Danish Cooking and the Need For Good Kitchen Knives

As a professional Scandinavian chef, there is much need for the best meat carving and preparing tools one can find. Durable, yet sturdy knife sets tend to be a fine selection for the simple life of the Danish people. Meat and potatoes are the staple of the Danish diet, but Denmark's favorite meat by far is pork. It might even be contended that the country's national animal is the boar. It is necessary for many to gut and slice the pig open, and this involves some pretty high tech kitchen knives, offering access to all the different knife tools available. The eleven million pigs annually produced in Denmark outnumber the five million Danish, and pork in the form of hams, loins, slabs of bacon and other cuts continues to be one of the country's key export items. Because it is the staple of their diet every Danish gourmet chef knows how to cut and carve a pig with intimate detail. They have numerous ways of preparing pork, all of them good. But it would be hard to find more delicious versions, I think, than the dish they roast with the scored rind left on so that a golden crackling forms, locking in the juices, or the one they stuff with a combination of tart apples and prunes.
Most Danish households have an abundance of pigs and cows because they have their own livestock. Stews and pan dishes are popular, but everyone's favorite meat is frikadeller. It can be made according to several recipes, with various kinds of meat, but many like it best when both pork and veal are used. Ground and then reground again, the meat is mixed with chopped onions, flour, or bread crumbs, eggs, milk or soda water to lighten it. It is then shaped into cakes and fried in butter and oil until almost crusty on both sides. The relatively mild taste of this dish requires that something fairly sharp be eaten with it, like a pickled vegetable of which the Danish are famous.
Minced pork and veal are also a common delight in Danish cookery, and in no less need for the proper chef knives to prepare these meats in the kitchen. Often a cabbage will be cut and stuffed with meat and then tied with cheesecloth and simmered. The livestock owner often waits until the cow has grown old and gone dry before slaughtering it. But both beef and veal are excellent in Denmark dishes. The chopping of various meats is often necessary for the wide array of dishes. Hacked beef or chopped meat is processed by hand into hamburger. This tradition requires the use of good affordable knives. Higher quality, German kitchen knives might be another alternative for those of wealthy ancestry. Poultry is also another meat prized in the culture of Denmark. But, like the cow, until quite recently the chicken was valued more as a producer than as a candidate for roasting. Usually it is stuffed with parsley and a big lump of butter and then stewed in an iron casserole. Before serving, heavy cream is swirled into the parsley spiced drippings and the golden sauce is poured over the chicken, which is now ready for fine chef knives to slice and eat. These rich dishes are customary in this well loved society where gourmet meals are average fair.

Tony Orsen is a gourmet home cook and chef. Visit Wusthof knife sets for more information on quality knives for the home kitchen or chef professional.

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