Danish cuisine
What is traditional Danish food?
Traditional Danish food is based on what was historically available nearby or could be farmed during Denmark's short summers. Cabbage and root vegetables like beets were an important part of the diet, along with rye bread, fish, and pork.
Open-faced sandwiches, known as smørrebrød, are among the best-known examples of traditional Danish cuisine. These small half-pieces of rye bread are topped with fried fish, pickled fish, eggs, potatoes, or cold meat, and sometimes horseradish and onion. They are eaten at lunchtime, either as part of a packed lunch or in a company cantine.
Larger traditional meals are often based on fish or pork, sometimes ground and fried as meatballs. The "national dish of Denmark" is stegt flæsk - pieces of pork, fried until crisp, and then served with boiled potatoes and parsley sauce.
Ironically, the tasty frosted pastries known to much of the world as "Danish" are not Danish at all. They originated in Austria, and are known to the Danes themselves as "Viennese bread."
Did you know
The New Nordic Cuisine trend
In the past 30 years, Danish food culture has rediscovered its roots and re-invented old recipes for contemporary diners. Chef Claus Meyer was one of the main drivers of the New Nordic wave; he and his team worked with food scientists to investigate how food was prepared before the rise of industrialised agriculture. Meyer now owns a chain of restaurants and delicatessens in Denmark, plus a Danish food outlet at Grand Central Station in New York.
Noma, the showcase
Restaurant Noma, established in 2003, is a showcase for New Nordic cuisine. Head chef René Redzepi creates exotic dishes based on wild herbs grown in Scandinavia plus unusual animals like musk ox. Noma has gained international attention for being ranked No. 1 in the World's 50 Best Restaurants contest and won the title for the fifth time in 2021.
The restaurant re-opened in a new location in Copenhagen in February 2018 after a year of temporary pop-up restaurants in Tokyo, Sydney, and Tulum in Mexico.
In general, New Nordic cuisine is characterised mainly by the innovative use of seasonal ingredients of the Nordic larder - some long-forgotten, many organic.
Did you know
Cakes and candies
Danes love sweets, particularly cake. Whether it is a homemade drømmekage (dream cake) with coconut and brown sugar or an elaborate strawberry tart from one of the country's many bakeries, no celebratory dinner is complete without a cake.
In addition, Danes have a passion for chocolate and for liquorice, particularly salt liquorice. Johan Bülow, a candymaker born on the Danish island of Bornholm, created an international sensation with a selection of chocolate-covered liquorice topped with additional flavours like raspberry and sea buckthorn, a local berry.
Updated hot dogs
Other Danish food standards are also getting upgrades to match contemporary tastes. For example, the Danish creation called the "French hot dog" - a sausage stuck in a round piece of bread and sold from a sidewalk cart - now often features organic meats, a sourdough bun, and healthy mashed roots on the side.
Meanwhile, Danish rugbrød or rye bread, the basis of many meals, is now available freshly-made from many bakeries and supermarkets. The bread contains no sugar and little fat, and it is rich in whole grain and dietary fiber.
