Danish food often uses simple ingredients but everything is prepared with care. Smørrebrød starts with a slice of dense rye bread. Then various toppings such as fish, eggs, vegetables, or meat are added on top and people usually arrange the toppings quite neatly so the sandwich looks colorful and fresh.
Denmark also takes a lot of pride in using organic food. In fact, it has one of the highest levels of organic food consumption in the world! Many restaurants and bakeries try to use ingredients that come from local farms.
Even when I go grocery shopping here, I notice that the food goes bad faster than it would back home, which actually makes sense because it’s fresher. You can really taste the difference in quality, and it makes me appreciate how much effort goes into preparing food here.
Danish food is very connected to the environment. People in Denmark care a lot about sustainability and protecting nature so many ingredients are grown locally or produced nearby.
Fish is an especially important part of their diet because Denmark is surrounded by water and has a long history of fishing. It’s actually one of the top exporters of fish in the world! A very popular fish people eat is Laks (salmon), which is often served on smørrebrød.
Because many foods are farm to table and locally sourced, the meals feel fresh and connected to the land and sea around Denmark.
