Danish Food
Food is definitely a big part of every culture. The authentic foods you can find in different countries usually reflect the habits and lifestyle of that particular culture. I’d like to devote this week’s blog to Danish food. Danish cuisine is not as exotic and different as various kinds of Asian and Middle Eastern foods that I have had before. What people regularly eat here is not very special at first sight. However, there are many typical Danish dishes that I have discovered to be quite specific to this country.
First of all, one of my first pleasant surprises here was that the food served in the University cafeterias is a lot better than what we have back at home. In place of the pizzas, sandwiches, and burgers that we get in the US, there is a variety of more healthy, well prepared food. It is possible to have a very good, tasty meal even just at the University campus, which reflects the fact that the Danes take their food seriously.
This relates to something else I noticed about Danes in relation to food. I rarely see anybody in the kitchen eating pasta for dinner every single day. It seems that all the Danish students are very comfortable with cooking large, elaborate dishes. Some people go as far as making their own bread to go with their meals.
So, there is always a wonderful aroma of really good food in the kitchen at dinner time.
As I said, what fish, rice, vegetables - just like anywhere else in Europe. There are, however, smaller things that are Danish specialty. For example, the grocery stores always have a wide selection of marinated herring (marineret sild). Most people have never heard of this dish, and then only reason I know about it is because there is a similar dish in Russia. Herring is a type of fish. Here, in Denmark, it is sold in jars, marinated in different kinds of sauces like curry or pickled beet. It is eaten cold and goes well with Danish dark rye bread (rugbrød).
The dark, dense bread is also something that is specific toDenmark. There are many varieties of this bread. I happen to really like it, and so I have never bought white bread here because the dark one is a lot cheaper and tastier, in my opinion. This
sandwich. Though it is a sandwich, it is eaten with a fork and knife, and is often served hot. Basically, it is Danish bread with a wide variety of toppings. The toppings can include herring, cheese, meat, vegetables, salads, and pretty much anything else you can wish for.
One typical topping is something called leverpostej. It is spreadable liver paste. It can be eaten hot or cold, and it often served topped with mushrooms and bacon. Although this might sound disgusting to some of you, I think it is actually pretty good.
dishes, but I know many international students who would disagree with me. I guess it’s just a matter of taste. Many of the foods here are similar to Russian food. So, it might just be that I acquired the taste for them when I was growing up in Russia.
I am sure there are many other types of salads, and other dishes that are also very Danish. However, I have not had that much experience with this type Danish food here. These typical dishes are mostly eaten on special occasions and holidays. For example, during the Christmas season (now) the Danes like to hold many “Christmas lunches” – where they prepare and enjoy these typical dishes. I will participate in one of these lunches tomorrow along with my hallmates. I am actually signed up to prepare some sort of Danish sweet potatoes, although I have no idea what I am supposed to do. So, I am looking forward to learning more about cooking from the Danish students in my hall!
