Danish food culture has been cultivated and improved for many generations and is mainly rooted from the old country kitchen and the cold weather conditions in Denmark. The cold and often wet climate in Denmark requires a lot of food with high nutritional values that contains many vitamins - minerals and proteins to mobilise a great potion of energy - which is a vital source - needed for work - school - sports and other form of daily activities - when living in a dynamic and modern society like Denmark that demands plenty of human recourses every day. The natural content and ingredients in Danish food culture has been built up for centuries and flavoured to match the taste of the traditional eating habits of the Danish people from region to region and up to this century. To preserve food in olden days - the items of meat - fish and fruit was either salted - smoked or brine-pickled and could be stored for a very long time. The modern Danish kitchen uses many old recipes from the non refrigeration period - and is still highly preferred and enjoyed at the dinner tables in Denmark.
Rye bread and beer has for thousands of years been a basic part of the daily food consumption and later potatoes and heavy gravy was the main supplement to fish and meat dishes. The present Danish food culture is still very traditional and conservative - and is nevertheless based on deep-rooted recipes prepared during generations and centuries - in spite of influence from foreign countries and cultures. Almost every Danish restaurant in Copenhagen serve the traditional open faced sandwich called "smørrebrød" - with many different potions of food items as cold cuts - pieces of meat or fish - various paste - salad dressings and cheese on buttered rye bread and decorated with all types of toppings that gives the creation a great visual appeal - and is surely a piece of genuine art, when presented on a well laid table with cold Danish beer and snaps. “Smørrebrød” is normally served together with the famous Danish beer and snaps.
As Denmark is the largest exporter of pork in the world - the traditional everyday dishes include plenty of delicious pork recipes with potatoes - vegetables and heavy brown sauce - often with sour or sweet supplements. The Danes are great lovers of pork and have been it for generations. Beef is the second choice - while poultry and fish are the last preferences - when selecting daily treats as well as heavy soups - especially at winter time - which is a substantial part of the Danish cuisine - together with desserts and pastry. The Danes have a very sweet tooth too. Denmark's food culture is more than just seafood (give the traditional pickled herring a try, though). There's the kolde bord (cold buffet) for lunch, Frikadeller (meatballs), Hakkebøf (chopped meat patties), Pølser (hot long sausages), and many other dishes with typical food in Denmark.
Danish 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. 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.
Danish 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. Copenhagen is currently associated with top gastronomy in places such as Noma, the world’s best restaurant, Bocuse d’Or winner Rasmus Kofod’s Geranium. Koldt bord- The Danish equivalent of smörgåsbord is a multi-course affair. You start by loading up on various types of herring, other seafoods, and salads, then get a clean plate for a main course that may include cold cuts, hot sausages, meatballs, and fried potatoes. Breads and a dessert buffet round out the menu.
Danish 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. 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.
'Kaffeborde'
A secondary meal which has had a special development and importance in Denmark is kaffeborde, a gathering where coffee is served with currant buns, Danish pastry, sponge cake, layer cake and biscuits. Afternoon or evening coffee was particularly important in North Schleswig at the Danish national meetings after Denmark’s defeat by Prussia in 1864, but well into the 20th century it was indispensable at political and popular meetings all over the country. Afternoon coffee still exists, albeit in a reduced format, but in large towns and among young people it has been replaced by other meals.
Drinking habits in Denmark
The Danes has a huge variety of drinks to select from as beers - snaps - milk products - wine - soft drinks and juices - but most of all they drink a lot of clean fresh water directly from the tap - which is a bonus - when living in Denmark. Fresh water from the tap is called “Postevand”.
No matter where you are in Copenhagen or Denmark there will always be fresh drinking tap water around you. As one of the few countries in the world – Denmark can offer their citizens and visitors sparkling clean drinking water directly from the tap - and as a curiosity the same Sparkling Clean and Fresh Drinking Water is used in the shower - for watering lawns - for car wash and for flushing toilets etc. As of interest - many restaurants requires between DKK 50.00,- – 100.00,- for a can or jar of cold free and fresh tap water.
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