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Traditional food · Denmark
Rye bread topped with herring, crispy pork with parsley sauce, puff pastries and Christmas sweets: the flavors of Denmark, the whole country and some cities.
In the photo: Castelo de Kronborg, Helsingør
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
The cuisine
Danish cuisine comes from a country of farms, ports and long winters. Pork, rye, butter and milk from farms form the basis of many dishes, and from the sea comes herring, served pickled, fried or smoked. Trade with other countries brought the spices and sugar used in the sweets.
Part of this food is nationwide. Smørrebrød, an open sandwich on dark bread, is the traditional lunch. Stegt flæsk med persillesovs, fried pork with parsley sauce, was chosen as the national dish in a 2014 vote, and frikadeller, fried meatballs, appear in homes and restaurants from north to south. At the lunch table, a shot of akvavit snaps accompanies the herring, and on the street the hot dog carts, the pølsevogne, are part of the urban landscape.
The calendar also passes through the kitchen. In Advent and at Christmas there are æbleskiver, little fried balls made in a special pan, and the December 24th feast ends with risalamande and the hidden almond. In summer, rødgrød med fløde brings together red berries and cream.
Some specialties are linked to a city. Copenhagen saw the country’s first Viennese-style bakery, which gave rise to wienerbrød. Odense holds the oldest records of brunsviger, the cake of Fyn. Gudhjem, on Bornholm, lends its name to Sol over Gudhjem, served in herring smokehouses, and Christiansfeld, the Moravian Church town, is known for honningkager, honey and spice cakes.
Each page tells the history of the specialty and its connection to the place, lists the ingredients and explains when and how Danes eat it. Names appear in Danish, as used in the country.
12 flavors
Soft little dough balls fried in a cast-iron pan with round cavities and served with powdered sugar and jam. Despite the name, which means apple slices, they generally do not contain apple: they are the Danish Advent and Christmas sweet.
Nordic spirit flavored with caraway and, sometimes, dill, served chilled in small glasses at Danish celebratory lunches, alongside herring and beer. In Denmark, the drink’s industrial history is linked to Aalborg.
Flattened meat patties made from ground meat, typically half pork and half veal, fried in butter until a crust forms. They are homestyle food across Denmark, served with potatoes, a dark gravy and pickles or cabbage.
Hot sausages served in a bun from the pølsevogne, the hot‑dog carts that have operated in Danish cities since 1921, with mustard, ketchup, remoulade, fried onion and pickled cucumber slices. The first carts appeared in Copenhagen.
Cold rice pudding with whipped cream, chopped almonds and vanilla, served with warm cherry sauce at the end of the Christmas dinner. A whole almond is hidden in the serving dish, and whoever finds it receives a gift.
Thickened compote of red fruits such as strawberry, raspberry, currant and cherry, served cold with cream or milk. It’s the classic Danish summer dessert, and the name is famously hard to pronounce.
A slice of rye bread with butter and a generous, carefully arranged topping, eaten with fork and knife. It’s Denmark’s traditional lunch, and the tall, decorated version became famous in Copenhagen restaurants in the late 19th century.
Slices of pork belly fried until crispy, served with boiled potatoes and a white parsley sauce. It was chosen as Denmark’s national dish in a vote held by the Ministry of Food in 2014.
Honey and spice cakes made from a dough that rests for months before baking, often coated in chocolate. They have been produced in Christiansfeld, the Moravian Church town, since 1783, with recipes kept secret.
Sweet yeast pastries with layers of butter, shaped as a snail, bow, braid or envelope, filled with custard, remonce or fruit. The first Viennese bakery in Denmark opened in Copenhagen in the 1840s, and the city became associated with the pastry the world calls Danish pastry.
Rye bread with smoked herring, raw egg yolk, radish, chives and onion: the smokehouses’ dish from Bornholm. The name means sun over Gudhjem, and the yolk plays the role of the sun over the village where the island’s first smokehouse opened.
Soft yeast cake topped with a layer of melted butter and brown sugar that forms syrupy pools on the surface. It is regarded as the cake of Fyn, and the earliest records are from Odense, in 1830.
Suggest a traditional dish, sweet or drink of Denmark that is not here. We check the sources before adding it.
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Your questions
In a vote organized by the Danish Ministry of Food in 2014, the winner was stegt flæsk med persillesovs: slices of fried pork with boiled potatoes and parsley sauce. Smørrebrød came in second place.
It is the Danish open sandwich: dark rugbrød topped with items such as herring, egg and shrimp or frikadeller. It is the country’s traditional lunch, eaten with a fork and knife.
Wienerbrød, the puff pastries known abroad as Danish pastry; the brunsviger of Fyn; the honningkager of Christiansfeld; and, at Christmas time, æbleskiver and risalamande.
Beer and, at festive lunches, a small glass of chilled akvavit snaps to accompany the herring. Drink in moderation.
