eG Foodblog: Mjx (2012) – Elderflowers, Strawberries, and Game

[Kerry Beal]

Michaela - I notice in your teaser that you put a picture of your Rosle food mill (which I'd probably have twigged to had I seen it) - are you getting a lot of use from it and does it work well for you?

[Mjx]

Kerry, I'm impressed that you recognized it as a Rösle from the small part of it that showed in the image. The mill is brilliant, I love it! I use it most for tomatoes, but hokkaido, potatoes, and quinces also pass through it pretty often (my boyfriend's mother borrows it, too).

[Mjx]

On Wednesdays and Saturdays there is an outdoor market at Ingerslevs Boulevard, and since I needed a hokkaido, I figured I’d head out and see whether I could find one.

On my way, I passed this shop, which sells bread baskets that I seriously covet:

Since today is both rainy and in July (possibly the most popular holiday month in Denmark), the market was a bit sparse, both in terms of vendors and shoppers:

A lot of the vendors are simply retailers of many of the things you find in the shops (this stand sells only organic produce):

[iMAGE]

He had hokkaidos, which I haven’t seen in the supermarkets or health food stores at this time (middle row, far right):

Some of the vendors are very specialized, like the man who sells honey and a few other bee-derived products:

I’d hoped the salt man would be there, but he’s probably on holiday. I’m a big fan of his smoked salt, which I initially thought silly and gimmicky, but now put in everything (including hot chocolate).

Some are here to sell their own produce:

Herbs in pots:

The cheese truck:

Fish, fresh and smoked (koldrøget is 'cold smoked'):

[iMAGE]

[iMAGE]

And finally, the potato tank, to keep the peeled potatoes from turning brown:

[iMAGE]

[iMAGE]

After this, I went to the Asian shop, so a few more images to follow.

[Mjx]

On Wednesdays and Saturdays there is an outdoor market at Ingerslevs Boulevard, and since I needed a hokkaido, I figured I’d head out and see whether I could find one.

On my way, I passed this shop, which sells bread trugs that I seriously covet:

Since today is both rainy and in July (possibly the most popular holiday month in Denmark), the market was a bit sparse, both in terms of vendors and shoppers:

A lot of the vendors are simply retailers of many of the things you find in the shops (this stand sells only organic produce):

He had hokkaidos, which I haven’t seen in the supermarkets or health food stores at this time (middle row, far right):

Some of the vendors are very specialized, like the man who sells honey and a few other bee-derived products:

I’d hoped the salt man would be there, but he’s probably on holiday. I’m a big fan of his smoked salt, which I initially thought silly and gimmicky, but now put in everything (including hot chocolate).

Some are here to sell their own produce:

Herbs in pots:

The cheese truck:

Fish, fresh and smoked (koldrøget is 'cold smoked'):

And finally, the potato tank, to keep the peeled potatoes from turning brown:

After this, I went to the Asian shop, so... a few more images to follow.

[rotuts]

thanks the market is very interesting. Ive never seen peeled potatoes for sale. Is that unique to Denmark?

[liuzhou]

Ive never seen peeled potatoes for sale. Is that unique to Denmark?

Nope. Pretty common in China, too

[mkayahara]

Thanks for the pic of the "hokkaidos". As far as I knew, Hokkaido was an island in Japan! To me, those look just like winter squash.

[Shelby]

thanks the market is very interesting. Ive never seen peeled potatoes for sale. Is that unique to Denmark?

I've never seen that either. Wish they did that around here because I hate peeling 'taters!

[liuzhou]

As far as I knew, Hokkaido was an island in Japan!

And a breed of dog. But I don't think they usually eat dog in Denmark. And if they do, hokkaido would be an expensive choice!

Edited July 11, 2012 by liuzhou (log)

[gfweb]

And finally, the potato tank, to keep the peeled potatoes from turning brown:

After this, I went to the Asian shop, so... a few more images to follow.

That's one big bacterial culture! Is it refrigerated?

Edited July 11, 2012 by gfweb (log)

[rotuts]

good point on the 'culture' and why not eat the skins? Pretty tasty I think.

[Darienne]

Thanks for the pic of the "hokkaidos". As far as I knew, Hokkaido was an island in Japan! To me, those look just like winter squash.

What exactly is the hokkaido. Could not get it on Google. (Did not try VERY hard, I admit).

[dcarch]

Surprised that no one has commented on the beautiful cabinet wood work detailing of that tomato greenhouse on the first page of this thread.

Nice blogging so far!

dcarch

[Smithy]

I too am interested in the answers to questions already asked:

- What is hokkaido like, and how do you use it?

- Why is there such a great market for peeled potatoes?

...and pretty much anything you see fit to tell us!

Funny, when you wrote about elderflowers it was "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" that came to mind for me!

[Mjx]

The hokkaido shows up, seven images down!

I wrapped up my shopping at an Asian shop (Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, a little Indian and Korean), where I picked up some palm sugar and toasted rice flour. They have a much broader selection of condiments, herbs, and spices than pretty much any other shop around, and some interesting produce and snacks. I do realize, though, that compared to similar shops (e.g. in the US and Australia), this one is tiny.

When I got back to my boyfriend’s parents’ place, his mother had just completed a traditional kransekage for a friend’s sixtieth birthday party:

In Denmark, ‘round number’ birthdays tend to involve major parties, the last one I went to lasted pretty nearly 24 hours.

I'll talk some more about Danish food tomorrow; I don't make much, since it tends to involve a lot of potatoes and flour, and those don't work out so well for me (kransekage is actually one of the things I can eat with no problems, since it involves stacked rings of marzipan, and not much else).

And suddenly, it was 18.00, and I needed to get dinner started. My boyfriend helped out by bringing me a box of chocolates, and convincing me to sit down for a small snack and a drink.

I brought up the hokkaido (hokaido?) to keep us company, and so I could include it in one of the images (the thing that looks like a stunted, deformed pumpkin).

Dinner: roast chicken with rice, bell pepper, and radishes, and strawberries with balsamic vinegar and black pepper. And more chocolates, whiskey, and port.

Ive never seen peeled potatoes for sale. Is that unique to Denmark?

Nope. Pretty common in China, too

I wondered about that, I mean whether this was done anyplace else.

Thanks for the pic of the "hokkaidos". As far as I knew, Hokkaido was an island in Japan! To me, those look just like winter squash.

Ah, but it's a particularly good winter squash! Really nice texture.

And finally, the potato tank, to keep the peeled potatoes from turning brown: After this, I went to the Asian shop, so... a few more images to follow.

That's one big bacterial culture! Is it refrigerated?

Refrigerated? You must be joking! I'm continuously teased about my finicking hygiene habits (e.g. washing my hands before every meal).

good point on the 'culture' and why not eat the skins? Pretty tasty I think.

No idea why, but Danes just don't go for potatoes in their jackets. They usually go with peeled and boiled, and when those lovely little new potatoes are involved, it practically breaks my heart.

Surprised that no one has commented on the beautiful cabinet wood work detailing of that tomato greenhouse on the first page of this thread.

Nice blogging so far!

dcarch

Thanks! And my boyfriend says Thanks, too, and is incredibly pleased someone noticed the greenhouse, since he spent ages bulding it. It's his own design, the frame is oak, and it's finished in with boat varnish (because it's so damp here).

. . . .

- What is hokkaido like, and how do you use it?

. . . .

Mostly, I use it in place of potato, because potatoes are a bit of a disaster for me. the texture is very similar, and the flavour is pretty neutral. This one is going to be part of a soup and/or a puree.

[rotuts]

Maybe the Peeled Potato Culture Center is not a health risk as the potatoes are boiled when brought home and left overs at the end of the day are discarded?

Are they taken home 'in water?'

Maybe the peels go into home brew-vodka? its a shame that the flavor of the skin and its nutrients are lost.

[Anna N]

When my Danish sister- in-law visited us here in Canada I watched in fascination as she speedily removed the peel from many many tiny potatoes she had boiled in their jackets.

Hoping for some (just a teensy bit) of traditional Danish cooking.

My husband and I were so disappointed to arrive in Denmark only to be served chicken in yogourt sauce! As an expat, he and his family were more Danish than the Danes. Fortunately his brother and sister- in -law indulged our nostalgia and took us to places that still served open-face sandwiches and Danish burgers with onion gravy and other dishes that seem to be out of favour now.

[Mjx]

Anna, for this evening, I'm going to make frikadeller! These are very traditional for summer, and straightforward to make. I think. I've never made them before, since I've always made polpette, the Italian version (from The Splendid Table). This should be interesting.

I wanted to get a bit of background on the subject, and my boyfriend's mother generously delved into her substantial library of cookbooks. I settled on three popular cookbooks:
Alfas Kogebog [‘Alfa’s Cookbook’] 1925, vol 1, pp 121-122; (‘Alfa’ was a brand of margarine);
Lærebog i Huslig økonomi [‘Textbook for Home Economy’, my boyfriend’s mother’s home economics schoolbook from the 4th to 9th classes, and given as a gif to be used after graduation], 1961, p 154;
Claus Meyer et al.’s Ny Nordisk Hverdagsmad [‘New Nordic Everyday Food’], 2011, p 101.

The ingredient lists give some idea of how frikadeller have evolved over the past 87 years:

1925 Alfas Kogebog (The book notes that 500 g of prepared meat mixture serves 4–6)

1 kg veal/pork (topside/round [inderlår], brisket [bov], or neck/chuck [mellemskært])
250 g kidney fat (probably suet) or fresh pork fat
250 g flour
4–6 eggs
Salt, white pepper, grated onion
OR
1 kg beef (topside/round)
175 g fresh pork fat
250 g flour
3–4 eggs
Salt, white pepper, grated onion

1961 Lærebog i Huslig økonomi

300 g beef, veal, or pork
40 g onion
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon pepper
1 dl milk
30–40 g fat
2–3 dl water
Kulør (caramel colour) and salt for the sauce

2011 Ny Nordisk Hverdagsmad

400 g ground veal and pork belly
Salt and pepper
1 onion
120 g potato
120 g multi-grain/coarse bread
2 eggs
2 dl 1.5% milk
4 teaspoons flour
2 teaspoons mustard
20 g butter, for frying
2 tablespoons cold pressed rapeseed oil, for frying

The recipes have changed very little over time, and they all assume you’ll be grinding your own meat: the 1925 recipe calls for passing the meat through the grinder 9 times, by 1962 this is down to just twice, and today, a few seconds in food processor are called for.

I'm not going to be grinding my own; there is a very elderly meat grinder laying about somewhere (or parts, at least), and no food processor. And I want to do a little research; with Harold McGee, Modernist Cuisine, and Cook's Illustrated at my disposal, there must be some tips I can come up with, to make these as good as possible. I'm also thinking 'lovage'; the Ny Nordisk recipe includes it in the dressing for the frikadeller, why not put them in the frikadeller themselves?

Yesterday, I passed a shop that sells traditional Danish ready-to-eat dishes, but I decided to save the image for today:



You can see three sorts of frikadeller (no idea what, though), flæskesteg (roast pork, the long thigs with the ridged tops), and various summer salads.

[rotuts]

thanks for the pic of the ready-to-eat. Are there shops that sell an array of open faced sandwiches? Id forgotten about them. The best I ever had was in Toronto, a few doors down from a Hotel that had 'Four Small Rooms' in it. It was the Danish Import Center.

Stunning stuff!

[weinoo]

So give us an idea of food costs over there. For instance, how much was that chicken?

[Mjx]

thanks for the pic of the ready-to-eat. Are there shops that sell an array of open faced sandwiches? Id forgotten about them. The best I ever had was in Toronto, a few doors down from a Hotel that had 'Four Small Rooms' in it. It was the Danish Import Center.

Stunning stuff!

Thanks! I've seen such shops here and there, but not very often, and I can only think of one (maybe) around here.

So give us an idea of food costs over there. For instance, how much was that chicken?

The chicken was DKK44/1200 g (given the current exchange rate, that's USD7.21/42 oz.); the ground pork and veal mix I got for today's frikadeller was DKK40/500 g (USD6.55/17.6 oz); a fifth of that is sales tax, by the way.

[weinoo]

For some reason, I expected the food costs to be higher...carry on!

[gfweb]

20% sales tax on food!

[rotuts]

in the picture at the Ready-to-Eat shop are the ridges on the flæskesteg crackling?

Is 20% a general sales tax on everyting? Is there an additional VAT?

Edited July 12, 2012 by rotuts (log)

[Mjx]

in the picture at the Ready-to-Eat shop are the ridges on the flæskesteg crackling?

Is 20% a general sales tax on everyting? Is there an additional VAT?

I think that is what you call crackling; it's the skin, when the fat renders from beneath it, and it turns hard-crunchy, you need good teeth to chew on it (I have some large holes in my meat knowledge, because I was raised vegetarian, so I didn't hear terms like 'crackling' when I was growing up).

And no, there's 25% sales tax on everything