Skip to content

Food Culture and Tradition

Resources for world's food, people and culture.

Danish Food

FOOD FROM DENMARK

DAIRY PRODUCTS

Milk, whey, or buttermilk are freely used often as refreshing beverages and also in soups and gravies. Cream is used generously in ice cream, whipped cream sauces (savory not sweet), as well as in desserts as sweetened whipped cream. In fact, plain cream, whipped cream, and sour cream are found in almost every dish: soups, salad dressings, meat and fish casseroles and sauces, and certainly in desserts. Coffee, however, is preferred black.

Danish cheeses, noted for their buttery richness and mild nutty taste, are exported all over the world. The Danes themselves enjoy cheeses for breakfast, as part of lunch, and often as a dessert with fruit or as a late evening snack.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Fresh fruits in season are preferred, but fruits are also enjoyed when stewed then thickened with corn or potato starch and served with cream. The staple vegetables are potatoes and red or green cabbage although the former are preferred. String beans and white asparagus are enjoyed when available, as arc pickled cucumbers, pickled beets, a variety of summer vegetables, canned or fresh peas, and carrots Danes use other vegetables, which are lovingly pre-pared: cauliflower, Belgian endive, onion of ever) type, kale, celeriac, and a great variety of local mush-rooms. To the staples of potatoes and cabbage arc added pickles or root vegetables in winter and green: in summer. Salad to the Danes means a mixture laden with meat or fish and bound with mayonnaise. Tossed salads with light dressings are largely ignored except by aristocrats.

MEATS AND ALTERNATES

Danish meat dishes are served moist and juicy. If the meats are naturally dry, they are accompanied by gravy or sauce. Broiling or dry-roasting methods an seldom used in meat or fish cookery. Though fish is plentiful, meats are the staple. Of these, pork is the favorite and all parts are used. Offal, sausages, and ground meats are often served for economy. Blood is used in soups and for sausages. Fish include shrimp, eels, herring (used in countless ways), salmon, trout, mackerel, turbot, plaice, cod (fresh, dried, or salted).

Eggs are used occasionally for a light meal such as an omelet but mostly as an ingredient in or garnish for other dishes. The only legumes used widely are dried yellow peas, used at least weekly for a soup, gule aerter. Nuts are used in bakery and then almost always almonds.

BREADS AND GRAINS

Gruels or porridges of barley or oats are used only in rural areas or by children or invalids. Rice and pasta are also seldom used. Some oats are found in desserts or as oatcakes accompanying the traditional butter-milk soup. Most grains are eaten in the form of breads, rolls, and crisp breads. Heavy, dark, moist rye bread is sliced especially thin for smorrebrod.

Gruels and porridges of barley or oats still do form the staple peasant diet together with cabbage and potatoes and the very occasional addition of small amounts of fresh or cured home-raised pork.

FATS

Butter is used generously for everything. Unsalted butter is preferred. Danish margarine is also of fine quality and taste and is being used increasingly.

SWEETS AND SNACKS

Danes enjoy cakes, pastries, and crisp cookies often as snacks with coffee. The characteristic lightness and crispness of Danish bakery is attributed to hartshorn salt (ammonium carbonate) used instead of baking powder. In Canada and the United States it can be purchased in drugstores. Thick and sweet preserves as well as powdered sugar are often used to garnish desserts, especially pancakes.

SEASONINGS

Danish food is not highly seasoned. Cream, butter and eggs, mustard, horseradish, dill, onions, and leeks are favored. Poppy seeds and caraway seeds are used mainly in or on breads or rolls. For baked goods, the lightly spiced aroma familiar to Danes is the pungent one of cardamom, saffron, and toasted almonds.

BEVERAGES

Black coffee in copious quantities vies with beer and akvavit as the favored drinks. Akvavit is a strong clear liquor distilled from grain or potatoes and always served ice-cold. In fact, it is traditional to serve akvavit from a frozen block of ice, syrupy, thick, and potent. Taken straight it is often followed by a chaser of beer and then nibbles of salted foods. Children consume large quantities of soft drinks; this is recent, not traditional. In cases of overindulgence, the Danes take a “cure” in the form of gammel Dansk bitter, a medicinally bitter brew (suspected of being alcoholic), said to clear the head and stomach.

Recent Posts

  • Ukrainian Traditional Desserts
  • Ukrainian Traditional Dish – Varenyky, Kholodets, Nalysnyky, and Forshmak
  • Ukrainian Traditional Food
  • Ancient Egyptian Food
  • African Dishes – Explore the World’s Cooking History
  • Evolution of African Food and Beverage
  • African Traditional Dishes
  • African History & Literature
  • The Horn of Africa – Somali
  • The Horn of Africa – Ethiopia

Countries

Copyright © www.Food-Links.com - All Rights Reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
This website is using cookies. More. CLOSE
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT