What comes to mind when you hear the word ”Denmark”? Do you think of romantic fairy-tales like H.C. Andersen’s Den grimme ælling (The Ugly Duckling), or does your internal cinema start replaying episodes from tv serials like Borgen and Forbrydelsen (The Killing), showing the jetset way of life in central København? The Danish tourist industry likes to stress the cosmopolitan aspects of Denmark: Denmark is inventive, cool, chic etc. But I’d like to add that Denmark is also a Scandinavian country, with its share of old traditions, tiny landsbyer (hamlets, villages), desolate moors, woodlands, deer and nisser (”pixies” – at least they pop up in the malls every Christmas!) Here at the onset of efteråret (the Autumn/Fall), naturen (Nature) breaks into the lives of many Danes, offering a load of niceties:
• æbler (apples). A lot of gardens drukner i æbler (are drowning in apples). In the villakvarterer (residential neighbourhoods) here in Århus, there are so many apples and so little time that a lot of’em are left to rot i græsset (in the grass). Which is a shame, since there are so many delicious things that can be made ouf of apples: æblekage (apple cake), æblemos (apple sauce), æblemost (apple juice), æblegrød (stewed apples), and so on!
• bær (berries). The most frequent berries to be found in Danish forests and gardens, are the dark and sweet brombær (blackberries), but if you’re lucky, you may also stumble upon shrubs of hindbær (raspberries). The latter are indispensable in hindbærsnitter, a yummy kind of Danish flat cake with glaze! 🙂
• svampe (mushrooms). In the depths of the Jutlandic forests you may find excellent mushrooms like kantareller (chanterelles) and karljohanner (”Karl Johan’s”, penny buns). Be ware! Many svampesteder (mushroom locations) are kept top secret by savvy locals, so don’t blame me if you’re being misled to a spot full of poisonous rød fluesvamp (red amanita)…