Wondering why meat is king on the Danish table can lead us down the path of the latest options in the direction of greener meal traditions. That’s what Madkulturen director Judith Kyst wrote in a comment sent to Alting.
The Danish meal tradition is a meat tradition
The Danish meal tradition is essentially a meat tradition. Meat features in three-quarters of our nightly meals, and in more than half of them, we count meat as the main ingredient.
Especially on the latter, we should make changes with the aim of eliminating one of the world’s largest climate footprints from food consumption.
Almost all of us consider meat an essential part of a great meal. When we have guests and need to do something extra from the meals, then meat especially is something we cherish. And while culinary traditions are changing rapidly in various aspects, especially towards less homemade and more comfort food, the place of meat has remained completely unchanged since 2015, according to Madkulturen’s annual population survey.
That is also reflected in the most popular dishes on the Danish table. Every regular dish like roast beef and chicken with potatoes and new kid favorites like lasagne and pasta with meat sauce.
Some of our popular classic dishes are registered by the name of the meat. For example, this applies to steak with onions, cutlets in a plate or fried pork with parsley sauce. If we take away half the meat from them, only the plate, onions and white sauce remain.
New review from Meals Tradition: Danes’ meat consumption
Meat is king in our culinary traditions, and that’s no match for the local climate. Many people want to reduce meat, but it’s easier said than done. We still associate meat with good taste, satiety and reliability in our busy daily lives, shows a compilation of The Foods Traditional surveys on meat consumption among Danes and meat-oriented perspective.