DANISH FOOD HABITS AND NUTRITION

FOOD HISTORY

There is definitely a change in the Danish food habits since the 1950's. Firstly the habits have changed as the economics have. Now we eat a lot of international food such as pizza, pasta or fast-food such as burgers. We also eat a lot more luxurious food products compared to before and these products have replaced a lot of the more traditional such as rye bread and potatoes. We also eat a lot more meat than before and we also eat a lot more fat milk-products such as cream and cheese. The reason Denmark is eating more foreign is because now we are doing a lot of international trading.

That being said though there is a lot more traditional dishes on the dinner tables in Denmark compared to other foreign dishes like tortillas or pizza and we still eat more potatoes than we eat pasta or rice. We also eat a lot more fruit and vegetables because of international trading, for an example we can eat bananas and pears in the winter where we normally couldn't.

The Danish food habits have also changed through time but we still have our traditions. We almost always eat dinner together with the family, mostly every night unless we're with friends. Actually 85% of all Danes eat dinner with their family 5 or more times a week.

So we continue to evolve our food habits but we still keep our traditions such as eating at home or getting turkey, duck, pork or goose for Christmas night.

ABOUT OUR FOOD

INSPIRATION

Good food is an important ingredient in the Danish concept of “hygge”, a word that can be best translated as a 'warm, fuzzy, cozy, comfortable feeling of well-being' and may be seen as analogous to the German Gemütlichkeit. While the attainment of “hygge” is a near-universal goal in Danish culture, “hygge” itself is a highly personal concept, and varies significantly according to circumstances, region, and individual family traditions. Generally speaking, however, good food, good company, wine, comfortable furniture, soft easy lighting (candle lights in particular), music, etc. , all contribute to the feeling of 'hygge'. Although famously liberal with respect to social values, some older Danes are fairly conservative when it comes to food. They appreciate traditional cooking, and are hesitant to embrace new 'different' types of food. In the new Danish cooking style, dishes are sometimes lighter, smaller, more nutritious and generally offer more focus on fresh vegetables. This mode of cooking is increasingly international, highly influenced by French, American and Asian cuisine, especially the cuisine of Thailand. The food cultures of southern European countries such as France, Spain, Italy and Greece, have become well known. Despite this, the buttery traditional cuisine is still very popular, especially in the young generations.

For breakfast we usually eat early in the morning on regular weekdays but in the weekend we usually eat together. In my family I eat by myself on the weekdays and it's also pretty typical for me and others to eat cereal in the morning such as oatmeal or cornflakes, we also eat bread sometimes. In the weekends we eat a bit more fancy. Sometimes we get something called ”round-pieces” which is basically crispy buns. Then in the afternoon some people eat lunch but most people don't because they don't have the time or they're not hungry. For lunch we typically eat rye bread or open-faced sandwiches with meat and other accessories and adults will sometimes grab a beer to go together with the sandwiches.

We eat dinner around 6 or 8 at night. We eat a lot of potatoes, meat and vegetables for dinner, but we also eat a lot of foreign dishes. At dinner we almost always eat with the family even though some may eat alone. We rarely eat out and after dinner we usually don't have anything else, but some may have dessert which could be “koldskaal” or translated directly “cold bowl” or rice pudding. Sometimes we eat a midnight snack but not together with the family. In the weekday we usually go to bed fairly early, often about 4 hours after we've eaten dinner.

• Breakfast• Snack• Lunch• Snack/coffee• Dinner• Snack/Dessert

In Denmark we have some different food traditions. Like at Christmas we eat duck and goose, glazed potatoes, red cabbage, pork roast, potatoes and rice pudding. The rice pudding contains chopped almonds and one/two whole ones. The one who finds the whole almond wins a present. That could typically be a marzipan pig. We also have something called Christmas lunch, where we eat Danish pork sausage. We also eat open-faced sandwiches, curried herring, meatballs and ham.

At Easter lunch we usually eat some eggs, tuna, shrimps and also open-faced sandwiches. In Shrovetide (a Danish version of Halloween, though it takes place in February) we have something called Shrovetide buns/cream buns , which is a like a scones, but with either jam or cream inside.

At St Martin's Day we eat duck as well, along with either normal potatoes or glazed potatoes. Although originally it should have been a goose instead of a duck.

New Year’s Eve we have a cake that’s called marzipan ring cake. It is typically decorated with white or brown icing. Most Danes also drink champagne either at 6pm where the Queen’s speech is or at midnight.

RYE BREAD RYE BREAD Rye bread is a very commonly

used bread in Denmark. The common rye bread usually resembles a long brown rectangle, no more than 12 cm high, and 30–35 cm wide, although shapes and sizes may vary, as well as the ingredients. Sourdough is almost always the base; the bread may be made exclusively with rye and wheat flour or contains up to one third whole rye grains. Variants with whole sunflower or other seeds also exist.

The bread is almost always very low in fat, its content comparable to most other varieties of bread. It contains no oil or flavoring, although it will often contain preservatives to keep it fresh longer. It is rich in whole grain and dietary fiber and contain little or no sugar, and is thus considered by many Danes as a healthy alternative to whiter types of bread.

OPEN-FACED SANDWICH Denmark is the only place in the

world where you can find these sandwiches. Almost every Danish restaurant in Copenhagen serve the traditional "open-faced sandwich" called "smoerrebroed" - with many different accessories of food items such as pieces of meat or fish, various paste, salad dressings and cheese on buttered rye bread and decorated with all types of toppings that gives the creation a great visual appeal and it is almost a piece of art, when presented on a well laid table. “Smoerrebroed” is normally served together with the famous Danish beer and snaps. At Christmas time we also eat a lot of open-faced sandwiches because we gather around with friends and family for Christmas feasts or translated directly “Christmas lunch”.

LIVER PASTE

The National paste “Leverpostej” or Liver Paste. Liver Paste or “Leverpostej" is the Danes most popular and favourite spreading on their open-faced sandwich. Liver paste is a must to eat for nearly every Dane no matter age. In fact many babies love rye bread together with Liver paste. The basic ingredients are chopped pork liver and lard with onions. Liver paste has a very high nutrition value and it contains vitamins such as vitamin A and vitamin B2 as well as iron.

DANISH PASTRYDANISH PASTRY Danish pastry (also called a

Danish) is a sweet pastry, of Viennese origin, which has become a specialty of Denmark and neighboring Scandinavian countries and is called "Danish pastry" in English speaking countries.

Danish pastry is, like the croissant, originated from Vienna and is called wienerbroed.

The ingredients include flour, yeast, milk, eggs and a lot of butter.

The Danish can be topped with chocolate, sugar or icing, and may be stuffed with either jam, marzipan or custard. Shapes are numerous, including circles with filling in the middle (known as "Spandauer's"), figure-eights, spirals (known as snails), and the pretzel-like kringles.

COFFEE TABLE FROM SOUTHERN JUTLAND

The Southern Jutland coffee table consists of at least 14 cakes. 7 soft and 7 hard cakes. The soft cakes are the first to be eaten. The soft cakes are usually layer cakes of some sort or muffins. Whereas the hard cakes usually consists of cookies or Mazarin cakes. The only place you eat this is in the Southern part of Jutland, therefor the name.

HOT DOG STAND

Was the first kind of fast-food available in Denmark. It is found just about everywhere in Denmark. A typical Danish hot dog consists of a bun, with a read sausage, often with pickles, either toasted or normal onions. You can choose between going or staying at the stand since it’s made like a portable booth. Another thing you could get from the stand is a sausage in wrap. It’s just a sausage with bacon wrapped around the sausage. We also have something called a French hot dog. It’s not because the hot dog itself is French, but the dressing in the hot dog is French.

DANISH DRINKING HABITS

Coffee is the national beverage in Denmark. On average we are spending 2% of our budget on coffee in Denmark, that's a total of 20 million cups of coffee every day. That means that every Danish inhabitant drinks 4 cups of coffee every day on average.

Beer is also a well known beverage in Denmark. In Denmark we produce a lot of beer. One of the most well known companies that produces beer in Denmark is Carlsberg. Carlsberg is supplier for many retail stores world wide.

Three out of four have in the past month consumed more drinks on one occasion, than is often recommended as the maximum limit.

If you compare alcohol consumption among 15-16-year-olds in Denmark, Italy and Norway, it looks like this:Half of the Danish youth say they have been drunk within the past 30 days. In Italy a little over a quarter of the adolescents have been drunk within the past 30 days. In Norway the figure is around 40 percent. The Danish youth drink larger quantities than other young Europeans.

The high consumption has important implications. In Denmark nearly 1.700 under the age of 20 will end in the hospital with acute alcohol poisoning every year. Every four death among 15-29-year-old men are linked with the consumption of alcohol. Furthermore, alcohol impairs the ability to learn, reduces concentration and gives trouble sleeping.

In Denmark it is normal for young people to watch reality shows very often. In these series they drink a lot of alcoholic beverages, which makes young people in Denmark drink the same quantities as seen in the reality shows.

BOARD OF HEALTH:7 STATEMENTS ABOUT ALCOHOL

No alcohol is safe for your health. Do not drink alcohol for your health's

sake. You have a low risk of getting sick

because of alcohol at a consumption of 7 drinks per week for women and 14 for men.

You have a high risk of getting sick because of alcohol if you drink more than 14/21 units a week.

Stop before the 5th unit on the same occasion.

If you are pregnant - avoid alcohol. Do you want to get pregnant - avoid alcohol for safety's sake.

If you are older - Be especially careful with alcohol.

BOARD OF HEALTH:TWO STATEMENTS ABOUT ALCOHOL – YOUNG PEOPLE

Children and adolescents under 16 years are not recommended to drink alcohol.

Young people between 16 and 18 years are recommended to drink as little as possible and stop at 5 units on the same occasion.

SURVEY DENMARK - GREECE

DENMARK VS. GREECE

Denmark Greece• Kitchen based on beer, rye

bread, salty and smoked pork, milk and potatoes

• Inspiration from the USA, Asia and Europe

• Europe’s oldest kitchen

• Simple food made from a few fresh ingredients

• Eggplant, lemon, feta, fish, olive oil, bell pepper, tomato, wild herbs and yoghurt are the typical ingredients

• A lot of small dishes

Eat fruit and vegetables 6 times a day Eat fish twice a week Eat potatoes, rice, pasta and brown bread every

day Cut down on sugar especially soda and cake Cut down on fat especially on milk products and meat You should eat varied? And keep your normal weight Quench you thirst with water Be active at least 30 minutes a day

DENMARK 'FAT TAX' AIMED TO PREVENT UNHEALTHY EATING HABITS

Denmark has imposed a “fat tax” on foods such as butter and oil as a way to prevent unhealthy eating habits.

A tax of 16 kroner ($3.00) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of saturated fat in a product.

The tax will increase the price of a burger by around $0.15 and raise the price of a small package of butter by around $0.40.

Denmark, like some other European countries, already has higher fees on sugar, chocolates and soft drinks.

Denmark is maybe is the first in the world to tax fatty foods.

How to make ”Frikadeller” or ”Danish meatballs”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQyuS5RUzxQ