Start Date
29-5-2024 11:30 AM
End Date
29-5-2024 11:45 AM
Description
The southern part of Jutland has its very own distinct food culture and traditions. Its history differs from other parts of Denmark because this region was under German rule from 1864 until the Reunification in 1920. Special laws were imposed to curtail the population’s political and cultural ties to Denmark. Any political gatherings or sentiments were strictly forbidden. However, cooking was free of restrictions and cooking thus became one of the primary ways to hold onto a Danish identity. This led to a conservation of recipes and traditions that were disappearing in other Danish regions. The farm wives became the custodians of traditional Danish dishes, and the Coffee Table gatherings became a unique practice, that still exists today. Baking and hosting Coffee Tables became both a rallying point for the preservation of Danish national identity and a way to achieve social power and move up in the local female hierarchy. Attending a Coffee Table, one was served several rounds of cakes following a strict order. The servings progressed from the soft and creamy to the hard and dry. First came the “soft cakes,” like buns, sponge cakes and layer cakes. Then the “hard cakes” were served. These consisted of different types of cookies and biscuits. The number of cakes and servings in each round varied but a full coffee table would have 14-16 different cakes.
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.21427/p6cy-vh57
Included in
Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, Food Studies Commons, Other Anthropology Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other History Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social History Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons
An Abundance of Cakes: How a National Trauma Created a Unique Culinary Practice in Southern Jutland
The southern part of Jutland has its very own distinct food culture and traditions. Its history differs from other parts of Denmark because this region was under German rule from 1864 until the Reunification in 1920. Special laws were imposed to curtail the population’s political and cultural ties to Denmark. Any political gatherings or sentiments were strictly forbidden. However, cooking was free of restrictions and cooking thus became one of the primary ways to hold onto a Danish identity. This led to a conservation of recipes and traditions that were disappearing in other Danish regions. The farm wives became the custodians of traditional Danish dishes, and the Coffee Table gatherings became a unique practice, that still exists today. Baking and hosting Coffee Tables became both a rallying point for the preservation of Danish national identity and a way to achieve social power and move up in the local female hierarchy. Attending a Coffee Table, one was served several rounds of cakes following a strict order. The servings progressed from the soft and creamy to the hard and dry. First came the “soft cakes,” like buns, sponge cakes and layer cakes. Then the “hard cakes” were served. These consisted of different types of cookies and biscuits. The number of cakes and servings in each round varied but a full coffee table would have 14-16 different cakes.