Danish

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Smørrebrød (Open Sandwiches on Dark Rye)

Denmark's open sandwich. Leaving the lid off is not a flourish, it is what the bread allows: rugbrød is a dense wholegrain sour rye that cracks if you fold it and is already stiff enough to work as a plate on its own. One slice therefore is one course, and a meal becomes a sequence of them in a fixed order, from herring at the start to cheese at the end. It is eaten with a knife and fork.

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Koldskål (Cold Buttermilk Bowl)

The Danish summer bowl; the name means cold bowl. Custards are usually set by heat, but koldskål never meets any: cultured buttermilk's acidity, sugar dissolved into raw yolk and the fridge do the work. The hard part is the order, since yolk dropped straight into cold acidic buttermilk seizes into threads.

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Stegt Flæsk med Persillesovs (Crisp Pork with Parsley Sauce)

Denmark's national dish, chosen by public vote in 2014: pork belly sliced 5 mm thick and roasted on a rack until glassy and crisp, served with boiled potatoes and a white sauce loaded with parsley. The thickness, the amount of parsley, and the pickled beetroot on the side are the whole thing.