Danish Food
ShareThisWe argued for a few minutes about the word Smörgåsbord, a Swedish word actually, but my Danish friend did finally admit that in Denmark they do have the same tradition, “but we serve different dishes and the word is still Swedish,” a Public Relations Coordinator for the Denmark National Tourist Office in New York insisted.
The meaning however, is the same in all the Scandinavian countries: Simply defined as a meal that is served buffet-style with a variety of dish’s. In Denmark, they actually call it kolde bord, and the Danes do love their kolde bord.
So then, what do the Danes actually include on their kolde bord since all food is not alike? In the old days, most Danish folks had to use and prepare the food from the ingredients they had available. Often that was fish or for farmers living in the middle of the country it meant vegetables and pork. That is why there are so many interesting dishes in Denmark, and this taste for variety started many years ago. However, one thing is for sure, the Danes know how to cook, and they love not only fish, which is always popular in Denmark, but also a variety of other culinary specialties as well.
Going back to the confusing Swedish word meaning a buffet-style meal, the Danes have a word that is almost identical, called smørrebrød, enough to get you confused but it means something entirely different. Smørrebrød is a beloved Danish meal, and in simple terms, it is an open-faced sandwich which in translation means ”butter and bread.” The variety of choices for these sandwiches are mindbogling, but each sandwich almost always consists of a piece of buttered rye bread. Add to that anything else from the traditional Danish cuisine including pickled herrings, salmon, freshly marinated lumpfish roe, crayfish tails, Greenland shrimp or lime, and dill mayonnaise.
For a more hearty meal, the Danish turn to a dish called Frikadeller, which are flat, pan-fried dumplings with minced meat either pork, veal or beef, mixed with onions, eggs, milk, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Formed into balls and flattened, the concoction is then pan fried in some type of oil. You might also find a fish substitute for the meat at some Danish tables. Either way, many Danish households prefer this as a main dish served with boiled white potatoes and gravy (brun sovs), and either pickled beetroot or cooked red cabbage.
For dessert, it is a Danish word that almost no one can pronounce (other than the Danes, of course). Rødgrød med fløde, simply meaning red fruit compot with cream, and they normally use red currants in Denmark. However, other fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, or even blackberries can be used, but for the true Danish dish, the red currant is what they believe brings out the dish’s flavor.
Rødgrød med fløde is most often served cold as a dessert with milk and topped with either whipped cream or custard to balance the acidic taste of the fruit.
Rødgrød med Fløde (Danish Red Berry Pudding with Cream)
Ingredients:
4-cups of red berries (either red currants (preferably) are frozen strawberries and raspberries
3-cups water
1-cup sugar
¾ cup potato starch or cornstarch
1½-cup cold water
A small portion of sugar for sprinkling
Cream for topping, if desired
Directions:
Bring berries to a boil in the water and cook until the seeds separate from the fruit. Strain using cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Compost the seeds and skins. Pour the red berry juice back into the pot and bring to a boil. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. In a small bowl, mix the potato starch with cold water until it is syrupy, and then add it to the berry juice, constantly stirring. As soon as it thickens, remove from the heat and pour into individual glass dishes. Sprinkle with sugar to prevent a skin from forming.
Let it cool. Top with whipped cream and it makes six servings.
