Denmark tourist information

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

The cuisine of Denmark, like that in the other Scandinavian countries (Sweden and Norway), as well as that of northern Germany, its neighbor to the south, is traditionally heavy and rich in fat, consisting mainly of carbohydrates, meat and fish. This stems from the country's agricultural past, as well as its geography and climate of long, cold winters.

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 analgous to the German gemutlichkeit. 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, 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 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.

Breakfast (Morgenmad)
A traditional breakfast is buttered bread, Danish skaereost (sliced cheese), a buttery creamy white cheese (often Danish havarti, Danbo or Danish tilsit), strawberry jam and a lot of coffee. Sometimes traditional cold cuts, like rullepolse, kodpolse and Danish salami, are also eaten. Today most Danes eat different types of cereal with milk for breakfast or ymer or A38 which are yoghurt-like milk products (similar to junket) with cereal or crumbled bread on top. Another traditional breakfast, especially among the elder and children, are oatmeal porridge and bread-and-beer-soup (ollebrod).

Bread takes many forms: at breakfast it is most often a white bread known as franskbrod (French bread), rolls (boller, birkes, rundstykker) or croissants. The "Danish pastry", which is also eaten at breakfast (although mainly in the weekends and at corporate breakfasts on Fridays), is called wienerbrod (Viennese bread) and it comes in many varieties. A festive breakfast calls for a shot or two of Gammel Dansk, a Danish stomach bitter.

Eating breakfast out of the house is not common, although hotel restaurants serve breakfast for their guests. In the cities it is becoming more common to eat brunch out in restaurants during weekends. It is rather common to invite guests to a morgenbord (literally: morning table) on special occasions. The types of occasions would include, but are not limited to: wedding anniversaries, confirmations and 'round' birthdays. Such a celebration typically features more of the sweet Wienerbrod, "brunsviger" (a soft dough with thick brown sugar topping) and lighter breads, foregoing the heartier breads (rugbrod) of the day-to-day breakfast.

Lunch (Frokost)
The majority of adult Danes work, and therefore eat their lunch at work. Many work places offer a lunchroom cafeteria, however many prefer to bring along a packed lunch-- the madpakke (lunch "package"), typically carried in a madkasse (lunch box). This typically consists of a few pieces of smorrebrod from home.

Dinner (Aftensmad)
For the average family, dinner is the one meal of the day where everyone can be gathered. Due to the pressures of the modern life where both parents are likely to work, and the children are in school or pre-school institutions, dinner preparation and eating time becomes shortened. Danes enjoy inviting people over for dinner. These are often elaborate affairs with many courses. Special events are often celebrated with family and friends at home, and such a celebration is not complete without a sit-down dinner.

Welcome drink
The velkomstdrik is served shortly after guests arrive, and there are usually small snacks set out, such as nuts or potato chips (franske kartofler, literally: French potatoes). Some traditional favorites include:

• Martini - Not a dry Martini, but vermouth served either straight up in an aperitif glass, or on the rocks.
• Kir - Champagne or white wine with blackcurrant liquour.
• Champagne, sekt or other sparkling wine.

Appetizer
The first course is typically fish, although a wide variety of other appetizers are becoming more common. Common traditional appetizers include:

• Shrimp cocktail (rejecocktail)
• Seafood or fish pate or terrine, served with bread

Soups
Soup is often a meal on its own, or served with bread. It can also be served before the main dish.

• Asparagus soup
• Chicken soup with small dumplings (melboller)
• Curry soup
• Leek and potato soup with bacon
• Yellow split pea soup (gule aerter)

Main dishes (Hovedretter)

Fish, seafood and meat are prominent parts of any traditional Danish dish.

Fish consumption is still high, although it has dropped in recent years. The most commonly eaten fish and seafood are:

• Cod (torsk), a common white fish in general food preparation (baked, steamed, fried). It is also dried (klipfisk). Prices have risen in recent years, making this once-favorite fish drop down the list. It has mainly been replaced by other white fish, such as haddock and ling.
• Norway lobster (jomfruhummer)
• Eel (al), smoked or fried. Smoked eel is almost exalted in some homes.
• Herring (sild), a whole section should be written about Danish herring dishes. Most involve the herring served cold after being pickled.
• Plaice (rodspaette), in the form of fried, battered fish filets or as a common white fish in general food preparation (baked, steamed, fried).
• Salmon (laks) -- smoked or gravad lox style. Cooked salmon has become much more common in recent times, and is now fairly widespread.
• Shrimp (rejer) -- Small shrimp from the north Atlantic are most common. Fjord shrimp are a rare delicacy: very small and flavorful, about the size of the smallest fingernail.
• Roe (rogn) -- Fish eggs from cod, lumpfish (stenbider) and salmon.

Fish from Bornholm, Iceland and Greenland also has a special place in the Danish cuisine. The island of Bornholm, a part of Denmark located in the Baltic Sea, to the east of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland, is noted for its smoked fish items. Iceland and Greenland have long shared histories with Denmark, and the fish from these North Atlantic lands is a sign of quality.

As regards meat-eating, the Danes primarily eat pork, rather than beef: salted and smoked pork, hams, pork roasts, pork tenderloin, pork cutlets and chops are all popular. Ground pork meat is used in many traditional recipes requiring ground meat. Danish Bacon is generally of good quality (in Denmark; exported Danish bacon is of exceptional quality), and available in both the striped and back varieties. While still in first place, pork has lost ground to turkey, beef and veal in recent years. The most eaten pork is the ham, which is used mainly as palaeg after being boiled.

Steaks are commonly eaten out at restaurants, although good steaks are now available in supermarkets. Chicken is also popular. A tray of frozen chicken pieces ready to put into the oven, Lordagskylling (translated, Saturday chicken) is a quick and cheap way to feed a family.