Danish Cuisine - Criticism

Criticism

The Danish food culture is sometimes criticized by gastronomes and independently, by nutritionists. The author and historian Søren Mørch has characterized Danish cuisine as a "garbage kitchen" of insipid, sweet and unspiced "baby food" where the tastes of milk and sweetness are the key elements. He believes that this style arose because the export policy of the Danish food sector was to use the Danes as a "gutter" for the products that were left over when the bacon and butter were sold abroad. Skim milk, meat scraps only suitable for chopping up, and the replacement product margarine are products which Søren Mørch describes as residues.

Regardless of this, substantial criticism has been directed at the nutritional content of Danish food; for example, at the ratio of meat, side dishes, and salad on the plate. Nutrition information campaigns have been trying to get the Danes to become healthier by eating less meat, fat, and sugar, and more raw vegetables. Instead of a healthier diet, however, the results too often have been feelings of guilt and a view of food as something which is just the correct fuel for the body's machinery.