By Ashlyn
DIS (my study abroad program) offers several different types of housing, including "Living-Learning Communities." These communities place students who are interested in learning a particular skill in the same housing facility. I was placed in the "Culinary House," an LLC dedicated to teaching its inhabitants about Danish food culture through hands-on lessons, visits, and tastings.
As a member of the Culinary House for the past month and a half, I have cooked (and eaten) quite a lot of Danish food. Though I feel like I have only scratched the surface of Danish cuisine, I already have picked out a few favorites among those dishes that I have eaten. The following is a list of my five favorite Danish foods… at the moment. (Subject to change.)
- Smørrebrød
These open-faced sandwiches are possibly the most popular food in Denmark and are typically eaten for lunch. Start with a piece of nutty, grainy rugbrød, which is a special dark rye bread. Next, and a slew of ingredients and condiments. Each type of smørrebrød has a particular list of ingredients that it must include. My favorite smørrebrød types are prawn - made with mayonnaise, small prawns, hard-boiled eggs, and lemon - and tartare - seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with raw onion, egg, and horseradish.
- Wienerbrød
Wienerbrød is what Americans would typically call a Danish pastry, but in Denmark the name literally translates to "Viennese bread." This is because the recipe for a Danish pastry comes from an adaptation of the Viennese treat Plundergebäck. The Danish version of this pastry comes in many different shapes, sizes, and flavors. My favorite version is known as overskåret and is flat with stripes of white frosting, warm yellow custard, and melted chocolate.
- Fransk Hotdog
Hot dog carts are as common on the streets of Copenhagen as they are on the streets of New York. However, instead of your average frankfurters, the hot dog carts here in Denmark sell long, meaty sausages called pølse. One of the more popular ways to eat pølse on the go is in the form of a Fransk Hotdog ("French hot dog"). A hollowed-out baguette (closed on one side) is filled with creamy French dressing and then a sausage is inserted from the top. The salty, grilled hot dog goes very well with the crisp baguette and the rich dressing. The Danes call it hangover food - whatever it is, it's definitely a guilty pleasure.
- Brunsviger
This Danish cake is sometimes served for birthdays, though it can also be served as a coffee cake. It tastes like a cinnamon bun, and is made of delicious, fluffy dough topped with a thick layer of caramelized butter and brown sugar. It should be eaten warm, but in my opinion, it can be eaten cold, or lukewarm, or half warm and half cold, or upside down, or with sunglasses on. This cake is dangerous, dangerous stuff.
- Flødebøller
Ah, flødebøller. In the past few weeks I’ve gotten to know this little Danish treat very well. The average flødebøller is a simple mixture of marshmallowy meringue, piped onto a wafer and dipped in tempered chocolate. But it is so much more than that. I have eaten approximately 200 flødebøller (give or take a hundred and fifty) since I’ve been in Copenhagen and I expect to eat at least 200 more before I leave to return home. It doesn’t matter whether they are simple or fancy – some chocolate shops make them with marzipan, or put dried raspberries in the meringue, or use white chocolate on the exterior – they are all delicious. They are also not too rich or too filling. They are the perfect after-dinner treat!