A Story About Meat
For decades Denmark was on top of the list of over most meat consumption per capita. If you do a quick web search for the phrases “what is Denmark known for?” or “Danish food” it is certain that you would find information and photos of Danish meat. Although the Danish is off the meat consumption podium, they are still known for their flora of meat meals and sausages. With a much shorter coastline and less naval territory, as well as a climate better suited for agriculture, the Danes have been less dependent on fish as their neighbours in the North. Denmark is perfectly suited for animal husbandry. Heavily influenced by the Germans, the Danes have fallen in love with sausage production and consumption.
The Land of Sausage Stands
Denmark, and especially the capital of Copenhagen, is known for its ubiquity of sausage stands. Back in the ’70s, the relatively small country of five million inhabitants had right under a thousand sausage stands, the highest stand to inhabitant ratio in the world. Although it isn’t the most impressive ratio in the world, it certainly gives an impression of the Danish sausage consumption.
The Red Sausage
Although the Danes have a rich flora of sausages, there is one in particular that represents Danish cuisine. Regarded as one of Denmark’s national dishes, the red sausage is consumed in the billions each year. It is said that the colouring of the sausage was as a result of an order to dye day-old sausages as means of a warning and marking them as cheaper than the fresh sausages. Basically, the red sausage is a red-dyed pork wiener heated in hot water. Although it doesn’t sound special, the red sausage is more than a meal, it is a culture, and a Danish culinary pride.
Enjoyed the read? Then we suggest having a look at our post about Trekroneren, one of the most known sausage stands in the world, located in Norway. Here at Nuet, we publish weekly posts about everything Scandinavian. Read more at nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get instant updates on new posts. And when you’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to receive weekly updates on drinks recipes, blog posts and special offers.