2. FOOD HISTORY
There is definitely a change in the Danish food habits since the 1950's. Firstly the habits
have changed as the economics have. Now we eat a lot of international food such as pizza,
pasta or fast-food such as burgers. We also eat a lot more luxurious food products
compared to before and these products have replaced a lot of the more traditional such as
rye bread and potatoes. We also eat a lot more meat than before and we also eat a lot
more fat milk-products such as cream and cheese. The reason Denmark is eating more
foreign is because now we are doing a lot of international trading.
That being said though there is a lot more traditional dishes on the dinner tables in
Denmark compared to other foreign dishes like tortillas or pizza and we still eat more
potatoes than we eat pasta or rice. We also eat a lot more fruit and vegetables because of
international trading, for an example we can eat bananas and pears in the winter where
we normally couldn't.
The Danish food habits have also changed through time but we still have our traditions.
We almost always eat dinner together with the family, mostly every night unless we're
with friends. Actually 85% of all Danes eat dinner with their family 5 or more times a
week.
So we continue to evolve our food habits but we still keep our traditions such as eating at
home or getting turkey, duck, pork or goose for Christmas night.
3. ABOUT OUR
FOOD
INSPIRATION
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 analogous to the German Gemütlichkeit. 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, some older Danes are
fairly conservative when it comes to food. They appreciate traditional cooking, and are
hesitant to embrace new 'different' types of food. In the new Danish cooking style, dishes
are sometimes 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. The food
cultures of southern European countries such as France, Spain, Italy and Greece, have
become well known. Despite this, the buttery traditional cuisine is still very popular,
especially in the young generations.
4. For breakfast we usually eat early in the morning on regular
weekdays but in the weekend we usually eat together. In my
family I eat by myself on the weekdays and it's also pretty
typical for me and others to eat cereal in the morning such as
oatmeal or cornflakes, we also eat bread sometimes. In the
weekends we eat a bit more fancy. Sometimes we get
• Breakfast something called ”round-pieces” which is basically crispy buns.
Then in the afternoon some people eat lunch but most people
• Snack don't because they don't have the time or they're not hungry.
• Lunch For lunch we typically eat rye bread or open-faced sandwiches
with meat and other accessories and adults will sometimes
• Snack/coffee grab a beer to go together with the sandwiches.
• Dinner We eat dinner around 6 or 8 at night. We eat a lot of potatoes,
• Snack/Dessert meat and vegetables for dinner, but we also eat a lot of foreign
dishes. At dinner we almost always eat with the family even
though some may eat alone. We rarely eat out and after dinner
we usually don't have anything else, but some may have
dessert which could be “koldskaal” or translated directly “cold
bowl” or rice pudding. Sometimes we eat a midnight snack but
not together with the family. In the weekday we usually go to
bed fairly early, often about 4 hours after we've eaten dinner.
5. In Denmark we have some different food traditions. Like at Christmas we eat duck
and goose, glazed potatoes, red cabbage, pork roast, potatoes and rice pudding. The
rice pudding contains chopped almonds and one/two whole ones. The one who finds
the whole almond wins a present. That could typically be a marzipan pig. We also
have something called Christmas lunch, where we eat Danish pork sausage. We also
eat open-faced sandwiches, curried herring, meatballs and ham.
At Easter lunch we usually eat some eggs, tuna, shrimps and also open-faced
sandwiches. In Shrovetide (a Danish version of Halloween, though it takes place in
February) we have something called Shrovetide buns/cream buns , which is a like a
scones, but with either jam or cream inside.
At St Martin's Day we eat duck as well, along with either normal potatoes or glazed
potatoes. Although originally it should have been a goose instead of a duck.
New Year’s Eve we have a cake that’s called marzipan ring cake. It is typically
decorated with white or brown icing. Most Danes also drink champagne either at
6pm where the Queen’s speech is or at midnight.
6. RYE BREAD
Rye bread is a very commonly
used bread in Denmark. The
common rye bread usually
resembles a long brown
rectangle, no more than 12 cm
high, and 30–35 cm wide,
although shapes and sizes may
vary, as well as the ingredients.
Sourdough is almost always the
base; the bread may be made
exclusively with rye and wheat
flour or contains up to one third
whole rye grains. Variants with
whole sunflower or other seeds
also exist.
The bread is almost always
very low in fat, its content
comparable to most other
varieties of bread. It contains
no oil or flavoring, although it
will often contain preservatives
to keep it fresh longer. It is rich
in whole grain and dietary fiber
and contain little or no sugar,
and is thus considered by many
Danes as a healthy alternative
to whiter types of bread.
7. OPEN-FACED SANDWICH
Denmark is the only place in the
world where you can find these
sandwiches. Almost every Danish
restaurant in Copenhagen serve the
traditional "open-faced sandwich"
called "smoerrebroed" - with many
different accessories of food items
such as 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 it is almost a
piece of art, when presented on a
well laid table. “Smoerrebroed” is
normally served together with the
famous Danish beer and snaps. At
Christmas time we also eat a lot of
open-faced sandwiches because we
gather around with friends and
family for Christmas feasts or
translated directly “Christmas
lunch”.
8. LIVER PASTE
The National paste
“Leverpostej” or Liver Paste.
Liver Paste or “Leverpostej" is
the Danes most popular and
favourite spreading on their
open-faced sandwich. Liver
paste is a must to eat for nearly
every Dane no matter age. In
fact many babies love rye bread
together with Liver paste. The
basic ingredients are chopped
pork liver and lard with onions.
Liver paste has a very high
nutrition value and it contains
vitamins such as vitamin A and
vitamin B2 as well as iron.
9. DANISH PASTRY
Danish pastry (also called a
Danish) is a sweet pastry, of
Viennese origin, which has become
a specialty of Denmark and
neighboring Scandinavian
countries and is called "Danish
pastry" in English speaking
countries.
Danish pastry is, like the croissant,
originated from Vienna and is
called wienerbroed.
The ingredients include flour,
yeast, milk, eggs and a lot of
butter.
The Danish can be topped with
chocolate, sugar or icing, and may
be stuffed with either jam,
marzipan or custard. Shapes are
numerous, including circles with
filling in the middle (known as
"Spandauer's"), figure-eights,
spirals (known as snails), and the
pretzel-like kringles.
10. COFFEE TABLE FROM SOUTHERN
JUTLAND
The Southern Jutland
coffee table consists of at
least 14 cakes. 7 soft and
7 hard cakes. The soft
cakes are the first to be
eaten. The soft cakes are
usually layer cakes of
some sort or muffins.
Whereas the hard cakes
usually consists of
cookies or Mazarin
cakes. The only place
you eat this is in the
Southern part of
Jutland, therefor the
name.
11. HOT DOG STAND
Was the first kind of fast-food available
in Denmark. It is found just about
everywhere in Denmark. A typical
Danish hot dog consists of a bun, with a
read sausage, often with pickles, either
toasted or normal onions. You can
choose between going or staying at the
stand since it’s made like a portable
booth. Another thing you could get
from the stand is a sausage in wrap.
It’s just a sausage with bacon wrapped
around the sausage. We also have
something called a French hot dog. It’s
not because the hot dog itself is French,
but the dressing in the hot dog is
French.
12. DANISH DRINKING
HABITS
Coffee is the national beverage in Denmark. On average we are spending 2% of our budget on
coffee in Denmark, that's a total of 20 million cups of coffee every day. That means that every
Danish inhabitant drinks 4 cups of coffee every day on average.
Beer is also a well known beverage in Denmark. In Denmark we produce a lot of beer. One of the
most well known companies that produces beer in Denmark is Carlsberg. Carlsberg is supplier
for many retail stores world wide.
Three out of four have in the past month consumed more drinks on one occasion, than is often
recommended as the maximum limit.
If you compare alcohol consumption among 15-16-year-olds in Denmark, Italy and Norway, it
looks like this:
Half of the Danish youth say they have been drunk within the past 30 days. In Italy a little over
a quarter of the adolescents have been drunk within the past 30 days. In Norway the figure is
around 40 percent. The Danish youth drink larger quantities than other young Europeans.
The high consumption has important implications. In Denmark nearly 1.700 under the age of 20
will end in the hospital with acute alcohol poisoning every year. Every four death among 15-29-
year-old men are linked with the consumption of alcohol. Furthermore, alcohol impairs the
ability to learn, reduces concentration and gives trouble sleeping.
In Denmark it is normal for young people to watch reality shows very often. In these series they
drink a lot of alcoholic beverages, which makes young people in Denmark drink the same
quantities as seen in the reality shows.
13. BOARD OF HEALTH:
7 STATEMENTS ABOUT
ALCOHOL
No alcohol is safe for your health.
Do not drink alcohol for your health's
sake.
You have a low risk of getting sick
because of alcohol at a consumption of 7
drinks per week for women and 14 for
men.
You have a high risk of getting sick
because of alcohol if you drink more than
14/21 units a week.
Stop before the 5th unit on the same
occasion.
If you are pregnant - avoid alcohol. Do
you want to get pregnant - avoid alcohol
for safety's sake.
If you are older - Be especially careful
with alcohol.
14. BOARD OF HEALTH:
TWO STATEMENTS ABOUT
ALCOHOL
– YOUNG PEOPLE
Children and adolescents under 16 years are not
recommended to drink alcohol.
Young people between 16 and 18 years are recommended
to drink as little as possible and stop at 5 units on the
same occasion.
17. DENMARK VS.
GREECE
Denmark Greece
• Kitchen based on beer, rye • Europe’s oldest kitchen
bread, salty and smoked pork,
milk and potatoes • Simple food made from a few
fresh ingredients
• Inspiration from the USA,
Asia and Europe • Eggplant, lemon, feta, fish,
olive oil, bell pepper, tomato,
wild herbs and yoghurt are
the typical ingredients
• A lot of small dishes
18. Eat fruit and vegetables 6 times a day
Eat fish twice a week
Eat potatoes, rice, pasta and brown bread every day
Cut down on sugar especially soda and cake
Cut down on fat especially on milk products and meat
You should eat varied? And keep your normal weight
Quench you thirst with water
Be active at least 30 minutes a day
19. DENMARK 'FAT TAX' AIMED TO
PREVENT UNHEALTHY EATING
HABITS
Denmark has imposed a “fat tax” on
foods such as butter and oil as a way
to prevent unhealthy eating habits.
A tax of 16 kroner ($3.00) per kilogram
(2.2 pounds) of saturated fat in a
product.
The tax will increase the price of a
burger by around $0.15 and raise the
price of a small package of butter by
around $0.40.
Denmark, like some other European
countries, already has higher fees on
sugar, chocolates and soft drinks.
Denmark is maybe is the first in the
world to tax fatty foods.
20. How to make ”Frikadeller” or
”Danish meatballs”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQyuS5RUzxQ
