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FOOD AND DRINK

These are Denmark’s top 10 favourite evening meals

What are the favourite choices of Danes when they sit down to dinner each day? A new survey of Danish food culture has revealed that meat-based meals are still a high priority in the Nordic country.

These are Denmark’s top 10 favourite evening meals
The trusty rye bread with topping is the top dinner choice of Danes. Photo: Ida Guldbæk Arentsen/Ritzau Scanpix

A new study by Madkulturen – an independent organisation under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries – has found that meat dominates the list of Danes’ favourite evening meals.

That is despite a broad acceptance in the Nordic country that vegetable-base dishes help reduce individual CO2 footprints, broadcaster DR writes, reporting the results of the survey.

The latest survey is the tenth of its kind, ranking the ten most popular dinner choices in Denmark. The list is as follows:

  1. Rye bread with toppings
  2. Pizza
  3. Sandwiches
  4. Burger
  5. Chicken with sides
  6. Pasta dishes such as spaghetti bolognese
  7. Sausage-based dish e.g. hotdogs, medister sausage, pølsehorn (sausage roll)
  8. Frikadeller (meatballs) with sides
  9. Steak with sides
  10. Fish with sides

“When we have meat for dinner, we see it as the primary ingredient half of the time.That number has not changed over the last eight years,” the report states.

Madkulturen’s director Judith Kyst told DR that the results reflect a firmly established food culture in Denmark.

READ ALSO: Do Danes really eat rugbrød for at least one meal every day?

“We are hanging on to a repertoire of dishes based on the principle that good food contains meat. Instead of having the difficult discussion about food culture, many off us are pushing climate considerations down the road,” she said.

The survey does not only speak of a stubbornly set food culture though. More Danes – 75 percent – correctly identified three pictures of legumes in this year’s survey, compared to 67 percent in the previous one in 2019.

Some 94 percent recognise chickpeas based on a photo. Nine percent of dishes now contain legumes, compared to 3 percent in 2013.

The number of people who agreed with the statement “I want to eat in a climate-friendly way” has regressed drastically, from 60 percent in 2019 to 46 percent now.

Even for 18-25-year-olds, the most climate-friendly group in terms of food choices, that figure shrank from 79 percent four years ago to 57 percent this year.

Some 83 percent of families with children under 6 years old eat meat on a typical evening, compared to 72 percent without children.

That is likely to be because of the popularity of minced meat among children, the report states.

“It is used in many dishes that are straightforward to make and are considered sure hits with children, like spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne and burger,” the conclusion of the report notes.

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FOOD AND DRINK

Denmark bans South Korean noodles for being too spicy

Denmark's food agency has recalled South Korean instant ramen produced by a brand popular in the West, warning noodle lovers that they were so hot they might cause "acute poisoning".

Denmark bans South Korean noodles for being too spicy

Three Samyang Foods noodle products were assessed to have dangerous levels of capsaicin, the active component of chilli peppers, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said in a statement on Tuesday.

The three products from Samyang instant ramen line — Buldak 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken, 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken, and Hot Chicken Stew — were being withdrawn from sale in Denmark.

The level in a single packet of the noodles was “so high that they pose a risk of the consumer developing acute poisoning”, the Danish body said.

“If you have the products, you should discard them or return them to the store where they were purchased,” the statement added.

It issued a special warning against children eating the noodles, urging parents to contact the Poison Line if their little ones appeared to show “acute symptoms”.

Samyang products are hugely popular overseas, with the company’s operating profit hitting a record high of over $110 million in 2023.

Samyang Foods said it was the first time the company’s products had been recalled because they were deemed too hot, and added that it would work to better understand local regulations in export markets.

“Currently, the products are being exported around the world, but this is the first time they have been recalled for this reason,” a spokesperson for the company told AFP.

Samyang Foods saw its stock price soar 70 percent in recent months after its buldak carbonara ramen went viral on TikTok, with the product becoming so popular in the United States there have been reports of shortages.

Celebrities such as Cardi B have posted stories online about searching for over 30 minutes to find the flavourful instant noodles.

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