Dining Danish: Koldskål

A few weeks after coming back from Denmark, I found myself pining...for Danish food. In order to quiet my Danish food cravings, I decided to attempt to replicate some of the recipes of my favorite foods in Denmark, especially those that were particularly unique to the country.

When the weather finally got warm in Copenhagen, grocery stores exploded with displays of quart containers and pre-made cups with cookies in the lid of this stuff called koldskål. I decided to buy a cup of it, not actually knowing what it was (as was the case most of the time when I went grocery shopping in Denmark).

Koldskål (literally translated as "cold bowl") is a traditional Danish dish served in the summer (thus, the increase of product when the weather got warm). It's kind of hard to describe, but it sort of resembles a lemony, buttermilk-yogurt soup. That doesn't sound appetizing, but trust me, it is unique and delicious. I saw people eating it on the train for breakfast, but I ate it as a dessert with strawberries and nut granola on top. The things in the container lid are a type of cookie called kammerjunker (you can't make these words up if you tried), which are akin to a vanilla wafer.

I used the recipe below and served my koldskål with blueberries and vanilla wafers. Enjoy a little taste of summer in Denmark!

Om nom nom

Koldskål
Adapted from Secret Pocket Blog

1 cup yogurt (I used nonfat plain Greek)
4 tablespoons sugar
3 cups buttermilk (I added a little bit of milk, too, to get the consistency to my liking)
zest of one lemon
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the yogurt, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl. Using a mixer or whisk, mix together until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the rest of the ingredients until blended. Keep in a pitcher in the fridge. Serve with fresh berries, granola, and/or vanilla wafers.