The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Danish Foods. If you manage to be in an Danish restaurant or you are visiting Denmark, I recommend the following:
1. Rødgrød Med Fløde
It is a traditional dessert made from potato starch to achieve a creamy, starchy texture. The essential ingredients are red berries such as red currants, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, black cherries with stones, blackberries and blueberries. This traditional dessert is served hot or cold as a dessert with milk, a mixture of milk and vanilla sugar, vanilla sauce, (whipped) cream, vanilla ice cream or custard to balance the refreshing taste of the fruit flavours.
2. Stegt Flæsk Med Persillesovs
Denmark’s favourite dish is stegt flæsk med persillesovs. This traditional dish, popular throughout Denmark, is made from pork belly, seasoned with salt and pepper and fried until crispy. It is served with boiled potatoes and parsley sauce. Visitors can find this speciality in a number of restaurants in Copenhagen.
3. Smørrebrød
Smørrebrød are open-faced sandwiches topped with a variety of ingredients and served on rye bread. The Danes enjoy these delicacies for lunch. There are several options available, from shrimp, mayonnaise and parsley to tuna or egg salads, vegetarian and many other options.
4. Karbonader
Karbonader is a typical everyday dish in Denmark, also known as krebinetter. Previously, karbonader was served with peas and carrots in a white sauce, but the younger generation likes it with a green salad or rye bread.
5. Risalamande
This Danish dessert is made with rice, milk, vanilla and then topped with sugar, whipped cream and chopped almonds. Although it may seem like a variation on rice pudding, this dessert is served with hot cherry sauce.
6. Flæskesteg
This is another of Denmark’s traditional main courses made with meat. Flæskesteg is a roast pork that is cooked with the skin on for crispness and served with red cabbage, caramelised potatoes and boiled potatoes with gravy. It is a typical Danish dish, usually prepared on Christmas Eve, but it is also commonly eaten on Sundays or on special occasions and events.
7. Æblekage
Æblekage (apple charlotte) consists of stewed apples sweetened with layers of toasted breadcrumbs and crushed almond meringue, topped with whipped cream and sometimes redcurrant jelly. In Denmark, this dessert is served cold, perfect for a hot summer’s day.
8. Frikadeller
Danish meatballs consist of beef and pork, flour, eggs, milk, onions and spices and are served with rye bread or potatoes. Frikadeller is also a popular ingredient for smørrebrød (both hot and cold). And in summer, they are typically served with potato salad.
9. Koldskål
Koldskål is a popular Danish buttermilk dessert that is also enjoyed as a creamy drink. Although there are numerous regional varieties, most of them combine buttermilk with yoghurt, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla essence and eggs. The dish is always served cold and is especially enjoyed in summer. It is sometimes accompanied by crisp kammerjunker biscuits.
10. Kartofler
Brune kartofler is associated with Christmas, served as a side dish at Christmas Eve dinners. It is a simple, but very tasty Danish dish. The potatoes are cooked, peeled and then simmered in a mixture of sugar and butter until they are completely covered in the caramelised glaze.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional European Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.