Eben talked to us a little bit about the New Nordic Cuisine. Now all of my Alaskan friends are instantly going to think "New Nordic" refers to cross-country ski bindings, but the New Nordic food movement has nothing to do with ski bindings - unless they are edible. Eben didn't go into detail about New Nordic, but I think it is helpful to know about the New Nordic Cuisine Manifesto in order to understand the movement. This manifesto was developed intentionally by a group of top Scandinavian chefs.
1) To express the purity, freshness, simplicity and ethics we wish to associate to our region.
2) To reflect the changes of the seasons in the meal we make.
3) To base our cooking on ingredients and produce whose characteristics are particularly in our climates, lanscapes and waters.
4) To combine the demand for good taste with modern knowledge of health and well-being.
5) To promote Nordic products and the variety of Nordic producers - and to spread the word about their underlying cultures.
6) To promote animal welfare and a sound production process in our seas, on our farmland and in the wild.
7) To develop potentially new applications of traditional Nordic food products.
8) To combine the best in Nordic cookery and culinary traditions with impulses from abroad.
9) To combine local self-suffiency with regional sharing of high-quality products.
10) To join forces with consumer representatives, other cooking craftsmen, agriculture, fishing, food, retail and wholesales industries, researchers, teachers, politicians and authorities on this project for the benefit and advantage of everyone in the Nordic countries.
2) To reflect the changes of the seasons in the meal we make.
3) To base our cooking on ingredients and produce whose characteristics are particularly in our climates, lanscapes and waters.
4) To combine the demand for good taste with modern knowledge of health and well-being.
5) To promote Nordic products and the variety of Nordic producers - and to spread the word about their underlying cultures.
6) To promote animal welfare and a sound production process in our seas, on our farmland and in the wild.
7) To develop potentially new applications of traditional Nordic food products.
8) To combine the best in Nordic cookery and culinary traditions with impulses from abroad.
9) To combine local self-suffiency with regional sharing of high-quality products.
10) To join forces with consumer representatives, other cooking craftsmen, agriculture, fishing, food, retail and wholesales industries, researchers, teachers, politicians and authorities on this project for the benefit and advantage of everyone in the Nordic countries.
There you go.
The Torvelhallerne takes up a full city block. There are two long buildings, each with about 40 stalls inside. I wandered around in one before the tour. The first thing I saw was a French bakery with the most fabulous-looking desserts. The next thing that caught my attention was a shop selling fresh herbs in pots. The smell was wonderful as I walked by this stall. Coffee shops, tapas, sushi, olives, almost any kind of gourmet food you could think of. If I had worked near the Torvelhallerne, I probably wouldn't be retired yet.
Our first top on the tour was a cheese tasting. Inside the Torvelhallerne we visited a specialty cheese stall. cann't write the name of it because one of the letters is upside-down, so look at the photo.We were given similar types of cheese from two farms 5km apart. Because of the different diet of the cows the cheeses tasted very different. We also tasted a very creamy blue cheese and we had some crackers and gooseberry preserves along with the cheeses. And a shot of Danish apple wine. Strong wine.
Next up: Bornholmer Buttiken.
Bornholm is an isolated island separated from the rest of Denmark by the southern part of Sweden. In order to build up the island's economy, several cottage industries got together to market their products in Torvelhallerne. All of the products are made from food produced on the island. Some of the producers employ people with disabilities. One of the most popular products is a line of licorice. Licorice is very popular in Denmark. I liked it, surprisingly.
From top left, clockwise: licorice, a rye cracker with blackberry preserves, red licorice mixed with white chocolate, rhubarb juice, mustard on a spelt cracker, a caramel that supposedly will not pull out your fillings. All of it was good!
Some of the items for sale in the Bornholm Boutique
Suddenly it was time for lunch. We walked over to Aamann's, where lunch was waiting for us.
Note that of the four words on the bottom of the sign, three are English.
Mmmmm . . . Smørrebrød
After lunch we walked down a very charming street of row houses with nicely planted front yards. A haven in the middle of the city. Theyy are called "potato houses." They were built for the people who helped build the railroad. Now they have been converted from apartments into very desirable houses.
On our way over to the Norrebro district we saw a swan family.
This building used to be a foundry - now it is the Nørrebro Brewery.
We had three kinds of beer: 1) a light "wit" or wheat beer, 2) an IPA, and 3) a porter. The wit was ok, the IPA was way too bitter for me, and the porter was very strong and tasted burnt. After tasting 2 and 3, I went back and tried 1 and it had become delicious, so I decided to finish it.
What kind of food tour would omit street food? Not ours! Here is our official Food Tour Hot Dog Stand. The second photo is the flow chart that shows you how to order their organic hot dogs.
Mine was good!
Next up was a little shop where they made hard candy. It was another one of those places where you go through a nondescript set of doors into a hidden courtyard to find a place that is not visible from the street. We were supposed to see the candy makers in action, but their machine was not working so we didn't get to see it. We each got one small piece to taste. (Really?) I'm not a fan of hard candy, but this was good.
Finally, back at the Torvehallerne, we visited a CHOCOLATE SHOP! 
These were so good. They were chilled and had marzipan bases and something that tasted like a really good marshmallow filling. I would have bought some, but it was hot and I was afraid they would melt before I could eat them.
My parting thoughts are these:
1. A food tour is a fun way to experience a different culture.
2. Try to do your food tour as close to the beginning of your trip as possible. That way you can go back to any places that you really liked. I would have gone back to Torvehallerne, but there was not enough time.
3. Where was the herring? I was really expecting to get herring.
Peggy - I just binge read your blog from the beginning of the trip to now. WONDERFUL - just wonderful! So much info (but not TOO much!) delightfully presented. Terrific photos. And mazel tov on the use of the word antimacassars (a word I had to look up, although I think I'd seen it before) and also "cofferdam," a word - and concept - I don't think I'd EVER encountered!!
ReplyDeleteAnd the business about the Bluetooth name and symbol - I had NO IDEA!!
Keep 'em coming.
You devoted fan - Kate