Danish Cuisine - Main Meals

Main Meals

Most Danes have three regular meals a day, usually consisting of a cold breakfast with coffee, a cold lunch at work and a hot dinner at home with the family. Some also have a snack in the middle of the afternoon or in the late evening. Meat, especially pork, is by far the most common ingredient of hot meals. It is usually accompanied by potatoes and sometimes by another vegetable such as carrots or lettuce. Most hot meals consist of only one course: starters are fairly rare but desserts such as ice cream or fruit are a little more frequent. Beer and wine are fairly common drinks at mealtimes but so are soft drinks, plain water and, to a lesser extent, milk and coffee. Many families follow the old traditions. Mothers and fathers cook together and teach their children how to cook. Meals form an important part of family life, contributing to the sense of the well-being known as hygge.