DANISH CUISINE

Danish cuisine is one of the world cuisines that brings to mind family and friends. The Danes
have a philosophy about what food means to them and the contentment they associate with it - it
is called hygge.

Hygge means basically good food, good company, wine, comfortable furniture, music, laughter,
and good lighting - the epitome of entertainment and enjoying the food you eat. To Danes, it is
extremely important that food is associated with happy times, family and friends. Going out to
dinner is becoming less of a luxury in Denmark, but it is still not as prevalent as in other parts of
the world. Food preparation and serving a good meal is a great part of the Danish experience
when it comes to cuisine.

 Danish cuisine also features the products suited to its cool and moist northern climate: barley,
potatoes, rye, beetroot, greens, berries, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are
one of its specialties. Since it shares its climate and agricultural practices with the other
Scandinavian countries, and some of Central and Eastern Europe, Danish cuisine has much in
common with them. Nevertheless, it has its own distinguishing features, which were formed by a
variety of influences during the country's long and difficult history.

HISTORY
Before the widespread industrialisation of Denmark (ca. 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
products, pork, seafood, apples, plums, carrots,potatoes, onions, beer, and bread.

Agriculture still plays a large role in Denmark's economy, and Danish agricultural products are
generally preferred overimported items, although products from Germany, The Netherlands and
the rest of Europe are gaining increasingly larger market shares in Danish supermarkets.

As in most pre-industrial societies, 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. It also helps explain some of the traditional food preparation processes which
favored smoking, pickling, and other food preservation techniques that prolong the storage life of
products. Moreover, Denmark's geography, which comprises many islands meant that before
industrialization and associated advances in transportation it was difficult, time-consuming, and
costly to travel great distances, or to ship products. These factors have thus helped mold the
traditional eating habits of the Danish people.

Good food is an important ingredient in the Danish concept of hygge, a word that can be best
translated as a "warm, fuzzy, cozy, comfortable feeling of well-being" and may be seen as
analogous to the German Gemütlichkeit. While the attainment of hygge is a near-universal goal
in Danish culture, hygge itself is a highly personal concept, and varies significantly according to
circumstances, region, and individual family traditions. Generally speaking, however, good food,
good company, wine, comfortable furniture, soft easy lighting (candle lights in particular),
music, etc., all contribute to the feeling of "hygge".

Although famously liberal with respect to social values, some older Danes are fairly conservative
when it comes to food. They thus appreciate traditional cooking, and are hesitant to embrace new
"different" types of food.

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 French, American and Asian cuisine, especially the cuisine
of Thailand. Despite this, the buttery traditional cuisine is still very popular, especially in the
young generations

CULTURE
There are three main meals in Denmark: breakfast and dinner are typically eaten at home,
whereas lunch for practical reasons has to be eaten elsewhere and often consists of a packed
lunch brought from home.

BREAKFAST
In the morning, most adults drink coffee or tea and eat rye bread or white bread with cheese or
jam. Children and young people often eat milk products with cereals such as corn flakes, muesli
or oatmeal. 

Unique to Denmark is junket crumble (ymerdrys), a mixture of grated rye bread and brown
sugar. Øllebrød, a dish made of rye bread, sugar and non-alcoholic beer, which has been eaten
for breakfast since the middle ages, is no longer common. 

During the second half of the 19th century, special kinds of breakfast bread were developed, i.e.
small round, flat or crescent-shaped wheat rolls, which in Denmark are made of bread dough.
They are only eaten in the morning and can be bought fresh-baked almost anywhere in the
country every day of the week. 

On Sundays, many Danes eat fresh-baked breakfast rolls with cheese or jam and wienerbrød
(Danish pastry), little pastries filled with custard or a mixture of butter, sugar and cinnamon,
made of rich bread dough, rolled out several times in layers with butter between so that the
finished pastry is flaky. In addition, fruit juice is often served and sometimes a glass of Gammel
Dansk or another bitter. 
This meal is also served on festive occasions, such as special birthdays and anniversaries, where
guests are invited for open house with breakfast. The American brunch was introduced in the late
20 century, but is mainly a restaurant phenomenon. 

LUNCH
While breakfast and dinner are eaten at home, most Danes eat lunch elsewhere. Generally lunch
is a cold meal consisting of slices of rye bread buttered and covered with for instance various
kinds of sausage, sliced boiled egg or liver paste, a baked mixture of chopped pig’s liver and lard
of a spreadable consistency. 

In recent years, an increasing number of companies and institutions have established canteens
where the staff can buy lunch and some offer a fairly wide range of dishes, but many Danes still
prefer to bring a packed lunch from home. 

Festive versions of the standard lunch have also developed. Elaborate smørrebrød (open
sandwiches) have been known since the 1880s. 

The classics include buttered rye bread with pickled herring salad, smoked herring, smoked
salmon, smoked eel with scrambled egg, corned beef with pickles and horseradish, tongue with
vegetable mayonnaise, roast pork with apples and prunes and over-matured cheese with meat-
jelly and rum. 

Open sandwiches are served in lunch restaurants and there are open sandwich shops in large
towns. 

DINNER
The evening meal is called middag, because it used to be eaten in the middle of the day. It is
eaten at home and most Danes make an effort to gather the family around a hot meal every
evening. 

Until the mid 20th century, two courses were served: a first course, for instance gruel, meat broth
or sweet fruit soup, and a main course of meat or fish, always accompanied by potatoes and
gravy. 

On Sundays, pudding was served instead of the first course. In the 1960s, when women entered
the labour market, the evening meal was simplified and most people now have only a single
course on weekdays. 
Since the 1960s, there have been many changes as a result of the increasing prosperity, the
advent of self-service in retail trade, the introduction of electricity in the kitchen, refrigerators
and freezers as well as the growth of the food industry. 

The American influence is obvious with dishes such as salad buffets, baked potatoes, barbecues,
turkey and ready-to-serve chicken dishes. In the 1980s, the Italian cuisine gained ground with
pizza, pasta and extensive use of tomatoes. In the 1990s, it was Asiatic food that became
fashionable, although it was never really pervasive. 
Meat consumption has risen dramatically, still with pork as the most common kind of meat. The
Danes eat mainly mince and cuts for pan-frying and traditional gravy and potato dishes are still
very common. 

CONTRIBUTIONS

One of Denmark's most wonderful contributions to world cuisine is their cheese - see below for
the amazing number of cheeses Denmark produces. They are also famous for their contribution
to pastry worldwide and one of their specialties - Danish pastries. Still further, a great part of
Danish cuisine is directly tied to the smorgasbord where foods of many different kinds figure
prominently. They are also known for their wonderfully creative open-faced sandwiches as well
as several magnificent desserts to include rodgrod.

Danish cuisine over the years has thus developed into a cooking style that features things like
pickled herring or smoked salmon. There is also a heavy reliance on vinegar-based dishes such
as red cabbage dishes or sweet and sour dishes such as cucumbers and cabbage. This all came
about because of the early reliance on pickling or preserving-based substances to keep food for a
long time. It has lived on and become part of the magic of Danish cuisine with all its unique
tastes. Their cuisine was also influenced by the French, German and other Scandinavian cultures
as time went on and people began to travel more freely or became intimately involved with more
countries.

The Traditional Danish Cuisine 

The Danish cuisine still contains elements harking back to the time before industrialisation, i.e.
the time before c. 1860, the age of storage housekeeping with a cuisine based on beer and rye
bread, salted pork and salted herrings. 

Among the dishes from those days which are still eaten today are øllebrød (a dish made of rye
bread, sugar and non-alcoholic beer), vandgrød (porridge, usually barley porridge, made with
water), gule ærter (split pea soup), æbleflæsk (slices of pork with apples fried in the fat), klipfisk
(dried cod), blodpølse (black pudding), finker (an approximation to haggis) and grønlangkål
(thickened stewed kale). 

In the second half of the 19th century, i.e. the age of the co-operative movement, milk and
potatoes played a prominent part, and the stove, the mincer and the developing retail trade
provided new possibilities for dishes such as roast pork and gravy, boiled cod with mustard
sauce, consommé with meat, bread or flour dumplings, rissoles, minced beef patties and other
dishes based on minced meat. 

The same period saw the emergence of many fruit dishes such as rødgrød (thickened stewed
fruit), sødsuppe (fruit soup) and stewed fruits, and the range of vegetable dishes was expanded
with boiled cabbage in white sauce, red cabbage, pickled beetroot, cucumber salad, and peas and
carrots in white sauce. 
The sausage stall with its gas-fired water-bath, frying pans and gridirons is a popular element in
the Danish urban landscape. As a predecessor of fast food restaurants it has created a culture of
its own. 

HERBS, SPICES, and SEASONINGS

Herbs in Denmark are usually rather traditional with the exception of curry. They do use dill as
their cuisine is heavily fish-based. They also use such things as:
o Rosemary- is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. It is
native to theMediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which
also includes many other herbs.
o Parsley- is a bright green biennial herb, often used as spice. It is common in Middle
Eastern, European, and American cooking. In modern cooking, parsley is used for
its leaf in much the same way as coriander (which is also known as Chinese
parsley or cilantro), although parsley is perceived to have a milder flavor.
o Chives- are the smallest species of the onion family Alliaceae, native to Europe, Asia and
North America. Allium schoenoprasum is also the only species of Allium native to both
the New and the Old World and is a perennial.
o Curry 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. 
o Thyme- is a well-known culinary and medicinal herb
o Dill- is a short-lived perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though
classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens (L.)
C.B.Clarke.
o Garlic
o Sage

DRINKS
Drinks usually center around akvavit, which is a potato based liquor, beer (some quite strong),
glogg (which is similar to a mulled wine), bitters, barley wine, coffee, tea, mineral water, hot
chocolate, and fruit wines.

Danish Candies and Sweets 

The Danes also make licorice - some of the strongest licorice in the world which is very popular
in Denmark. They also make wine gums and share the world's love of chocolate and caramel in
many forms.

RECIPES
 Stuffed Eggs

Serves 6

 6 hard-boiled eggs
 4 tablespoons mayonnaise or sour cream
 2 teaspoons onion or chives -- finely minced
 ¼ teaspoon salt
 ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
 2 anchovy filets cut in 1" pieces

Remove yolks from lengthwise-halved eggs and combine with remaining ingredients.

NOTES : Variations: Fill whites with caviar; mix mashed yolks with salt, pepper, sour cream or
mayonnaise, and, using a small pastry tube, pipe a garnish of egg yolks around the caviar. Top
each with a small bit of green pepper, lemon peel, olive, pimiento or onion.

Mash yolks with 2 tablespoons finely minced smoked or pickled herring; add a few drops lemon
juice and olive oil, or french dressing; add just enough mayonniase for smoothness; fill white and
garnish with a small bit of dill.

Crush 1 tablespoon capers and 1 or 2 anchovy fillets; add to mashed yolks and some mayo for
smoothness. Garnish with culed anchovy fillet.

Fill whites with miced cooked lobster marinated in french dressing. Garnish with yolks and
mayo. Add drop of mayo to top of lobster.

Mix yolks with equal part pâté de poie gras; add Madeira or sherry a drop at a time, to smooth.
Fill whites with pastry tube. Sprinkle with finely chopped ripe olive, or with chopped truffle
from pâté jar.

Smørgåsbord Fish Pudding

Serves 18
  4 pounds white fish
 2 tablespoons salt
 3 tablespoons cornstarch
 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 2 cups milk
 2 cups cream

Clean the fish, remove all bones and cut into fillets. Cut the fillets into small pieces and sprinkle
with salt. Put through the finest blase of your food chopper.

Mix the ground fish and the cream. Shape part of the mixture into small balls (will make
approximately 18). Reserve balance for alter use.

Cook the balls 20 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and keep warm.

Pour the rest of the fish mixture into a buttered baking mold and place it in a shallow pan half
filled with hot water. Bake in a moderate oven preheated to 350 degrees 40 to 60 minutes.

Turn out on a heated serving platter and garnish with the boiled small fish balls. Serve
with Shrimp Sauce.

Seafood-Grapefruit Mold

Serves 6

 16 ounces grapefruit in juice

 1 envelope gelatin powder, unsweetened
 1 cup white wine
 ¼ cup whipping cream
 ¼ cup mayonnaise
 ½ pound crab meat -- cooked, drained
 10 ounces asparagus, frozen -- cooked, drained
 Lettuce Leaves/Parsley for garnish

Soak Gelatin in grapefruit juice for 5 minutes. Palce over pan of boiling water; stir until gelatin is
dissolved. Add white wine to make 2 cups. Chill, stirring until mixture has consistency of
unbeaten egg whites. Pour ¼ cup into bottom of 3-cup ring mold. Refrigerate until set (20
minutes). Spread frapefruit over top. Cover with remaining gelatin mixture. Refrigerate until set
(2 hours). Beat cream until stiff peaks form; fold in mayo, then crab meat and asparagus. Spoon
crab salad into center of molded gelatin on serving plate.

Salted Salmon
Serves 20

 5 pounds fresh salmon fillets

 2 tablespoons kosher salt
 1 teaspoon peppercorns -- crushed
 2½ tablespoons sugar
 ¼ teaspoon saltpeter
 6 sprigs fresh dill

Rub remaining ingredients on fillets. Chop ½ of the dill and spread over pieces. Lay 2 pieces
togethed, skin side out. Put more dill over and under. Press between 2 weighted boards in
refrigerator overnight.

When ready to serve, wash fish, cut in serving-sized pieces at a slant and remove any remaining
skin. Arrange on serving dish, garnish with fresh dill and sreve with french dressing.

Frozen Fruit Salad - Frossen Frugtsalat

 1 cup tart cherries

 2 cups pineapple chunks
 1 cup candied cherries
 2 cups seedless grapes
 1 cup oranges -- sliced
 2 cups heavy cream
 2 cups miniature marshmallows -- cut
 Slivered almonds -- optional
 Fresh strawberries

Pit the cherries. Drain all the fruits. Save the juice to make a dressing for other salads.

Whip the cream until stiff. Fold in the marshmallows and fruits, mixing well. (Now is the time to
add slivered almonds.)

Place in the salad bowl you will use on the table and set under the coil of the freezing
compartment of your refrigerator until frost appears on top. Move the bowl to a warmer spot in
the refrigerator so it will not freeze, and leave overnight.

Decorate with large fresh strawberries and place in the center of your smørgåsbord table.
 Apple- and Prune-Filled Spareribs - Ribbenstykke med Æbler

Serves 8

 8 pounds spareribs
 1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon celery salt
 2 tablespoons sugar
 1 teaspoon cinnamon
 1 pound apples -- cored and peeled
 1 pound prunes -- cooked and pitted
 2 tablespoons flour
 1 cup milk
 1 cup light cream
 Salt and White pepper

Rub both sides of spareribs with the salts, sugar and cinnamon.

Cut apples into sixths.

Make sandwiches of the racks of ribs, a pair at a time, using apples and prunes, mixed, as the
filling. Tie securely to retain the filling.

Brown in butter in a roasting pan, basting with enough warm water to cover the bottom of the
pan. Cook slowly for 2½ hours in an oven preheated to 275-300 degreees. Add warm water from
time to time if necessary to keep ribs from sticking and scorching.

Remove from oven and keep hot while you make the gravy. Add flour to the stock in the pan,
stirring until smooth. Place pan over low heat on top of the stove. Slowly add the milk and
cream. (If gravy becomes too thick, add more milk.) Stir until it comes just to the boiling point.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place spareribs on a serving platter. Remove string. Pour a small amount of gravy over the ribs,
and serve the rest in a gravy boat to be savored over small boiled potatoes.

This recipe is always a huge hit. I don't bother cutting into individual servings before cooking.
Two slabs tied together works very well, and keeps the fruit from falling all over the oven!
 Cherry Cake - Kirsebærkage

Makes 1

 3 tablespoons soft butter

 2/3 cup sugar
 2 egg yolks
 1¼ cups flour
 ¼ teaspoon salt
 2½ teaspoons baking powder
 ½ cup milk
 1 teaspoon vanilla
 2 egg whites
 1½ cups cherries -- cooked and pitted

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks. Sift together 3 times the flour, salt and baking
powder. Add flour alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture, beating after each addition.
Add the vanilla. Beat egg whites stiff and fold in. Drain the cherries. Place them in a buttered
spring-form cake pan. Pour the batter over them. Swish the batter with a fork to distribute
cherries through the cake. Bake 35 to 40 minutes in a preheated 375º oven.

Almond Rusks - Mandelskorpor

 2 eggs
 1 cup brown sugar
 7 tablespoons soft butter -- creamed
 3 tablespoons almonds -- slivered
 3 cups flour
 1 teaspoon baking powder
 Salt

Beat eggs and sugar together until light.

Add the creamed butter and the almonds.

Sift dry ingredients and add a little at a time to first mixture, beating well after each addition.
Spread the dough 1½ inches thick on a lightly buttered baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated 375º oven 15 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and cut rusk diagonally
into pieces ¾ inch thick. Cool.
 Baked Carrot Ring - Indbagte Gulerødder

Serves 6

 2 tablespoons butter
 2 tablespoons flour
 ½ cup light cream
 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese -- grated
 1 cup carrots -- grated
 1 teaspoon salt
 ¼ teaspoon pepper
 3 eggs -- separated
 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
 2 cups creamed peas

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add flour, gradually and stir until smooth. Stir in alternately, a
little at a time, the cream and the cheese. Add carrots, salt and pepper. Stir in the beaten egg
yolks.

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in.

Bake in a buttered ring mold coated with bread crumbs. Fill not more than 2/3 full. Set in a pan
with enough hot water in it to come halfway up on the mold. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until
firm, in a preheated 350º oven.

Unmold on a platter. Fill center of ring with tiny creamed peas or mushrooms.

Boiled Egg Coffee

 1 egg
 1 cup cold water -- divided
 1 cup regular grind coffee
 6 cups boiling water

Use a graniteware coffee pot. Wash egg; break it; reserve shell and beat slightly. Add ½ cup cold
water and the 1 cup coffee. Add crushed egg shell. Mix thoroughly. Turn into coffee pot; pour on
boiling water, and stir. The spout of the pot shoul be stuffed with soft paper to prevent escape of
the fragrant aroma. Place on front of range and boil 3 minutes. If not boiled, coffee is cloudy. If
boiled too long, too much tannic acid is developed. Add remaining ½ cup cold water; which
perfects clearing. Cold water, which is heavier than hot, sinks to the bottom and carries the
grounds with it. Serve at once.
 Beef Pot Roast in Sour Cream - Oksesteg I Surfløde

Serves 8

 5 pounds rump roast, trimmed

 2 teaspoons salt
 White pepper
 3 tablespoons butter
 1 large onion -- sliced
 ½ cup water
 1 cup sour cream
 ¾ cup dry red wine
 2 tablespoons flour

Rub the roast well with salt and pepper. Brown it on both sides in the butter. Place the onion
slices on top of the roast. Add the water, sour cream and wine.

Cover the pan and cook slowly either on top of the stove or in the oven for 3 hours or until
tender, adding a little more wine if necessary.

Place the roast on a hot platter while you blend the flour into the liquid in the pan to make the
gravy.

Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Tomatoes - Koteletter med Champignoner og Tomater i
Flødesovs

Serves 4

 4 big or 8 small boneless pork chops

 ¼-½ pound mushrooms
 1-2 tomatoes sliced or in wedges
 2-3 tablespoons flour
 4-6 tablespoons butter
 ½ cup whipping cream
 gravy color
 ½-1 teaspoon salt
 pepper to taste
Mix spices with the flour. Heat butter (or margarine) in skillet, brown pork chops lightly on both
sides, and place them in a shallow overproof dish and put the mushrooms and tomatoes on top.
Add water to the skillet and thicken the gravy with flour. Add gravy color and cream. Pour the
gravy over the chops so they are covered. Bake uncovered in moderate over, 325º to 350ºF,
about 45 minutes. Serve with white potatoes, carrots, cauliflower or any other vegetables.
Leftovers can easily be reheated in microwave.