Those of you unfamiliar with Danish summer cuisine, like 99% of the world population, might well be wondering: ‘What is koldskål?’
And that would be a reasonable question.
The clue is in the name, Kold = Cold & Skål = Bowl. Of course there is also something cold in the cold bowl, a soup made of buttermilk, egg, vanilla and lemon.
If that sounds very summery then that’s because it is, and yet here I am writing about it at the start of March when there is thick snow outside. My justification for this is simply that, while Danes might frown on this statement, in my opinion it tastes good at any time of the year and whatever the outdoor temperature. Traditionally Koldskål is a desert, but you can also eat it as breakfast, as a random snack or even as a light dinner.
Koldskål is traditionally served with kammerjunkere, and that would be great whatever they actually were just because it is such an excellent word. In fact they are little twice baked lemon and cardamom flavoured biscuits and they seem to only ever eaten with koldskål. They might be perfect if you were eating this as desert but maybe a bit too sweet for breakfast and certainly for dinner. Little crispy toasty bread biscuit things though, they work at any time of the day!
Oh, and fruit, you should throw some fruit into it. Strawberries seem to be a pretty traditional way to go, but (just an opinion) blueberries are much better!
If you are wondering about the little black things in our photo…. Chia seeds. Personally I don’t really understand chia seeds but Rima strongly disagrees and they are also apparently amazingly healthy.
And now comes the part where you, dear reader, are probably expecting a recipe and are about to be disappointed because there isn’t one. I’m sure that Koldskål is very easy to make but we have never tried, partially because it is also very easy to buy. Apparently Arla, the biggest producer, can sell almost 4 million litres in a hot summer month.
At some point it is certain that the weather will warm up, we will feel the need for some tangy cold soup goodness and won’t be in Denmark. When that happens, be sure we will make some koldskål and maybe bake some kammerjunkere and share the recipe and results with you all. In the meantime, if you happen to find yourself in Denmark, just pop into any supermarket and it won’t be hard to find.