer of liver paté (leverpostejLeverpostejLeverpostej , leverpostei , leverpastej , , maksapasteija or leverpastei is a "pâté" made of pork liver and lard, which is a popular spread in northern Europe...
), topped with a slice of corned beefCorned beefCorned beef is a type of salt-cured beef products present in many beef-eating cultures. The English term is used interchangeably in modernity to refer to three distinct types of cured beef:...
(salt kød) and a slice of meat aspicAspicAspic is a dish in which ingredients are set into a gelatin made from a meat stock or consommé. Non-savory dishes, often made with commercial gelatin mixes without stock or consommé, are usually called gelatin salads....
(sky). This is all decorated with raw onionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
rings and garden cressGarden cressGarden cress is a fast-growing, edible herb that is botanically related to watercress and mustard, sharing their peppery, tangy flavor and aroma...
. - EelEelEels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
-- Smoked eel on dark rye bread, topped with scrambled eggs and sliced herbs. - LeverpostejLeverpostejLeverpostej , leverpostei , leverpastej , , maksapasteija or leverpastei is a "pâté" made of pork liver and lard, which is a popular spread in northern Europe...
-- Warm rough-chopped liverpaste served on dark rye bread, topped with baconBaconBacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
, and sauteed mushroomMushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s. - Roast beefRoast beefRoast beef is a dish of beef which is roasted in an oven. Essentially prepared as a main meal, the leftovers can be and are often served within sandwiches and sometimes is used to make hash...
, thinly sliced and served on dark rye bread, topped with a portion of remouladeRemouladeRemoulade or rémoulade, invented in France, is a popular condiment in many countries. Very much like the tartar sauce of some English-speaking cultures, remoulade is often aioli- or mayonnaise-based. Although similar to tartar sauce, it is often more yellowish , often flavored with curry, and...
, and decorated with a sprinkling of shredded horseradishHorseradishHorseradish is a perennial plant of the Brassicaceae family, which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, and cabbages. The plant is probably native to south eastern Europe and the Arab World , but is popular around the world today...
and crispy fried onions. - Roast pork (Ribbensteg), thinly sliced and served on dark rye bread, topped with red sweet and sour cabbageCabbageCabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
, and decorated with a slice of orangeOrange (fruit)An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
. - Spiced meat roll (Rullepølse).
- TartarSteak tartareSteak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or minced raw beef. Tartare can also be made by thinly slicing a high grade of meat such as strip steak, marinating it in wine or other spirits, spicing it to taste, and then chilling it...
, steak tartareSteak tartareSteak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or minced raw beef. Tartare can also be made by thinly slicing a high grade of meat such as strip steak, marinating it in wine or other spirits, spicing it to taste, and then chilling it...
with salt and pepper, served on dark rye bread, topped with raw onion rings, grated horseradish and a raw egg yolk. - Smoked salmonSmoked salmonSmoked salmon is a preparation of salmon, typically a fillet that has been cured and then hot or cold smoked. Due to its moderately high price, smoked salmon is considered a delicacy.-Presentation:...
(laks)-- Slices of cold smoked or curedCured salmonCured salmon and other fish recipes have been found in many cultures stretching from the people of early to modern Scandinavia to the Native Americans....
salmon (gravad laks) on white bread, topped with shrimpShrimpShrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
and decorated with a slice of lemonLemonThe lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
and fresh dillDillDill is a perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens C.B.Clarke.-Growth:...
. - Stjerneskud (lit. shooting star) -- On a base of buttered toast, two pieces of fishFish (food)Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
: a piece of steamed white fish on one half, a piece of fried, battered plaice or rødspætte on the other half. On top is piled a mound of shrimp, which is then decorated with a dollop of mayonnaiseMayonnaiseMayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
, sliced cucumberCucumberThe cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
, caviarCaviarCaviar, sometimes called black caviar, is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed, salted, non-fertilized sturgeon roe. The roe can be "fresh" or pasteurized, the latter having much less culinary and economic value....
, and a lemonLemonThe lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
slice.
Det kolde bord
The Danish kolde bord (translated, the cold buffet) corresponds to its Swedish counterpart, the smorgasbordSmörgåsbord
Smörgåsbord is a type of Scandinavian meal served buffet-style with multiple dishes of various foods on a table, originating in Sweden. In Norway it is called koldtbord, in Denmark it is called det kolde bord, in Finland seisova pöytä and in Estonia rootsi laud...
(in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Smörgåsbord). It is usually served at lunch time. The cold table may be a buffet arrangement prepared away from the dining table, or more likely it will consist of the many and varied items being brought to the dining table and passed around family-style.
As a first course (or first visit to the buffet table) one will in all likelihood eat pickled herring (marinerede sild), or another herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
dish. The most common herring is marinated either in a clear sweet, peppery vinegar
Vinegar
Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
sauce (white herring), or in a red seasoned vinegar (red herring). It may also come in a variety of sour cream
Sour cream
Sour cream is a dairy product rich in fats obtained by fermenting a regular cream by certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream. Its name stems from the production of lactic acid by bacterial...
-based sauces, including a curry
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
sauce which is very popular. The white herring is typically served on buttered, black rye bread, topped with white onion rings and curry salad (a sour-cream based sauce, flavored with curry and chopped pickles), and served with hard boiled eggs and tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
slices. Herring can also be found which is first fried, and then marinated this is called "stegte sild i eddike" (lit.: Fried herring in vinegar). On extra festive occasions a prepared silderet (herring dish) might be served in which the herring pieces are placed in a serving dish along with other ingredients. Examples might be herring, sliced potato, onions and capers topped with a dill sour cream/mayonnaise sauce, or herring, apple pieces, and horseradish topped with a curry sour-cream/mayonnaise sauce.
Herring is usually served with ice cold schnapps, which according to Danish tradition, helps the fish swim down to the stomach. Also the high alcohol content of schnapps helps dissolve the fat left in the oral cavity after eating the fish, this allows the lunch participant to more readily taste the different dishes.
As a second course one will in all likelihood eat warm foods (lune retter) served on rye bread with accompaniments. Some typical warm foods would be:
- Fried meatballs (frikadellerFrikadellerFrikadeller are flat, pan-fried dumplings of minced meat, often likened to the Danish version of meatballs. They are a popular dish in Germany, where they are known as Frikadellen, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Poland , Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands...
) - Chopped steak patty (hakkebøf)
- Coarsely ground pork and bacon sausage (medisterpølseMedisterpølseMedisterpølse or simply medister, is a Danish specialty food consisting of a thick, spicy sausage made of minced pork stuffed into pig intestines....
) - Parisian steak, (Pariserbøf)
- VealVealVeal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...
medallion (kalvemedaljon) - LiverLiverThe liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
with sauteed mushroomMushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s and onions - Danish-style hamburger on rye bread with fried egg on top (Dansk bøf med spejlæg og rugbrød)
- Pork tenderloin (mørbradbøf) with sauteed onions and pickle slices (surt)
Beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
(in particular the Danish brands— Tuborg, Carlsberg or more local brands such as Faxe
Faxe
Faxe or Fakse is a town in Denmark in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand.Before the Danish Kommunalreformen , Fakse was also a municipality...
, Albani
Albani
Albani is an Italian surname from Latin name Albanus or from Alba , a frequent toponym in Italy...
, Thy Pilsner and Ceres
Ceres Brewery
Ceres Brewery is a brewery located in Aarhus, Denmark. Today, it is part of Royal Unibrew.-History:Ceres Brewery was founded by a grocer named Malthe Conrad Lottrup, with help from the chemists A. S. Aagard and Knud Redelien, as the city's seventh brewery...
) is the preferred beverage during this meal, especially with lune retter, and through the rest of the cold table meal. It is also quite acceptable to have another shot or two of akvavit along the way. Children sometimes drink soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s instead.
Next comes a selection of cold cuts (pålæg) and salads, as might be found on prepared smørrebrød.
Finally a variety of cheeses and fruit is served, along with crackers or white bread.
Christmas lunch, the Julefrokost
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
lunch, a festive holiday smorgasbord, served during the holiday season. A traditional julefrokost is a family event on Christmas Day or shortly after. However, during the whole of December all groups of people (coworkers, members of clubs and organizations) generally hold their own annual julefrokost on a Friday or Saturday evening. The "lunch" may include music and dancing, and usually continues into the very early hours of the morning with plentiful drinking either on the premises or in after-hour bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
tours. All over Denmark train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s and bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es run all night during the julefrokost season and the police are on a special lookout for drunk drivers.
A very special part of not only the julefrokost but of most festive, celebratory meals is the selskabssang (party song). These songs are very special to Denmark. They are sung to traditional tunes, and have specially written lyrics that fit the occasion.
Similar to the julefrokost is the påskefrokost (Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
lunch) which is also widely celebrated, however not as widely as the julefrokost.
Dinner (Aftensmad)
For the average family, dinnerDinner
Dinner is usually the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon culture, dinner may be the second, third or fourth meal of the day. Originally, though, it referred to the first meal of the day, eaten around noon, and is still occasionally used for a noontime meal, if it is a large or main...
is the one meal of the day where everyone can be gathered. Due to the pressures of the modern life where both parents are likely to work, and the children are in school or pre-school institutions.
Danes enjoy inviting people over for dinner. These are often elaborate affairs with many courses. Special events are often celebrated with family and friends at home, and such a celebration is not complete without a sit-down dinner. Often the food is placed in the middle of the table so everyone can serve the amount they wish. It is considered rude and greedy to begin eating before everyone has food on their plate. You don't leave the table before everyone has finished.
Welcome drink
The velkomstdrik is served shortly after guests arrive, and there are usually small snackSnack
A snack is a small portion of food eaten between meals. The food might be snack food—items like potato chips or baby carrots—but could also simply be a smaller amount of any food item.-Snacks and health:...
s set out, such as nuts
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
or potato chips (franske kartofler, literally: French potatoes). Some traditional favorites include:
- MartiniMartini (cocktail)The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken called the martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet" and E. B...
-- Not a dry Martini, but vermouthVermouthVermouth is a fortified wine flavored with various dry ingredients. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France...
served either straight up in an aperitif glass, or on the rocks. - Kir -- Champagne or white wine with blackcurrant liqueur.
- Champagne, sekt or other sparkling wine.
- CocktailCocktailA cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
s
Appetizer
The first course is typically fishFish (food)
Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
, although a wide variety of other appetizers are becoming more common. Common traditional appetizers include:
- Shrimp cocktail (rejecocktail)
- SeafoodSeafoodSeafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
or fish patéPâtéPâté is a mixture of ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste. Common additions include vegetables, herbs, spices, and either wine or cognac, armagnac or brandy...
or terrineTerrine (food)A terrine is a French forcemeat loaf similar to a pâté, made with more coarsely chopped ingredients. Terrines are usually served cold or at room temperature.- See also :* Terrine , the cooking vessel* Pâté* Galantine* Mousseline...
, served with bread
Soups
SoupSoup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
is often a meal on its own, or served with bread. It can also be served before the main dish.
- AsparagusAsparagusAsparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...
soup - TomatoTomatoThe word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
soup, normally served with either pasta, meatballs or both - ChickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
soup with small dumplings (melboller) - CurryCurryCurry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
soup - Leek and potato soup with baconBaconBacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
- Yellow split peaSplit peaSplit peas are the dried, peeled and split seeds of Pisum sativum. In north India, they are generally known as matar ki daal, sometimes used as a cheaper variation for the very popular chhole on stalls offering it. . They come in yellow and green varieties. The peas are round when harvested and dried...
soup (gule ærter)
Main dishes (Hovedretter)
FishFish (food)
Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
, seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
and meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
are prominent parts of any traditional Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
dish.
Denmark has a long tradition of fishing since it is surrounded by the sea, consists of many islands and a 7000 kilometer coastline. It is the country that exports most fish in the European Union and one of the world's greatest fishing nations. Fish consumption is a natural part of the Danish food tradition.
The most commonly eaten fish and seafood are:
- CodCodCod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
(torsk), a common white fish in general food preparation (baked, steamed, fried). It is also dried (klipfisk). Prices have risen in recent years, making this once-favorite fish drop down the list. It has mainly been replaced by other white fish, such as haddockHaddockThe haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....
and lingLingLing may refer to:*-ling, an English diminutive suffix*Ling , a traditional Chinese medicine concept of shamanic power and spirituality*Ling County, in Shandong, China*Ling, the legendary Kingdom, ruled by king Gesar, in Mongol-Tibetan myth...
. - Norway lobsterNorway lobsterNephrops norvegicus, known variously as the Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, or scampi, is a slim, orange-pink lobster which grows up to long, and is "the most important commercial crustacean in Europe"...
(jomfruhummer) - EelEelEels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
(ål), smoked or fried. Smoked eel is almost exalted in some homes. - HerringHerringHerring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
(sild), a whole section should be written about Danish herring dishes. Most involve the herring served cold after being pickled. - PlaiceEuropean plaiceThe European plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, is a commercially important flatfish.- Distribution and habitat :The geographical range of the European plaice is off all coasts from the Barents Sea to the Mediterranean, also in the Northeast Atlantic and along Greenland...
(rødspætte), in the form of fried, battered fish filets or as a common white fish in general food preparation (baked, steamed, fried) - SalmonSalmonSalmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
(laks) -- smoked or gravad lox style. Cooked salmon has become much more common in recent times, and is now fairly widespread. - ShrimpShrimpShrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
(rejer) -- Small shrimp from the north Atlantic are most common. Fjord shrimp are a rare delicacy: very small and flavorful, about the size of the smallest fingernail. - RoeRoeRoe or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins...
(rogn) -- Fish eggs from cod, lumpfish (stenbider) and salmon.
Fish from Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
also has a special place in the Danish cuisine. The island of Bornholm, a part of Denmark located in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, to the east of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland, is noted for its smoked fish items. Iceland and Greenland have long shared histories with Denmark, and the fish from these North Atlantic lands is a sign of quality.
As regards meat-eating, the Danes primarily eat pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
: salted and smoked pork, hams, pork roasts, pork tenderloin, pork cutlets and chops are all popular. Ground pork meat is used in many traditional recipes requiring ground meat. Danish bacon
Danish Bacon
Danish Bacon is a brand under which Danish bacon is sold in the United Kingdom. The product has "Danish" stamped on the rind between wavy lines...
is generally of good quality (in Denmark; exported Danish bacon is of exceptional quality), and available in both the striped and back varieties. While still in first place, pork has lost ground to turkey, beef and veal in recent years.
Beef is also very popular in the modern Danish kitchen. Danish cattle is primarily used for dairy and Denmark has a centuries-old tradition of dairy products. Hence, cattle bred for its meat was rare and thus expensive. Dairy cattle rarely makes good meat cattle - especially after several years as dairy cows. For that reason beef has usually been ground and cooked as patties or cooked as boiled roast or soup. Today steak
Steak
A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
s are nevertheless popular. Especially culotte steak is a classic dish to serve for guests.
Chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
is also popular, both served in the old traditional way, but also as a tray of frozen chicken pieces ready to put into the oven, lørdagskylling (lit. Saturday chicken) which is a quick and cheap way to feed a family.
Grilled lamb is a traditional dish for Easter.
Traditional main course dishes
- Boller i karry, meat balls in curry served with rice and cucumber salad.
- Old fashioned chicken (gammeldags kyllings), served with cucumber salad, rhubarb kompot, potatoes and brown sauce. *FrikadellerFrikadellerFrikadeller are flat, pan-fried dumplings of minced meat, often likened to the Danish version of meatballs. They are a popular dish in Germany, where they are known as Frikadellen, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Poland , Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands...
, meat balls made of pork and veal with species. - Hakkebøf,chopped beef with soft caramelized onions and brown sauce.
- ÆbleflæskÆbleflæskÆbleflæsk is an old Danish dish consisting of bacon, onions, apples, and sugar. The bacon is first fried, followed by the apple pieces, which should soften up before they are taken out of the pan . While the apples are frying, they are mixed with sugar...
(translated: apple pork), fried pork slices served with a compot of apple, onion and bacon. - Stegt flæskStegt flæskStegt flæsk is a dish of fried bacon from Denmark that is generally served with potatoes and a parsley sauce . The dish is sometimes translated as pork strips or crisp fried pork slices...
med persillosovs, slices of fried pork served with potatoes and parsley sauce. - Medister, thick, spicy sausage made of minced pork.
- Æggekage (egg cake) -- similar to an omeletteOmeletteIn cuisine, an omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat , or some combination of the above...
. - Påskelam (Easter lamb) grilled lamb with dry herbs and garlic.
- Culottesteg, Culotte Steak with dry herbs served with potatoes and green salad. A very popular dish to serve for guests.
- DuckDuckDuck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
-- Roast duck like goose is traditionally served and stuffed with baked apples, prunePruneA prune is any of various plum cultivars, mostly Prunus domestica or European Plum, sold as fresh or dried fruit. The dried fruit is also referred to as a dried plum...
s and thymeThymeThyme is a culinary and medicinal herb of the genus Thymus.-History:Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage...
. - GooseGooseThe word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
-- Roast goose is a traditional Danish Christmas dish and also served for Morten's aften (St. Martin's DaySt. Martin's DaySt. Martin's Day, also known as the Feast of St. Martin, Martinstag or Martinmas, the Feast of St Martin of Tours or Martin le Miséricordieux, is a time for feasting celebrations. This is the time when autumn wheat seeding is completed. Historically, hiring fairs were held where farm laborers...
, November 11). It has generally been replaced with duck in many families. - Roast porkPorkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
(Flæskesteg) with crackling and bay leaves. A traditional Danish Christmas dish. - Rødkål, red cabbage with duck grease, sugar, vinager, apple, onion, red wine and species such as cloves, bay leaves, cinnamonCinnamonCinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, cardemom and allspiceAllspiceAllspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
. Served for Christmas. - Brown potatoes, caramelized potatoes made with sugar and butter. Served for Christmas.
- ØllebrødØllebrødØllebrød is a traditional Danish dish - a type of porridge made of rugbrød scraps and beer, typically hvidtøl. A thrifty dish, it makes it possible to use the rest of the bread scraps so that nothing is wasted. The idea originated from monastic living, when monks would dip their bread into hot beer....
(beer bread), a pudding made of rye bread, sugar and beer - MillionbøfMillionbøfMillionbøf is a Danish beef dish that is commonly served with potatoes , pasta or rice. The name comes from the fact that the meat is cut up into many small pieces when stir fried....
, (translated: million steak), gravy filled with tiny pieces of beef (a million tiny steaks) poured over pasta or mashed potatoes. - Brændende kærlighedBrændende kærlighedBrændende kærlighed is a traditional Danish dish of mashed potatoes, butter, and whole milk or cream. An indent in the mashed potatoes is made to form a well into which bacon cubes that have been fried along with some sliced onions are placed...
(Burning Love) - mashed potatoes made with butter and milk or cream. A well is made in the top of the mashed potatoes into which fried diced bacon and onions are filled. - Risengrød, (rice porridge), a dish that has a special relationship to Christmas. It is traditionally the favorite dish of the NisseTomteA tomte , nisse or tonttu is a mythical creature of Scandinavian folklore. The tomte or nisse was believed to take care of a farmer's home and children and protect them from misfortune, in particular at night, when the housefolk were asleep...
. Usually served with butter, cinnamon sugarCinnamon sugarCinnamon sugar is a mixture of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar used as a spice for desserts. While premixed versions are available commercially, it is simple to prepare at home, and more economical.-Proportions:...
and nisseøl. This is also used as the basis of the Danish Christmas dessert Ris á la mande, which is often thought to be French because the name is derived from the French language, even though the dish is actually totally unknown in France.
Potato
PotatoPotato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
recipes are almost ubiquitous in Danish cooking. It has captured this important position in spite of its relatively short career in the Danish kitchen. The potato was first introduced into Denmark by Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s immigrating to Fredericia
Fredericia
Fredericia is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle...
, Denmark from their native France in 1720. Around 1750 King Frederik the 5th
Frederick V of Denmark
Frederick V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.-Early life:...
encouraged widespread cultivation of the grasslands on the Jutland Peninsula
Jutland Peninsula
The Jutland Peninsula or more historically the Cimbrian Peninsula is a peninsula in Europe, divided between Denmark and Germany. The names are derived from the Jutes and the Cimbri....
, by enticing German immigrants to move to Denmark and cultivate potatoes.
The potato is considered an essential side dish to every warm meal. A common expression is "Jeg er en heldig kartoffel!" (I am a lucky potato!). This gives an indication of the exalted and well-loved position that the potato takes in the life of the Danish people.
Especially prized are the season's early potatoes, such as those from Samsø
Samsø
Samsø is a Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 4,300 inhabitants called Samsingers and is 114 km² in area. Due to its central location, the island was used during the Viking Age as a meeting place...
.
Some favorites:
- Au gratin potatoes
- Baked potatoes with crème fraiche
- Boiled new potatoes with herbs
- Potato wedges au natural or baked with with beetroots and carrots marinated in olive oil, garlic and dry herbs.
- Boiled potatoes smothered in butter with fresh dill or chives
- Caramelized browned potatoes (brune kartofler). Usually an accessory to the Christmas meal, roast goose, duck or pork.
- Cold sliced potatoes arranged on buttered rye bread and decorated with mayonnaise and chive
- Mashed potatoes covered with a meat stew
- Pommes frites (French fries)
- Potato saladPotato saladPotato salad is a dish made from boiled potatoes, the versions of which vary throughout different regions and countries of the world. Although called a salad, it is generally considered a side dish, as it generally accompanies the main course....
(kartoffelsalat)
The potato's flexibility is almost limitless.
Pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
and rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
have made great inroads into the Danish diet.
Vegetables, salads
Although the potato is the central vegetable in traditional Danish cooking, it is by no means the only vegetable associated with Danish cuisine. Those other vegetables that play an important role often had to be preserved for long periods of time in cold rooms, or were pickled or marinated for storage. Cauliflower, carrots and a variety of cabbages were often a part of the daily meal, especially when in season, in the days prior to widespread refrigeration.- Beans (bønner)
- Peas (ærter) -- Danes can be almost obsessive during fresh pea season. Peas are a popular snack. They are bought by the bagful, and eaten raw as one walks along.
- Brussels sproutBrussels sproutThe Brussels sprout is a cultivar of wild cabbage grown for its edible buds. The leafy green vegetables are typically 2.5–4 cm in diameter and look like miniature cabbages. The sprout is Brassica oleracea, in the "gemmifera" group of the family Brassicaceae...
s (rosenkål) - CabbageCabbageCabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
(kål) - CarrotCarrotThe carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
s (gulerødder) - Creamed kaleKaleKale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane , a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties. Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming,...
(grønlangkål), spinachSpinachSpinach is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions...
or white cabbageCabbageCabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable... - CauliflowerCauliflowerCauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea, in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed...
(blomkål) - Cucumber salad (agurkesalat)
- Italian salad (italiensk salat), a mixture of vegetables in a mayonnaise dressing, served on ham and other cold cuts. The name comes from the red-white-green coloring, the colors of the Italian flag.
- OnionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
(løg) - Pickled red beet slices (rødbeder)
- PicklesPicklingPickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...
, a mixture of pickled vegetables in a yellow gelatinous sauce, served with corned beef - Russian saladRussian saladSalade Olivier is a salad composed of diced potatoes, vegetables and meats bound in mayonnaise. The salad is usually called Russian salad in Western European and Latin American countries, and Salad Olivieh in Iranian cooking.-History:...
(russisk salat), a red beet salad - Sweet and sour red cabbageRed CabbageThe red cabbage is a sort of cabbage, also known as Red Kraut or Blue Kraut after preparation....
(rødkål)
Sauces and condiments
SauceSauce
In cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
s and condiment
Condiment
A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...
s are an important part of the Danish meal:
- Béarnaise sauceBearnaise sauceBéarnaise sauce is a sauce made of clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks and flavored with herbs. It is considered to be a 'child' of the mother Hollandaise sauce, one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire...
, served with steaks - Brown sauceBrown sauce (meat stock based)In classical French cuisine, a brown sauce generally refers to a sauce with a meat stock base, thickened by reduction and sometimes the addition of a browned roux, similar in some ways to but more involved than a gravy...
(Danish: brun sovs), served with just about anything and everything. Variations include mushroom sauce, onion sauce and herbed brown sauce. - Horseradish sauce (peberrodssovs), a cream sauce served with roast beef or prime rib. Sometimes frozen into individual servings for placement on hot roast beef.
- KetchupKetchupKetchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
, a must with red sausages, along with mustardMustard (condiment)Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
. - MayonnaiseMayonnaiseMayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
, used in food preparation, and as a condiment with pommes frites (French fries). A generous dollop of mayonnaise is generally placed on top of shrimp. - MustardMustard (condiment)Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
(sennep). A wide variety of mustards are available. Traditional mustard is a sharp flavored, dark golden brown, but many other types are widely available and used, including dijon, honey-mustard and other specialty flavored variants. Prepared salad mustard (yellow mustard) is generally eaten with red sausage or hot dogs. A special sweet, dilled mustard is eaten with smoked salmon (laks). - Parsley sauceParsley sauceParsley sauce is a green sauce seasoned with parsley.It is essentially a simple béchamel sauce containing chopped parsley. A variant called "liquor" is often served with pie and mash as a traditional British food, particularly in London.Notes:...
(persillesovs), a white sauce which is generously flavored with parsley. - Pepper sauce, served with steaks.
- RemouladeRemouladeRemoulade or rémoulade, invented in France, is a popular condiment in many countries. Very much like the tartar sauce of some English-speaking cultures, remoulade is often aioli- or mayonnaise-based. Although similar to tartar sauce, it is often more yellowish , often flavored with curry, and...
, a very commonly used condiment. A popular dipping sauce for pommes frites (French fries). - Whiskey sauce, served with steaks
- White sauce, often used with vegetables as a binding sauce (peas, peas and carrots, spinach, shredded cabbage).
Cheese
While the traditional, commonly-eaten cheese (skæreost) in Denmark is mild, there are also stronger cheeses associated with Danish cuisine. Some of these are very pungent. Blue cheese
Blue cheese
Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell, either from that or...
can be quite strong, and Danish cheese manufacturers produce molded cheeses that span the range from the mildest and creamiest to the intense blue-veined cheese internationally associated with Denmark. Another strong cheese is Gamle Ole ("Old Ole"- Ole is a man's name), a pungent aged cheese that has matured for a longer period of time. It can be bitingly strong. It is often served in combination with sliced onion and aspic (sky) on Danish rugbrød
Rugbrød
Rugbrød is a very commonly used bread in Denmark. The common rugbrød usually resembles a long brown rectangle, no more than 12 cm high, and 30–35 cm wide, although shapes and sizes may vary, as well as the ingredients...
spread with lard.
Strong cheeses are an acquired taste for Danes too. Elderly Danes who find the smell offensive might joke about Gamle Ole's smelling up a whole house, just by being in a sealed plastic container in the refrigerator. One might also refer to Gamle Ole's pungency when talking about things that are not quite right, i.e. "they stink". Here one might say that something stinks or smells of Gamle Ole.
Denmark lost a long legal battle with Greece, to use the term "feta
Feta
Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese,...
" for a Danish cheese produced using artificially blanched cow's milk. Since July 2002, feta has been a protected designation of origin
Protected designation of origin
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
(PDO), which limits the term within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
to feta made exclusively of sheep's/goat's milk in Greece.
Some Danish cheeses include:
- Danablu
- Castello Blue
- Esrom
- Danbo
- Mycella
- Havarti(a semi-soft Danish cow's milk cheese named after the experimental farm on which it was first made in the mid-19th century).
- Danish Feta
- Smoked cheese(a fresh specialty from the island of Funen spiced with cumin and served with radish and rye bread)
Seasonings and herbs
Fresh herbHerb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s are very popular, and a wide variety are readily available at supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s or local produce stands. Many people grow fresh herbs either in the kitchen window, in window boxes or outside, weather permitting. Most commonly used herbs and other seasonings in Danish cooking:
- ChivesChivesChives are the smallest species of the edible onions. A perennial plant, they are native to Europe, Asia and North America.. Allium schoenoprasum is the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old World....
- CressCress-Plants:* Alpine Rock Cress* Bulbous Cress* Cedar Glade Cress* Garden cress, a leafy vegetable* Hoary Bitter Cress* Hoary Cress* Indian Cress* Land cress, a biennial herb* Marsh Cress* Peppercress, a mustard* Rockcress, several brassicales...
- Curry powderCurry powderCurry powder is a mixture of spices of widely varying composition based on South Asian cuisine. Curry powder, and the contemporary English use of the word curry are Western inventions and do not reflect any specific Indian food, though a similar mixture of spices used in north India is called...
- DillDillDill is a perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens C.B.Clarke.-Growth:...
- GarlicGarlicAllium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
- ParsleyParsleyParsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...
- RosemaryRosemaryRosemary, , is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus...
- ThymeThymeThyme is a culinary and medicinal herb of the genus Thymus.-History:Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage...
- OreganoOreganoOregano – scientifically named Origanum vulgare by Carolus Linnaeus – is a common species of Origanum, a genus of the mint family . It is native to warm-temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region.Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall,...
Fruit
Similarly to vegetables, fruitFruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
had to withstand long storage during the winter to become a part of the traditional cuisine. Fruit is generally eaten in smaller portions, often as an accompaniment to cheese, or as decoration with desserts.
Fruit that is traditionally associated with Danish cuisine:
- AppleAppleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s (Æbler) Popular in traditional dishes as 'winter apples' store well. Can be fried and served with Flæsk (thick bacon) - BlackcurrantBlackcurrantBlackcurrant, Ribes nigrum, is a species of Ribes berry native to central and northern Europe and northern Asia, and is a perennial....
(Solbær), literally 'sun berries' - CherriesCherryThe cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
(Kirsebær) When in season eaten fresh. But famously cooked into cherry sauce, traditionally served over rice pudding (risalamande) at Christmas. Also used in making Heering, a famous cherry liqueur, produced in Denmark. - GooseberryGooseberryThe gooseberry or ; Ribes uva-crispa, syn. R. grossularia) is a species of Ribes, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia...
(Stikkelsbær) literally 'thorny berries'. Used for stewed gooseberries (stikkelsbærgrød). - PearPearThe pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s (Pærer) - PlumPlumA plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s (Blommer) - RaspberriesRaspberryThe raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
(Hindbær) - RedcurrantRedcurrantThe redcurrant , Ribes rubrum, is a member of the genus Ribes in the gooseberry family Grossulariaceae, native to parts of western Europe...
s (Ribs) Made to jelly or simply mixed raw with sugar as (Rysteribs), served to roast. - StrawberriesStrawberryFragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
(Jordbær), literally 'earth berries'
A combination of strawberries, red currants, black currants, blueberries and mulberries is known as "forest fruits" (skovbær) and is a common component in tarts and marmalades. A popular dessert is made from boiling down one or more berries (and/or rhubarbs) into 'rødgrød (red porridge) med fløde (with cream)'. Cream is poured on top, but may be substituted by milk.
Rødgrød med fløde is often jokingly used by Danes as a shibboleth
Shibboleth
A shibboleth is a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important...
, as it contains the soft "d" several times, which is only found in the Danish language, which most foreigners find difficult to pronounce.
Drinks
- AkvavitAkvavitAkvavit or aquavit is a traditional flavoured spirit that is principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century....
-- a clear, high proof spirit made from potatoes but, unlike vodka, always herbed (dilled, etc.) - BeerBeerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
-- Carlsberg, Tuborg, local. Drinking a "pilsner" is a favored activity of many Danish people after work or when relaxing. The pilsner type is the dominant beer type in Denmark. - BittersBittersA bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...
-- the most popular bitter is "Gammel Dansk" (translated, Old Danish). - CoffeeCoffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
-- black home brewed coffee with the local BodumBodumBodum, Inc., is a tableware and kitchenware company founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1944 by Peter Bodum. In 1978, the founder's son and new chief executive officer, Jørgen Bodum, moved the company to Switzerland to locate Bodum strategically in central Europe.Besides being known for the...
coffee maker or filter coffeeDrip brewDrip brewing, or filtered coffee, is a method for brewing coffee which involves pouring water over roasted, ground coffee beans contained in a filter. Water seeps through the coffee, absorbing its oils and essences, solely under gravity, then passes through the bottom of the filter...
, often taken throughout the day and evening, and always in the morning. - Elderflower cordialElderflower cordialElderflower cordial is a soft drink made largely from a refined sugar and water solution and uses the flowers of the elderberry, also called the sambucus nigra...
-- hyldeblomstsaft -- Concentrated and sweetened juice with elderflower intended for mixing with water. Often served hot in the Winter but also often cold. - Fruit wineWineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
s -- Cherry wine, black currant wine, elderberry wine. - Gløgg -- hot punch made with red wine, brandy and sherry with raisins and almonds. Spiced with cloves and cinnamon. Obligatory around Christmas. Similar to Mulled wineMulled wineMulled wine, variations of which are popular in Europe, is wine, usually red, combined with spices and typically served warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas and Halloween.-Glühwein:...
. - Hot chocolateHot chocolateHot chocolate is a heated beverage typically consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar...
-- Varm kakao; often served to children and an essential part of family hygge. - MeadMeadMead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...
-- Mjød—made legendary by the Vikings. - Mineral waterMineral waterMineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
Danskvand, translated Danish water, often with citrus. - Saftevand -- A juice drink made from fruit syrup and water, often served to children.
- TeaTeaTea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
-- growing in popularity are herbal teas.
Desserts
- Strawberry pie, very popular in the summer.
- Apple pie, oven baked.
- Apple charlotte (Æblekage)-- Stewed apple topped with bread crumbs and crushed almond-flavoured meringue or whipped cream, served cold.
- Fruit salad topped with vanilla cream or whipped cream and grated chocolate
- Rødgrød med fløde -- Stewed, thickened red fruit (usually strawberries or rhubarb) with cream or as topping on ice cream.
- Pancakes (Pandekager) -- Thin, crepe-like pancakes, rolled up, often sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, and served with strawberry jam or vanilla ice cream.
- Buttermilk KoldskålButtermilk KoldskålButtermilk koldskål is a sweet cold beverage or soup, made with buttermilk and other ingredients: eggs, sugar, cream and/or other dairy products, vanilla, and lemon...
(Koldskål)-- A sweet cold butter milk dish with vanilla and lime, often served in the summer. - Danish strawberries with cream, served in the summer.
- Æbleskiver,(‘apple slices’), similar to a round American pancake though not the same, Danes eat them through December as a Christmas tradition.
- Rice puddingRice puddingRice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and sometimes other ingredients such as cinnamon and raisins. Different variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined with a sweetener such as sugar.-Rice pudding around the world:Rice...
(Ris á la mande) -- rice pudding with whipped cream, vanilla and chopped almonds. Commonly eaten at Christmas-night, served cold with cherry-sauce.
Baked goods
- BreadBreadBread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
s - CookieCookieIn the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat, baked treat, usually containing fat, flour, eggs and sugar. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have...
s— Danish butter cookies are popular in the United States and are sold in round, decorated tins. - Danish pastriesDanish pastryDanish pastry is a sweet pastry which has become a specialty of Denmark and neighbouring Scandinavian countries and is popular throughout the industrialized world, although the form it takes can differ significantly from country to country...
— known in Denmark (and Sweden) as wienerbrød (Vienna bread) - Kransekage (translated, ringcake) — an almondAlmondThe almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
cake consisting of increasingly smaller and smaller rings stacked one on top of each other, creating an upside down cone form. The cake rings are decorated with white icing, and the cake is decorated with red-and-white Danish flags made of paper. On extra special occasions they will cover a bottle of champagne. Kransekage is typically served with champagne on New Year's and to celebrate such extra special occasions such as weddings, "round" birthdays and wedding anniversaries. - KringleKringleKringle is a Scandinavian pastry, a Nordic variety of pretzel, which arrived with Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century, especially in Denmark...
— a pretzel-shaped cake, especially associated with Denmark in the United States - Layer cakeLayer cakeA layer cake is a cake consisting of multiple layers, usually held together by frosting or another type of filling, such as jam or other preserves. Most cake recipes can be made into layer cakes; butter cakes and sponge cakes are common choices...
s -- thin sponge cake layers, often with mashed berries and whipped cream or custard between the layers and decorated with fruit on top. Often used to celebrate birthdays. - Pebernødder— pepper nuts, a small, spice cookie associated with Christmas
- ÆbleskiverÆbleskiverÆbleskiver are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover...
— made in a special pan, these round, pancake-like dough balls are traditionally eaten with jam and powdered sugar at Christmas.
Denmark and bread
Rugbrød
Rugbrød is a very commonly used bread in Denmark. The common rugbrød usually resembles a long brown rectangle, no more than 12 cm high, and 30–35 cm wide, although shapes and sizes may vary, as well as the ingredients...
, which is sour-dough rye bread
Rye bread
Rye bread is a type of bread made with various percentages of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour...
. It is a dark, heavy bread which is sometimes bought pre-sliced, in varieties from light-coloured rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
, to very dark, and refined to whole grain
Whole grain
Whole grains are cereal grains that contain cereal germ, endosperm, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. Whole grains can generally be sprouted while refined grains generally will not sprout. Whole-meal products are made by grinding whole grains in order to make...
. It forms the basis of smørrebrød
Smørrebrød
Smørrebrød usually consists of a piece of buttered rye bread , a dense, dark brown bread. Pålæg , the topping, then among others can refer to commercial or homemade cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish, cheese or spreads...
, which is closely related to the Swedish smörgås, literally 'spread bread' (smør is butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
). Traditional toppings include sild, which are pickled herrings
Herrings
Herrings may refer to:*Herrings, New York, a village*Herring, a sort of fish...
(marinerede - plain, krydder - spiced, or karry - curried), slightly sweeter than Dutch or German herrings; thinly-sliced cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
in many varieties; sliced cucumber
Cucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
and boiled eggs; leverpostej, which is pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
liver-paste; dozens of types of cured or processed meat in thin slices, or smoked fish such as salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
; mackerel
Mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
in tomato sauce; pickled cucumber
Cucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
; boiled egg, and rings of red onion
Red onion
Red onions, sometimes called purple onions, are cultivars of the onion with purplish red skin and white flesh tinged with red.These onions tend to be medium to large in size and have a mild to sweet flavor. They are often consumed raw, grilled or lightly cooked with other foods, or added as color...
. Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
mixed with peas
PEAS
P.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors.-Performance:Performance is a function that measures the quality of the actions the agent did....
, sliced boiled asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...
and diced carrot
Carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
, called italiensk salat (lit. Italian salad), remoulade
Remoulade
Remoulade or rémoulade, invented in France, is a popular condiment in many countries. Very much like the tartar sauce of some English-speaking cultures, remoulade is often aioli- or mayonnaise-based. Although similar to tartar sauce, it is often more yellowish , often flavored with curry, and...
or other thick sauces often top the layered open sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
, which is usually eaten with utensils. It is custom to pass the dish of sliced breads around the table, and then to pass around each dish of toppings, and people help themselves. Hundreds of combinations and varieties of smørrebord are available.
A famous and very old restaurant in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
's historic Nyhavn
Nyhavn
Nyhavn is a 17th century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbour front just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants...
harbor, Ida Davidsen
Ida Davidsen
Ida Davidsen is a celebrated smørrebrød restaurant located in the heart of Copenhagen, Denmark. The restaurant is more than a century old and is considered a cultural institution in Denmark with a menu of over 178 varieties of open-faced sandwiches. Popular among tourists and locals alike, Queen...
, serves up many imaginative combinations, and the fridge in a typical Danish home will often be stocked with toppings for rugbrødsmad, or "rye bread meal", which is a way of saying "a plain normal lunch." Denmark has strong traditions of special types of food eaten at particular times of the year, such as smoked eel with slices of a sort of scrambled-egg loaf eaten on rye bread at New Year, accompanied by beer. Other types of bread are sold in supermarkets and in bakeries, which are important shops in every town and shopping centre. Many people still bake at home, particularly boller, which are small bread rolls, and often the traditional kringle
Kringle
Kringle is a Scandinavian pastry, a Nordic variety of pretzel, which arrived with Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century, especially in Denmark...
, which is a long cooked dough with currants
Ribes
Ribes is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants native throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually treated as the only genus in the family Grossulariaceae. Seven subgenera are recognized....
and a brown sugar
Brown sugar
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...
and butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
paste. Home-baked bread uses moist yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
, the major brand Malteserkors being a division of Carlsberg Brewery. In the great trucking strikes of 1998, yeast was one of the first products to be sold out in shops, indicating the importance of home baking in Denmark. Sliced white bread
White bread
White bread is made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ have been removed through a process known as milling. Milling gives white flour a longer shelf life by removing the bran which contains oil, allowing products made with it, like white bread, the ability to survive storage and...
is known in Denmark as franskbrød, literally "French bread", and is not as common as it is in many other western countries. People often eat jam with cheese on crusty white bread for breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
, and also very thin slices of chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
, called pålægschokolade
Pålægschokolade
Pålægschokolade are thin slices of chocolate that are used as a topping on bread, such as rugbrød or white bread....
.
Another popular way of consuming bread in Denmark is as tiny buns for long hotdogs, made out of white bread, which are available in small kiosks everywhere and in pølsevogne ("sausage-vans") that move about in the cities.
Confections
- ChocolateChocolateChocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
Denmark has a long tradition of producing delicious chocolate known worldwide, most famous brand is Anton Berg. - Liquorice Sometimes salty licorice, made with salmiakSalmiakkiSalty liquorice, also known as salmiak or salmiakki is a variety of liquorice flavoured with ammonium chloride, common in Netherlands, Nordic Countries, Baltic States and Northern Germany. Ammonium chloride gives salty liquorice an astringent, salty taste , which has been described as...
. Denmark produces some of the strongest liquorice in the world. - MarzipanMarzipanMarzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal. Persipan is a similar, yet less expensive product, in which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels...
- Wine gums While similar looking and often similar branded as in other European countries, Danish wine gums are much less sweet and have more texture.
There also exists a vast amount of other types of sweets and candy, ranging from gum drops and dragée to mints and caramel
Caramel
Caramel is a beige to dark-brown confection made by heating any of a variety of sugars. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, and as a topping for ice cream, custard and coffee....
sweets. Bland selv slik (lit: mix yourself candy) is common in Danish supermarkets and kiosks, and consists of an amount of plastic boxes, usually between 20 and 50, each containing a different type of candy, which is then put into a paper bag with a small shovel-like object. The paper bag is then weighed, and paid for.
Both Danish and imported candy are found in these box assortments, and the shape, texture and flavor differences are often extremely creative. Candy have been manufactured resembling a vast amount of objects, such as flying saucers, tennis raquets, soccer balls, butterflies, and even more strange, also teeth and toothbrushes.
New Danish cuisine
Danish cuisine continues to change and keep up with the times. It has become more health-conscious, and has drawn inspiration (fusion cuisineFusion cuisine
Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not being categorized per any one particular cuisine style, and can pertain to innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s.-Categories and types:...
) not only from the traditional French and Italian kitchen, but also from many other more exotic gastronomical sources. These come often from either the travels of cooks, but also their immigration into Denmark from all over the world.
Danish cuisine has also looked inwards at the rich possibilities inherent in Danish traditional cooking, and in this way attempted to redefine itself, using local products and cooking techniques that have in the past been used in limited ways.
Older Danish food-lovers, however, stick to their old traditions, and cook as described above. It is also exceedingly common in families that mothers and fathers cook together and teach their children how to cook, as food and eating is a very important subject in family life, and a central element in the pursuit of hygge.
In both 2010 and 2011 the Copenhagen restaurant Noma
Noma (restaurant)
Noma is a two Michelin star restaurant run by chef René Redzepi in Copenhagen, Denmark. The name is an acronym of the two Danish words "nordisk" and "mad" , and the restaurant is known for its reinvention and interpretation of the Nordic Cuisine...
(short for nordisk mad - Nordic food) was named the world's best restaurant by the renowned Restaurant (magazine) Top 50
Restaurant (magazine) Top 50
The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants is produced by British magazine Restaurant based on a poll of international chefs, restaurateurs, gourmands and restaurant critics. In addition to the main ranking, the Chef's Choice list is based on votes from the fifty head chefs from the restaurants...
.
One of the most famous Danish TV chefs is Claus Meyer who has his own show about the Nordic Cuisine on BBC Television.
Criticism
The Danish food culture is sometimes criticized by gastronomes and independently, by nutritionists. The author and historian Søren Mørch has characterized Danish cuisine as a "garbage kitchen" of insipid, sweet and unspiced "baby food" where the tastes of milk and sweetness are the key elements. He believes that this style arose because the export policy of the Danish food sector was to use the Danes as a "gutter" for the products that were left over when the bacon and butter were sold abroad. Skim milk, meat scraps only suitable for chopping up, and the replacement product margarine are products which Søren Mørch describes as residues.Regardless of this, substantial criticism has been directed at the nutritional content of Danish food; for example, at the ratio of meat, side dishes, and salad on the plate. Nutrition information campaigns have been trying to get the Danes to become healthier by eating less meat, fat, and sugar, and more raw vegetables. Instead of a healthier diet, however, the results too often have been feelings of guilt and a view of food as something which is just the correct fuel for the body's machinery.