The Microbrewery Culture in Copenhagen

Walking through the streets of Copenhagen, it is easy to note that the city has a definite beer culture. Between all the cafes, the drinking in the streets, the Carlsburg ads that are as common as our own Coca Cola, Denmark is all about the beer. However, like leggings, beer is something that has come, gone, and just recently made a comeback.

According to my host father, before the 1980's, almost everyone in Denmark drank beer exclusively. This was due to the fact that it was really the only alcoholic drink readily available (besides schnapps, of course!). By the 80's, Denmark started importing wines from nearby France and Italy, as well as a few from the newly famous California Napa Valley. Thus the rødvin revolution began. Not only did Danes love drinking their imported cabernet, chianti, and burgundy, they began to experiment on their own, either on small vineyards of their own or in the comfort of their home basements. My host mother recalled the time with a smile, remembering how one glass of the rødvin her family made would give them all borderline migranes the following day. Some vineyards are still active in Denmark today, and their products are sold in stores and even at the 2 Michelin star restaurant Noma, but I think most prefer to stick with the foreign stuff.

While red and white wine are readily available in every grocery store in Copenhagen (and I certainly have taken advantage of this many times!) in the 1990's, Denmark began shifting back to beer culture with the introduction of several microbreweries popping up all over the city. The concept of the microbrewery is a place where artisinal beers are created in small batches (thus, micro) and are sold either on the premises or in a few local shops. Microbreweries are also often cafes or restaurants, where the food is not only prepared with the local beer, but also perfectly paired with a large glass of it. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual, but the meal, especially at Norrebro Bryghus, is quite gourmet.

Last weekend my host family treated me and two friends to a spectacular 3 course dinner and beer menu. Three different courses, four different beers. While the food was delicious - garlic soup with chanterelles and wild berries, cockerel (rooster) with a sauce of reduced beer and plum with a side of potatoes in a spinach-cream sauce, and a lovely aebler kage (apple cake!) for dessert - let's not kid ourselves. It was all about the beer.

We sampled four in-house beers, each specifically described by the waitress in her best English (she was a real trooper with us!). The first three went in an order from a light pilsner to a darker ale, and finished with a sweeter ale that tasted strongly of raspberry iced tea (not my favorite). Before each new beer, we all raised our glasses and cried "skol!" toasting the beer, the company, and the overall hygge nature of the evening. I was surprised by how much like wine tasting this was. It wasn't like sipping any old Carlsburg out of a can. Each beer had a distinct smell full of nuances of grains, fruits, honey, and spices. The tastes were extraordinarily complex, and even as I got more and more drunk, I could still feel the level of carbonation, and the different elements of sweet and bitter roll over my tongue, then suddenly change completely as it went down my throat. From all the college and frat parties I have witnessed, who knew that beer could be such an artform?

Needless to say, after 4 large glasses of beer, we were all ready (including my host parents) to head home for the night. As my friend and I began our journey home, I knew exactly why the microbrewery has become such a popular component to Danish beer culture. I felt as though I had a gastronmic experience of a lifetime, yet it had been such a casual and relaxed evening. A simple pleasure, like a good beer with friends, is one of those timeless activities that results in the ultimate feeling of comfort. I felt well-fed and completely content - until I realized we had got on the wrong bus!

Here are descriptions of the beers we sampled from Norrebro Bryghus:

Çeske Böhmer - A very classic 5.0 % ABV Pilsner type beer inspired by the way this is brewed in Bohemia. Brewed exclusively from Bohemian lager malt and Saazer hops this beer is clear, light coloured and crisp. Medium bodied with soft, smooth bitterness, distinctive malty taste, and an elegant spicy, hoppy aroma.

Brugge Blonde – This Blonde Ale is brewed in the Belgian abbey-style. It is a pale golden beer of 6,5 % ABV with a distinct spicy aroma owing to the special yeast strain, the use of honey as well as the spices added - lemon peel and grains of paradise. The taste is full, bittersweet and complex, finishing with a gentle warming sensation that lingers in the mouth.

Ravnsborg Rød - A version of the classic British Amber or Red Ale. Reddish brown, smooth, round and full bodied with 5.5 % ABV. Dense malt character mixed with intense fruity and aromatic aromas. The taste is dominated by the fruitiness supplemented by spicy notes of Amarillo hops. Soft bitterness and a slightly sweet, creamy finish.

Furesø Framboise – a filtered Belgian wheat beer 5.3 % ABV, added raspberry in the last days of maturing. With a low sugar level and fair amounts of acidity it is dry and bubbly fresh. Light pink in colour with a distinct scent and taste of raspberries it is a clear cut winner for the more sensitive mouthes.

pictures are to come, i promise!

Lunch at a Smoresbrod Institution

Smoresbrod (or Danish open-faced sandwiches) can be found at any café on every corner in Copenhagen, oftentimes displayed in the window, inviting you to come and devour. However, one place in particular, or I should say, one woman in particular is known for having the best smoresbrod in all of Denmark. Her name is Ida Davidsen, and the other week I had the pleasure of being placed in her capable hands for a lunch I will never forget.

Ida Davidsen is like the Ina Garten of Denmark. Warm, friendly, and inviting, she has been featured not only on the Food Network, but also the Travel Channel, and Gourmet Magazine, just to name a few. She is known as the “Queen of Smoresbrod”, as she takes the sandwich to a whole new level with her seemingly endless combinations of toppings from the best and freshest ingredients. She takes great pride in what she does, and she wants you to get as excited about food as she is.

So walking into her restaurant with my friend Caroline on a Monday afternoon, I should not have been surprised to her behind the counter, in her trademark crisp, white dress, eagerly pointing out the ingredients on every displayed sandwich (there were about a hundred of them) to a mix of regular and clearly tourist customers. But I was surprised. I have been lucky enough to eat at several celebrity chef restaurants, but not once have I seen any of them presiding over the place that made them so famous. Ida ran back and forth between the kitchen where the sandwiches were prepared fresh, and the counter, making sure that every customer was well taken care of. Perhaps that is the difference. While celebrity chefs cash in on US capitalism by hopping around to their three or four restaurants, keeping to the kitchen to check on the food they no longer prepare themselves, Ida has one restaurant that she continually perfects not only with delicious food, but stellar customer service.

Approaching the counter of never-ending smoresbrod, I certainly felt like the overwhelmed American tourist. There were no signs explaining the ingredients, and EVERYTHING looked absolutely divine. After staring hopelessly for a few seconds, Ida popped over with a huge smile and welcomed us, telling us how we had to order a fish sandwich, then a meat sandwich. We had no qualms with that! She then went on to explain every sandwich in the case, each with a slightly different tone of affection. Sandwiches with everything from herring, salmon, caviar, beef, egg, fried onions – I knew no matter what I chose it would be good. Casually I asked Ida which one was her favorite. She looked at me as though I had asked her to pick her favorite child. Then she responded, “my dear, I love them all!”

In the end I opted for a smoresbrod with small Danish shrimp that were in season, topped with asparagus and a cream sauce that was lightly broiled until the top was brown and nutty. My friend chose a smoked salmon and wasabi cream roulade of sorts, topped with a healthy amount of salmon roe. As we oohed and aahed over our meal, we wondered how we would fit another meat-based sandwich into our bellies. We were feeling pretty satisfied. However, when our second plates were placed down a few minutes later, we knew that we would have no problem.

My second sandwich consisted of the most perfect combination of rugbrod, medium-rare roast beef, house-pickled vegetables, and a perfectly fried egg on top, with the yolk just begging to be poked. The richness of the egg and steak with the acid and slight sweetness of the vegetables, all on top of the perfect base of hearty rugbrod – my mouth was in absolute taste bud heaven. I have never tasted such complexity in a sandwich before. Words were just not good enough to descibe what we were eating, so Caroline, who had a similar sandwich topped with fried onions, and I just stared at each other, seriously nodding our heads with furrowed brow, before tucking into our plates with complete and utter silence.

my second sandwich. yum!

After coming extremely close to licking our plates clean, Ida came over to our table, like she does with everyone, and asked us if we were enjoying our meal. We told her how delicious it was and how much we had been looking forward to coming to her restaurant. She laughed, and hugged us both. Danish Ina Garten hugged me! Needless to say we both floated out of the restaurant on a food-coma cloud. Not only were we ridiculously well fed, we were nourished, body and soul. I believe that is the whole point behind smoresbrod. Not only does it nourish the average Dane everyday of the week, it can also show Danish hospitality at its finest.

me and ida davidsen!

The things they do have . . .

So many posts in one day! Having been here for a month already though, I feel as though there's a lot to catch my possible 2 readers up on! (plus procrastinating art history homework is fun). In my last post, I droned on and on about the things Denmark does not have, and there's a lot more than what I said - but those were the ones most important to me. However, there is so much that Denmark has to offer in terms of food, and of course I'm going to share them with you!

BREAD - In the past 4 weeks, I think I have eaten more bread than I have in the past 4 years. And I mean that in the best possible way. The most common bread eaten here is rugbrod, translated to rye-bread. It's an extremely hearty, help-you-poop kind of bread that comes in a regular bread-like form, as well as a more cake-like consistency with lots of large grains and seeds. It's the base for most smoresbrod, or Danish open faced sandwiches. Most sandwiches are open faced here, because Europeans eat everything with a knife and fork. Everything. In fact, I learned that Europeans consider Americans to be childish because we put our knife down while we eat. Knife and fork should always remain in either hand, thus if you're right-handed, better learn raise your fork with your left, because you'll need your right to cut! Even a cheeseburger is eaten with a knife and fork.
Pardon the tangent. Anyway, rugbrod. I was trying to figure out what it tasted like, because it seemed so familiar. One day I tried it warm with a bit of honey spread on it, and BOOM. It hit me! Boston brown bread! You know, bread in a can. Every kid in Massachusetts grows up eating the stuff. The only difference is that rugbrod is not sweet, as there's no molasses or raisins added to it. But at the end of the day, they're both breads made with rye. No wonder I liked it so much!
In Copenhagen, there are bakeries almost on every corner. You can buy bread at the grocery store, like you do in the US, but why would you? Every bakery is clearly marked with the same golden pretzel topped with a crown (I call it the royal pretzel of goodness). There you can find freshly baked bread of all varieties, baguettes, sourdough, and of course weinerbrod, literally translated to "vienna bread" or in other words, PASTRY. I've never liked American danishes. They were something to be passed by in favor of the donuts at any breakfast buffet. Not here. Not ever. In Denmark, a danish is a delicate pastry where in each bite you can taste every sweet, flaky layer that was carefully crafted with lots of love and butter by each individual baker. Think slightly denser than a crossiant, with the perfect amount of that simple and wonderful confectionary sugar glaze laced across the top. They are exceptional, and with the 12 kr. daily special at the bakery around the corner from my school (DIS), I am officially hooked.

LEVERPOSTEJ: huh? In every butcher or grocery store, you will see multiple aluminum pans filled with this meatloaf looking concoction. In fact, that is originally what I thought it was. And it is - kind of. It's essentially country pate, made with your liver of choice, and Danes go gaga for it. It is a common ingredient found on your basic smoresbrod, smeared with a small amount of butter, and perhaps some cheese or a fruit spread. It's pretty good too, but I would recommend getting it from the local butcher, like my family does, where it's made fresh.

LAKRIDS: When Danes travel, they often wonder why they cannot find this particular candy in any other country. It is because you only love it if you are Danish, or perhaps a very distinct palate. Lakrids is licorice candy. I do not like licorice to begin with, so I was in trouble from the start. Lakrids is not like pull-n-peel, it is the black stuff, often covered in some gummy concoction, bad chocolate, or this very spicy and salty coating (which I think actually tastes the best). Most of the candy aisle in a grocery store is dominated by different sized bags filled with lakrids of every color, size, and shape - but it's all Danish to me!

POTATOES: yeah, I know we have potatoes in the US, and we have all different kinds of potatoes. But we don't have DANISH potatoes, and we're missing out. There small, perfect potaotes are similar to a new potato, something you use for boiling or a potato salad, but they're so much better. They're creamy, they're slightly sweet, and they have made this foodie a potato convert.

BEER: Again, America has beer. But you have to go to New Orleans to drink it legally in the street!! So I was more than pleasantly surprised that I could carry a bottle or can of beer not only through the street, but on public transportation, the royal botanical gardens, or pretty much any damn place I pleased! There are two main types of beer local to Denmark, and they are Carlsburg and Tuborg. I'm a Carlsburg girl personally, and I'm looking forward to visiting the brewery just outside the city in the coming weeks. Beer is everywhere, and it's advirtised like we advirtise Coca Cola. Everything is sponsered by Carlsburg - showing the different attitude that Europeans have towards alcohol. Copenhagen is also known for its microbrewery culture, where artisinal beers are made and enjoyed in small batches.
Alcohol, while still used by some to get drunk, is more something to be enjoyed with friends, or with food. Alcohol is "hygge" essentially the Danish word for what you believe to be "cozy". This attitude is clearly shown through the hundreds of cafes located throughout the city, all with outdoor tables with blankets hung over each chair, in case you get chilly. It is there that at 2 or 3 in the afternoon on any day (let's pick Tuesday) you will see adults of all ages sitting together enjoying a beer after work (they finish much earlier than Americans do). The atmosphere is so relaxed and chill, with so many people enjoying their time with friends or the remaining days of good weather. Life is something to be lived and enjoyed, not something to be constantly stressed over - and beer is a nice component to this!

HERRING: Alright, here we go, the infamous herring. It's not bad. It's actually quite good, depending on how you serve it. Since I have been here, I have had it a few different ways, marinated in a few different sauces, and smoked. Of the marinated variety, I have had it in remoulade, a mayonaisse-based sauce, and in a red wine vinegar sauce, sweetened with sugar. The herring was then served like a smoked salmon platter, with capers, onions, greens, tomato, and of course, rugbrod. While I'm not a huge fan of mayo, I found the remoulade to have a nice kick with the pickling flavor added to it. I definitely preferred the vinegar sauce - spread on the rugbrod with capers and a bit of onion, the bright and fresh flavors and the hearty base of bread played nicely with the fishy taste of the herring. Smoked herring was quite similar to smoked salmon, except that it is white and has a more fishy and salty taste, rather than the slight sweetness that you get from the salmon. Either way, I think this Danish staple is worth trying, and I look forward to having again throughout the school year.

CHEESE: Danish cheese is delicious. Having worked in a small cheese store over the summer, I became familiar with about 60 different types of cheese from all over the world. We didn't; however, carry any Danish cheeses. The typical cheese that I have had is similar to a swiss, with almost the flavor of a gruyere but much softer. Some have been more similar to a gouda, which is a cheese that's very popular here. Something that I have really been enjoying though is Danish feta, which has the flavor of a typical French or Greek feta, but has more the consistency of a mozzarella or softer cheese. It is definitely not crumbly like what we imagine feta to be. I also like how they pronounce it "feeta" here!

More to come in the future - now I really should do that art history. Ohhhh liberal arts. Blargh.

Grocery Shopping in Copenhagen

Living in the US, you become so used to having every single ingredient at your fingertips. We walk into Whole Foods with our latest Bobby Flay or Ina Garten recipe, and fully expect to find every friggin' chili Mr. Flay uses or that $30/pound fish that the Barefoot Contessa made to look so delectable. We completely take our all-access-foodpass for granted, and it takes a trip to a foreign country to make you fully appreciate it.

That is not to say that Copenhagen grocery stores have no variety. I learned from my host family that over the past 5 years, grocery stores have been acquiring more international produce and spices, as well as better quality meats and dry goods. The problem is, of course, the price. Denmark has EXTREMELY high taxes, which includes a 25% sales tax on all groceries. Add that onto an import tax and yeah, that American brand of peanut butter doesn't sound too appetizing anymore. To show you just how lucky we are, here are some ingredients we absolutely take for granted, that you just don't exist in wonderful wonderful Copenhagen.

CHOCOLATE CHIPS - Yeah. I met an American woman at my host brother's softball game (they all play softball here, not baseball - it's hilarious seeing boys seriously pitch underhand). She had made chocolate chip cookies for the team, and it was a BIG DEAL. She told me that she had the chips imported from her family in the states. I was dumbfounded. Chocolate chip cookies are such a staple in the US, not only can you buy chocolate chips in any gas station, you can pick up a box at any store on your way to any event. It's incredible how something so common in one country isn't even considered in another. Needless to say I'll be breaking up a lot of chocolate bars this year!

MEXICAN INGREDIENTS - It would be really funny watching Bobby Flay trying to cook here. In a Danish grocery store throwdown, he would fall flat. The only chili I have seen here are of the thai variety, the small, long and thin ones. Jalepenos, serranos, poblanos, habeneros, forget about it. You want salsa verde? You're out of luck, cause there's no such thing as a tomatillo. Jack cheese? I think cheddar's a nice substitute, don't you? However, I was surprised and delighted to find taco shells and flour tortillas, so I was able to prepare my mom's bastardized burritos from a 1980's Bon Appetit, a recipe from before America began importing the Mexican ingredients we use today. When I told my family I was making burritos for dinner, they looked at me quizzically, until I showed them the tortillas, and they happily exclaimed, "oh! pancakes!" They were amazed by the concept of these rolled concoctions, and even more so when I placed a bowl of quac next to them (they do have avocados, but they use them mainly for slicing on top of a mixed salad). I'll post the recipe at the end of this entry, because they are absolutely delicious!

KEY THANKSGIVING INGREDIENTS: This is understandable, as obviously the Danes don't celebrate Thanksgiving. However, having an American in their home, my family wants a full out, Thanksgiving feast. Of course how can I say no? This means that my mom is going to have to send me quite a few things, as cranberry sauce (let's not kid ourselves, the canned is the best), canned pumpkin, large bags of pecans, corn syrup, and condensed milk are just a few of the things not available in Danish grocery stores. It will be an interesting holiday!

FISH COUNTER: Although inconvient, you have to admit that going to the fishmonger is so much better than the sometimes dismal fish counter at your local grocery.

JARRED ROASTED RED PEPPERS: You do it yourself. Again, just a little inconvient, but not that big of a deal.

GUM: My host mother went to Stockholm for the weekend and came back with a giant package of Wrigley's Doublemint gum. Everyone was psyched, except me. Wrigley's Doublemint? That shit loses it's flavor in like, 2 seconds! In the US, gum is such a huge market, with new brands claiming better and longer flavor coming out monthly. In Denmark, I believe there's Bubblicious, and something with liquorice around it, but that's it. I know what's going to be in my first care package!

STOCK IN A BOX - In the US, we have almost an entire aisle dedicated to those quart-size cardboard boxes containing every animal or veggie stock known to man. Chicken, beef, pork, fish, lobster - you name it, it's there, with every sodium level and your choice of about 20 different brands. Heck, even Rachael Ray sells stock in a box. Not in Denmark! I was sick with a cold last week, and all I wanted was a huge bowl of chicken soup. When I couldn't find my chicken stock, I asked my family if they knew about stock in a box. After several weird looks, a look of recognition crossed over my host mother's face, and she immediately went to the fridge and pulled out a vanila extract sized bottle of this gelatinous brown mush. Liquid bouillon. A few ml per liter and you're all set! . . . *sob.
After immediately emailing my mom to send me as many cartons of stock she could fit in a package, I thought about how I probably shouldn't be judging. I mean, how much different is an organic bouillon from some stock that sits in a cardboard box for months on end? Stock in a box certainly looks better, but flavor wise, is it all that different? I'll have to make soup one day and let you know. However, my contemplation about stock in a box made me realize that perhaps if I am the foodie I claim to be, maybe I should start making chicken stock from scratch. Maybe.

VARIETY IN GENERAL (especially snack foods): In the US, we're used to having 50 brands of potato chips, hundreds of types of the same sugar cookie, juices, soups, pastas - the list goes on. A grocery store is where you can see American capitalism and competition at its finest. In Denmark, there is ONE peanut butter. There is ONE brand of milk. There are maybe 3 different types of potato chips, plus some very pricey Pringles. Without any huge marketing competition, there isn't the same obsession with the high fat and salt content snack foods that we have. As a society we constantly change our eating habits based on what the latest product or diet tells us to consume. 100 calorie snack packs? I think any Dane would laugh at you if you pulled one of those out of your purse. If Danes want a snack, they pull out a piece of rye bread and cheese, or maybe a small ice cream cone on their way home from work. If you're hungry, you eat something until you are happily satisfied, not worrying about how many points or net carbs it was. Snacks are kept to a few simple, but good ingredients that nourish your body, not alleviate it for the next 1/2 hour. We wonder why Europeans aren't fat from all the cream and butter they eat, or the amount of beer they consume - well my friends, that's why.

So yeah, shopping can be a downright pain in the ass if you go in with your heart set on making something specific. The key is to put down that latest food network recipe and check out what's there, what's fresh, and what's going to nourish.

Here's the Deal . . .

Welcome to this foodie's blog that hopefully will not fail due to my own laziness!

My name is Beth, I'm 20 years old and I'm studying abroad for the year in Copenhagen, Denmark. Of course, if you know anything about food, you might wonder, "Why Copenhagen? Why not those European countries known by most only for the delicious plates of food they produce?" Well, as a liberal arts college student, proper training in French, Italian, or Spanish was a must, so with my six years of Latin, my list of options was significantly reduced. Being a liberal arts student also makes any study related to food deemed "pre-professional", so all culinary programs were out of the question. So after reading an article in Food & Wine magazine about Copenhagen being the #3 food city in the world - I decided to give it a go.

I've been in Copenhagen for exactly 4 weeks. I'm living with a host family just north of the city. Perhaps it's because my expectations were so low, or maybe Food & Wine was right, but everything I have eaten here has been absolutely delicious - yes, including the herring. That is not to say that have not hit any bumps in the road, especially on my own excursions to make a meal here. So here's the menu. My way of sharing my abroading experience with you is going to be through the food and drink culture of Europe, my own cooking excursions in a kitchen with celcius instead of fahrenheit, kilos instead of pounds, and a convection oven rather than conventional, and for dessert, perhaps a few things I learn along the way. Sound good? Let's get eating!