Fish Bonanza, Now We’re Talking

When I saw this painting at the Hamburg Art Museum, I felt like I had met a kindred spirit. After seeing about 200 paintings about crucifixion, I was finally among artists who understood my obsessions. A two-month long binge on tuna melt sandwiches – YES! Mackerel in tomato sauce – YES! Pickled herring by the pound – YES! Fried and breaded fish – YES! Octopus rings – YES! (Well, technically there aren’t any octopus in the picture, but a girl can dream).

lots of fish resting on newspaper
Large Still Life with Fish, 1927, by Max Beckmann.

How to Eat Lunch Like a Dane

I have a love love relationship with food. I love it, period. Even when I eat too much, I hold no grudges. The ability to eat a lot comes in particularly handy in Danmark, whether it’s at a Julefrokost or just your typical Danish lunch. Because Danes like to eat, and they take it very seriously, as you can see by this poster of different Danish sandwich combinations.

Twenty different kinds of Danish lunch sandwiches.
Mmmm, nothing like a banana and ryebread sandwich.

This summer I visited my family in Danmark and checked off a good number of Harald’s suggestions. My Danish sandwich eating habits have drawn strange looks and complaints of fishy smells from my American friends and co-workers, but finally I was in the motherland where I could eat pickled herring with wild abandon and nobody complained about the wafting scent of mackerel.

In case you’d like more insight into eating Danish sandwiches, you can follow my personal guide for a typical Saturday lunch.

First, fish.

  • one or two pickled herring sandwiches on ryebread with white onion garnish
  • a mackerel in tomato sauce sandwich
  • if you’re lucky to have it, a breaded fish filet sandwich with remoulade
  • or a fried bit of torsk with lemon

Then, more stuff, sans fish.

  • liverpaste, perhaps with some bacon or crispy onions on top
  • various salami on ryebread combinations
  • my favorite: roast beef on rye bread with both remoulade and crispy onions
  • assorted pålæg like cold mixed salad toppings, and other kinds of pressed meats
  • cucumber slices, tomatoes, and hard boiled egg

And don’t forget you can add a round of cheese on white bread and crackers at the end! By now you should be full, and starting to plan your next meal. Tak for mad!

Last Friday, in Food

I tend to metabolize quickly, to the point that I consider it a defining feature of myself. As far back as I can remember, much of my waking time is spent thinking about food. Having a Danish mother reinforced the importance of food; being raised in a culture that reveres Julefrokost isn’t quite sane, or so I’ve been told. Which might explain my actions last Friday, in which I consumed enough food for a bus full of teenage boys.

cereal, tea, orange, egg sandwich, coke, pumpkin pie, gum, orange, chicken wings, spring rolls, fried wontons, pad kee mao, mocha/hazlenut milkshake, fries

I admit, it wasn’t the first time I’d overdone it in the food department. One time my uncle Henrik asked my sister and I what we wanted for dinner, and we simultaneously yelled “fried octopus rings” and “stuffed turkey”. So he made both, and threw in some bacon-wrapped pork chops for good measure, because he’s nice like that. After our menagerie of meats and their appropriate side dishes, we feasted on a solid marzipan cake until my aunt brought out a liter of ice cream, plopped it in front of me and declared “If you don’t eat it, it will melt!”. You can’t argue with that logic.

So, yes, I tend to eat a lot. If I had traversed the Oregon Trail I would have been the first left behind, huddled next to a barrel of flour and a sack of jerky. Put in perspective, last Friday’s trail of foraging doesn’t really compare to my previous gluttonous episodes, but seeing as I was out of eating shape, it sure made my gut question my mind. Would I do it again? No questions asked. Now, I think it’s time for some pie.