Danish Cuisine

Danish Cuisine Photo by J. Buusman Click on the image for larger version

The best meals of the holiday? The essentials are company, conversation, ambience, quality ingredients, culinary heritage and, of course, the talents of cook and chef. True, Denmark may be famous for its pickled herring and the good old Danish pastry, but the country has much, much more to offer: traditional inns and bistros that pay homage to, or even revitalise the classic regional dishes; gourmet restaurants not afraid to take on the discerning palate with 5 and 7-course délices and funky new fusion-kitchens where young chefs aim for the stars.

From a gastronomic point of view, things have never been better in Denmark than they are right now. The country's heritage food culture and its classic dishes are still alive and kicking, but over the last few years they have been joined by a more up-to-date cuisine.

Herring. You would be hard put to find a Danish spread that didn’t run the gamut of the herring tradition – marinated herring, herring in tomato sauce, in curry sauce and sherry. Not to mention the famous pickled herring from Christiansø.

When the table is set for the traditional banquet-style lunch (“frokostbord”) there’s no question about where to start – national etiquette prescribes herring first. And no matter the variant, they are always washed down with lashings of lager and Danish schnapps. Herring has a long tradition on Danish territory. In the old days, cured herring served with barley or wheat slops was everyday fare on Bornholm – and both for lunch and supper at that! Because back then herring fishing was the main occupation on the Baltic islands. But on festive occasions, the special treat was “kryddersild” – a speciality pickled herring which to this day is synonymous with Bornholm and especially the nearby island of Christiansø.

Famous Danish Open-faced Sandwish Photo by Christina Birch Click on the image for larger version

Open-faced sandwiches. The open sandwiches known as “Smørrebrød” are a world-famous Danish national delicacy, the preparation of which adheres to time-honored traditions. However, increasingly in Danish luncheonettes, smørrebrød excesses are a thing of the past. The traditional smørrebrød has shaped up for healthy eating: the rye bread base contains more fiber, the butter is spread thinner and the toppings are no longer buried in a sea of mayonnaise and tartar sauce.

Sausage sensations. Denmark is famous for its red deer, and in late autumn smoked haunch of venison graces the menus in many restaurants nationwide. And now to the sausages... A proper spread for the traditional sausage feast calls for a visit to the butchers “Slagter Munch” of Skagen or an order placed over the shop’s website. For almost a century, this time-honoured establishment has produced speciality sausages smoke-cured in the premise’s own smoking chamber. The range of smoked sausages is vast – right from the potato and carrot variety to spicy chipolatas and chorizo. If you ask nicely, and the shop isn’t too busy, you may even be allowed to come out the back and see how the smoke-curing is done.

Many restaurants now have also acquired small smoking chambers for hot-smoking all kinds of foods from fish to veal. One such is the Kanalen establishment, where patrons can enjoy an idyllic view of the rippling waters of the inner-city canals as they savour smoked delicacies from the on-site smoking chamber.

Famous Danish smoked cheese. As the famous French masterchef, Anthèlme Brillat-Savarin once said “A meal without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye”. True or not, cheese was made to please – not least the famous smoked speciality from Funen. Whereas all other Danish cheeses drew on foreign inspiration, this soft smoked cheese is an all-Danish speciality. It is made with the utmost attention to detail at the Løgismose Dairy. The cheese is smoked over oat straw, which is cut in a special way to prevent the straws from snapping – this would spoil the smoking. And the cheese is smoked for only about 30 seconds – just enough to impart the distinctive aromatic flavour.

For the love of lager. Something is definitely brewing when it comes to Denmark’s national tipple. Veritable beer temples are throwing open their doors in the cities, intriguing new brews are bubbling out of Denmark’s many breweries, and the number of new beer festivals increases with every year.

“Drink thine mead”, was the bluff retort of Vikings before they went into battle. They were in no doubt that beer lent them the brute force required to fight the enemy. This was the ambrosia of the Gods – mere mortals had just been lucky enough to snaffle the recipe! Today the fabled brew is worshipped like never before.