Local Dishes

1. smørrebrød

   Smørrebrød (open-faced rye bread sandwich)

   Usage

   The classic Danish lunch: a slice of rye bread with toppings, eaten with knife and fork. The tall, elaborately garnished "festsmørrebrød" developed in the late 1800s and was one of the first Danish dishes to become known abroad; a specialist maker was called a smørrebrødsjomfru

   Grammar Note

   Neuter (et smørrebrød), definite smørrebrødet. A compound of smør (butter) + brød (bread) — note the doubled r. Norwegian writes smørbrød without the -re-, and Swedish uses the different word smörgås

2. stjerneskud

   Stjerneskud (open sandwich with fried and steamed plaice, shrimp and caviar)

   Usage

   Toasted white bread topped with one fried and one steamed fillet of plaice (rødspætte), garnished with shrimp, caviar, asparagus and lemon. It is said to have been created by Ida Davidsen when Yuri Gagarin visited Copenhagen in 1962, arranged like a rocket. The variant without the steamed fillet is called stjernekaster

   Grammar Note

   Neuter (et stjerneskud), definite stjerneskuddet with a doubled d. From stjerne (star) + skud (shot); in astronomy the same word means "shooting star"

3. dyrlægens natmad

   "The vet's midnight snack" — rye bread with liver pâté and salt beef

   Usage

   Rye bread layered with liver pâté (leverpostej) and slices of salt beef, garnished with meat jelly (sky) and raw onion rings. Named after the vet Sigurd Keilgaard, a regular at Oskar Davidsen's in Copenhagen. A variant using salami instead of salt beef is called dyrlægens morgenmad, "the vet's breakfast"

   Grammar Note

   dyrlægens is the genitive of dyrlægen (the vet) formed with -s. natmad ("night food") is common gender with no plural: en natmad, natmaden

4. sol over Gudhjem

   "Sun over Gudhjem" — smoked herring with raw egg yolk on rye

   Usage

   Rye bread with fillets of smoked herring, a raw egg yolk, onion or chives and sometimes radishes. The name refers to the town of Gudhjem on Bornholm, though the creation is attributed to Oskar Davidsen in Copenhagen. Gudhjem also hosts an annual food festival of the same name

   Grammar Note

   sol (sun, common gender: en sol) + over (above) + a place name; the yolk stands for the sun

5. pariserbøf

   Pariserbøf — beef patty on white bread with raw egg yolk and capers

   Usage

   A ground-beef patty laid on a slice of white bread and fried only briefly, served with a raw egg yolk, chopped pickled beetroot, raw onion, capers, grated horseradish and pickles to taste. It is on the menu of virtually every Danish lunch restaurant

   Grammar Note

   Common gender (en pariserbøf), definite pariserbøffen, plural pariserbøffer — the f of bøf doubles before an ending

6. marinerede sild

   Marinated (pickled) herring

   Usage

   Herring first salted to draw out water, then laid in a brine of vinegar, salt and sugar with peppercorns, onion and bay leaves. Known since the Middle Ages, it appears at Christmas, Easter and midsummer, typically on rye bread and accompanied by snaps

   Grammar Note

   sild (herring) is common gender and unchanged in the plural (en sild / flere sild). The adjective marineret takes -e in the plural and definite, giving marinerede — the form you see on menus

7. leverpostej

   Liver pâté

   Usage

   A spreadable topping of pork liver (sometimes calf or poultry liver) with fat and spices. Two surveys in 1992 found it to be Danes' favourite pålæg (sandwich topping). Eaten cold on rye bread, or served warm at lunch with bacon and mushrooms

   Grammar Note

   Common gender (en leverpostej), definite leverpostejen, plural leverpostejer. From lever (liver) + postej (pâté)

8. rugbrød

   Rye bread

   Usage

   In Denmark rugbrød means bread made from coarse or partly sifted rye flour — the dense dark loaf that forms the base of smørrebrød, and the answer when a restaurant asks which bread you want

   Grammar Note

   Neuter (et rugbrød), definite rugbrødet. From rug (rye) + brød (bread)

9. frikadeller

   Frikadeller (Danish pan-fried meatballs)

   Usage

   Flattened meatballs fried in a pan, traditionally made with minced pork and served with rye bread. Menus normally list them in the plural, frikadeller

   Grammar Note

   Singular en frikadelle (common gender), definite frikadellen, plural frikadeller, definite plural frikadellerne. Swedish has frikadell and German Frikadelle — the Danish form keeps the final -e

10. stegt flæsk med persillesovs

    Fried pork belly with parsley sauce (Denmark's national dish)

    Usage

    Oven- or pan-fried slices of pork belly with boiled potatoes and a béchamel sauce with chopped parsley. Known in Denmark since about 1890. In the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries' 2014 vote for a national dish it won with 44% of the votes, ahead of smørrebrød and hakkebøf

    Grammar Note

    flæsk (pork belly) is neuter (et flæsk); sovs (sauce) is common gender (en sovs). stegt is the past participle "fried" and is unchanged in this position

11. flæskesteg

    Roast pork with crackling

    Usage

    Loin or neck of pork roasted so that the rind (svær) turns crisp. A fixture of Christmas Eve and of the julefrokost, served with warm red cabbage (rødkål), brown gravy, boiled potatoes and caramelised potatoes (brunede kartofler). Do not confuse it with stegt flæsk, which is fried slices — a different dish

    Grammar Note

    Common gender (en flæskesteg), definite flæskestegen, plural flæskestege. From flæsk (pork) + steg (a roast; en steg)

12. medisterpølse

    Medisterpølse — thick spiced pork sausage

    Usage

    A thick spiced sausage of minced pork stuffed into pig casings. The usual spices are allspice, cloves, salt and pepper, occasionally cardamom or mace. It is made as one long sausage and cut only just before serving, and is often served alongside gule ærter (yellow pea soup)

    Grammar Note

    Common gender (en medisterpølse), definite medisterpølsen, plural medisterpølser; often shortened to medister. The word comes from Middle Low German Metworst ("meat sausage"); the reading "med ister" (with suet) is folk etymology

13. gule ærter

    Gule ærter — yellow split pea soup with meat

    Usage

    Dried yellow peas simmered soft in a broth of meat and soup vegetables — a classic winter dish. It is a thick yellow soup served with the boiled meat and vegetables, and belongs to the category of søbemad eaten with a spoon. Recipes vary by region: North Jutland uses pig's trotters, a Zealand version uses boiling pork and pork shank

    Grammar Note

    A plural noun phrase. The singular is en ært (common gender), plural ærter; the adjective gul takes -e in the plural, giving gule

14. boller i karry

    Meatballs in curry sauce, served with rice

    Usage

    Boiled meatballs of minced pork or beef in a thick yellow curry sauce made from their own cooking liquid, with curry powder, onion and apple, thickened with wheat or corn flour. Originally served with rice, it has been eaten in Denmark since about 1935

    Grammar Note

    bolle (ball) is common gender, plural boller; i is the preposition "in"; karry is Danish for curry

15. hakkebøf

    Hakkebøf — beef patty with soft onions and brown gravy

    Usage

    A round patty of minced beef, seasoned on the surface with salt and pepper and fried, served with soft fried onions (bløde løg), boiled potatoes and brown gravy, plus the "sweet and sour" garnishes: pickled cucumber, pickled beetroot, red cabbage or jam. It came third in the 2014 national-dish vote

    Grammar Note

    Common gender (en hakkebøf), definite hakkebøffen, plural hakkebøffer. From hakke (to chop, mince) + bøf (steak, patty)

16. biksemad

    Biksemad — fried hash of potato, onion and meat

    Usage

    Boiled potatoes diced and fried on a hot pan with onion and pieces of meat, served with a fried egg and pickled beetroot and eaten with HP or Worcestershire sauce, ketchup or even béarnaise. Originally a way of using leftovers, the word comes from sailors' speech and the dish dates back to the 1800s. Swedish pyttipanna is the same dish under a different name

    Grammar Note

    Common gender (en biksemad); mad (food) is common gender and is rarely used in the plural

17. brændende kærlighed

    "Burning love" — mashed potato with fried bacon and onion

    Usage

    Mashed potato topped with diced fried bacon and onion fried in the bacon fat, usually served with pickled beetroot and sprinkled with chives or parsley. The name is the dish's ordinary name and appears as such on menus

    Grammar Note

    brændende is the present participle of brænde (to burn); kærlighed (love) is common gender (en kærlighed)

18. tarteletter

    Tarteletter — puff pastry shells with a hot savoury filling

    Usage

    In Denmark the pastry case is made of puff pastry (butterdej) and filled with a hot savoury filling. The classic fillings are høns i asparges (chicken in asparagus cream), chicken or ham with creamed peas and carrots, and prawns in asparagus. In France a tartelette is normally a sweet fruit dessert — the filling is what differs

    Grammar Note

    Singular en tartelet (common gender), definite tarteletten, plural tarteletter. From French for "little tart"

19. æbleflæsk

    Æbleflæsk — fried pork belly with stewed apples

    Usage

    An old dish of pork belly — often smoked — with apples and onion. It is regarded as a Funen speciality but is served elsewhere too. The Funen version dices smoked fat and bacon, fries them crisp and mixes them into sweetened stewed apple to eat on rye bread; the Zealand version slices pork and apple and fries them together in roughly equal amounts. It was one of the candidates in the 2014 national-dish contest

    Grammar Note

    A compound of æble (apple, neuter: et æble) + flæsk (pork belly, neuter: et flæsk)

20. skipperlabskovs

    Skipperlabskovs — beef and potato stew

    Usage

    Diced meat browned with onion, covered with stock and simmered with potatoes until they break down. It originates as the North German Labskaus eaten by sailors; in Denmark it is called skipperlabskovs, served with rye bread and regarded as plain country fare (husmandskost). Also simply labskovs

    Grammar Note

    skipper (ship's captain) + labskovs. Older Danish also spelled it lobescoves or lobescowes

21. fiskefrikadeller

    Fiskefrikadeller — Danish fish cakes

    Usage

    Minced fish mixed with flour, mashed potato, breadcrumbs, smoked pork, onion, egg, spices and milk, then fried. Usually served with remoulade, and also used as a smørrebrød topping

    Grammar Note

    Singular en fiskefrikadelle (common gender), plural fiskefrikadeller. From the compound form fiske- of fisk (fish) + frikadelle

22. ristet hotdog

    Ristet hotdog — Danish roasted hot dog

    Usage

    The staple of the pølsevogn (sausage stand). The classic Danish version is a red boiled sausage (rød pølse) in a bun with mustard, ketchup, remoulade, raw onion, crisp fried onions (ristede løg) and cucumber salad. Denmark's first pølsevogn opened in 1921. Since 1981 it has been illegal to call a red sausage a wienerpølse, so names such as hotdogpølse are used instead

    Grammar Note

    hotdog is common gender (en hotdog), definite hotdoggen, plural hotdogs. ristet is the past participle of riste (to roast, toast)

23. rygeost

    Rygeost — Danish smoked fresh cheese with caraway

    Usage

    A sour-milk cheese salted and seasoned with caraway (kommen) and smoked over straw or nettles. A speciality of Funen and the only cheese type invented in Denmark without a foreign model. Whole caraway seeds are sprinkled on after smoking; it is eaten on rye bread

    Grammar Note

    Common gender (en rygeost). From ryge (to smoke) + ost (cheese; en ost). The spellings røgeost and røgost are also used

24. risalamande

    Risalamande — rice pudding with almonds and hot cherry sauce

    Usage

    Chilled rice pudding folded with chopped almonds and whipped cream, served with a hot cherry sauce. In many Danish homes either risalamande or risengrød is the traditional Christmas Eve dessert. The name looks French (riz à l'amande) but the dish is unknown in France

    Grammar Note

    Common gender; the definite form is risalamanden. The name is mock French and is written as one word in Danish

25. rødgrød med fløde

    Rødgrød med fløde — red berry compote with cream

    Usage

    Summer berries — chiefly red ones such as raspberries, strawberries and currants — cooked with sugar and thickened, served cold with cream poured over. It is one of the frugtgrød family, alongside rabarbergrød (rhubarb) and sveskegrød (prune)

    Grammar Note

    grød (porridge-like dish) is common gender (en grød) and has no plural. rød means red; fløde (cream) is also common gender

26. koldskål

    Koldskål — cold sweetened buttermilk soup

    Usage

    Buttermilk (kærnemælk) with egg, sugar, vanilla and lemon — a cold, sweet soup eaten fridge-cold in summer as a dessert or, in north-western Jutland, as a meal. Traditionally served with tvebakker or kammerjunkere, small crisp biscuits. Ready-made versions have been sold since 1979 and a warm week can double demand

    Grammar Note

    Common gender (en koldskål), definite koldskålen, no plural. From kold (cold) + skål (bowl; en skål). The full name is kærnemælkskoldskål

27. øllebrød

    Øllebrød — porridge of rye bread cooked in beer

    Usage

    Leftover rye bread soaked and cooked in beer — usually the low-alcohol hvidtøl — into a loose porridge, sweetened with a little sugar and sometimes flavoured with lemon or orange, then served with milk or whipped cream. It goes back to monastery life, where bread was dipped in warm beer

    Grammar Note

    Common gender (en øllebrød), definite øllebrøden, no plural. This is an exception to the rule that compounds take the gender of their last element, since brød on its own is neuter (et brød)

28. wienerbrød

    Wienerbrød — what the rest of the world calls a "Danish pastry"

    Usage

    What the rest of the world calls a "Danish pastry" is called wienerbrød, "Vienna bread", in Denmark — the technique came from Vienna — so asking for "a Danish" will not be understood. Yeast dough with fat rolled in and folded repeatedly to make layers. It comes as large cakes sold in slices (wienerstang) and as individual round pieces with custard or jam in the middle. Variants include spandauer, romsnegl, kanelsnegl and kringle

    Grammar Note

    Neuter (et wienerbrød), definite wienerbrødet. From Wiener (Viennese) + brød (bread); Danish writes the city-derived element in lower case here

29. tebirkes

    Tebirkes — poppy-seed breakfast pastry

    Usage

    A breakfast pastry of the wienerbrød family: puff pastry (butterdej) rolled around remonce, a butter-and-sugar filling, brushed with beaten egg and sugar and covered with poppy seeds (birkes). The remonce turns almost caramel-like. A standard early-morning item in Danish bakeries

    Grammar Note

    birkes (poppy seed) is neuter (et birkes) and unchanged in the plural. From te (tea) + birkes — a poppy-seed pastry for teatime

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