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| - Three Scandinavian countries Norway, Denmark and Sweden share a similar cuisine style and relatively close cuisine development histories. The history of the Scandinavian countries has been interrupted; there have been unions, wars, peace and trade as far back as history can tell and the languages and cultures have always infuenced each other. Hence, although there are national specialties, there are no distinct Scandinavian cuisines that were determined by geographical or social contexts, as we will find in other parts of the world. The Scandinavian cuisine is based on a simple cooking style, full of flavour but not very spicy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are the main meals of the day all over the Scandinavian Peninsula. Although most European countries consider lunch the main meal of the
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| abstract
| - Three Scandinavian countries Norway, Denmark and Sweden share a similar cuisine style and relatively close cuisine development histories. The history of the Scandinavian countries has been interrupted; there have been unions, wars, peace and trade as far back as history can tell and the languages and cultures have always infuenced each other. Hence, although there are national specialties, there are no distinct Scandinavian cuisines that were determined by geographical or social contexts, as we will find in other parts of the world. The Scandinavian cuisine is based on a simple cooking style, full of flavour but not very spicy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are the main meals of the day all over the Scandinavian Peninsula. Although most European countries consider lunch the main meal of the day, Scandinavian countries place more importance on dinner, which is the most consistent meal of the day nowadays. Workers often only have a quick snack for lunch, instead of a sumptuous meal. Many of the cooking styles and dishes used by the Vikings are still present in the Scandinavian cuisine today, and Scandinavians are proud of their Viking heritage, a fact that is also noticed in the way they preserve the authenticity of such foods. The traditional Scandinavian breakfast would consist of wholemeal bread with butter, honey, jam or savoury spreads such as cheese, ham or sausage. Porridge, made from different grains is also very traditional and still a common breakfast. Breakfast is considered a very important meal, as many Scandinavians go to work as early as 8 o'clock and need to stay full all morning until lunch. In todays modern society, lunch has become a meal that is rushed through for many people who just grab a sandwich or a quick meal on their busy lunch-breaks. A traditional lunch would consist of soup or stew served with bread and different types of savoury spreads. Dinner, however, is served early, around 6 PM, and it is the main meal of the day. All Scandinavian countries see dinner as a family event, where all the members of the family return from school or work and enjoy the meal together. A Scandinavian dinner usually consists of a fish or meat dish served with potatoes. Dessert is sometimes served, but it is not a daily dish. Of course, the different Scandinavian countries also have slightly different eating habits. Danes and Norwegians only eat one hot meal a day while Swedes eat more hot meals each day. The cold smorgasbord is usually the lunch of the Danes and Norwegians, while in Sweden children are served a cooked lunch in their schools every day. A similar custom to the traditional English tea exists in the Scandinavian Peninsula – Scandinavians serve bread, biscuits, cookies, pastry and coffee around 2.30-3 PM. As for drinks, beer and snaps are enjoyed with the food. Traditionally, people in Scandinavia were heavy drinkers due to the cold weather and the need to keep warm, as well as the dangers of drinking water in the cities because of the sanitary conditions. One can often read in old texts how workers were paid in beer or spirits. In 1829, the yearly consumption of vodka in Sweden was estimated at 46 litres per person, including children. Fortunately, today it is much less but the tradition of drinking beer and hard spirits still lives on special occasions.
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