Hjemmelavet

"Hjemmelavet", or "homemade", is a word you'll see everywhere around Copenhagen.  People here don't shy away from making things from scratch, which is probably why there are so many more varieties of flour here than in your average American supermarket.  Since I'm a huge advocate of from-scratch cooking and baking, you can imagine my delight when a coworker delivered some homemade koldskål to share one morning.  It appeared one morning in this big beautiful jar, which, naturally, was transported to work via bicycle.  Tart, sweet, and just plain delicious, this treat is a staple of the Danish summertime.   Then, just a few days later, these delicious carrot scones appeared, compliments of another work colleague.

And below, some rhubarb cake, which was a gift from Lone, my Danish host mother from my days as an exchange student here in 2005.  She packed up a few slices of this to take with me on my train ride back to the city after a Sunday dinner at her home.  (Rhubarb is another classic summertime treat here in Denmark.)

It's a collection of photos like these that make me remember that I am the luckiest bakery hunter in all the land.  And they also remind me that if you're in need of some inspiration to cook things "hjemmelavet", you just have to spend a little time with the Danes.