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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Denmark
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.
Traditional drink from Denmark
Also known as: snaps, aquavit, akvavit dinamarquesa
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Akvavit — Denmark
Akvavit is a clear or lightly golden distilled spirit made from grain or potato and flavored with spices, chiefly caraway (kommen) and, in many versions, dill. The name comes from the Latin aqua vitae, water of life. In Denmark, the drink is commonly called snaps in everyday speech, a word that also refers to other flavored spirits served the same way.
Akvavit is a traditional drink of the Nordic countries. In the Middle Ages it was used as an herbal remedy; regular production of quality akvavit began in the mid-19th century. In the European Union, the category requires at least 37.5 percent alcohol.
The history of the drink in Denmark is associated with Aalborg. In 1846, Isidor Henius, a Jewish immigrant from Toruń, opened a distillery there that launched the akvavit that became known as Rød Aalborg. In 1881, Henius was among the founders of the company that, from 1923, concentrated all of the country’s distilled production until 1973, with a factory in Aalborg. The sculpture of the Cimbrian bull, donated to the city in 1937, marks the site of the former distillery.
At the table, akvavit accompanies salty, fatty foods: herring, smørrebrød, cheeses. It is served chilled in small glasses and drunk with a toast (skål), alongside a beer. It is commonly present at festive lunches, such as Christmas and Easter lunches.
It is a strong drink, for small doses and to be enjoyed in moderation.
Denmark
Drink of celebratory lunches across the country; its industrial history is linked to Aalborg.
Distilled alcohol from grain or potato, flavored with caraway (kommen) and other spices and herbs such as dill, coriander or fennel, depending on the recipe.
Chilled, in a small glass, with a toast (skål), accompanying herring, smørrebrød and cheeses, alongside a beer.
Julefrokost, påskefrokost and other celebratory lunches; in small doses, in moderation.
Your questions
Akvavit is the spirit flavored with caraway and other spices. Snaps is the everyday name for the serving and for other spirits served the same way.
Chilled, in a small glass, with a toast (skål), accompanying herring and smørrebrød, alongside a beer.
In Aalborg, Isidor Henius opened a distillery in 1846, and the factory of the company that concentrated the country’s distilled production from 1923 to 1973 operated there.
Flavors of Denmark
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.
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.
