I've mentioned before the dearth of product selection in all standard-sized local Danish supermarkets. The exception to this (other than liquorice!) is milk products. The refrigerated milk selection, even of the smallest Danish supermarket is mind-blowing if you are not au fait with their terminology, not to mention the fact that they love to package almost everything in 1 litre Tetra Pak cartons that look practically identical.
From Scotland, I'm used to my milk coming (colour-coded) blue (full-fat), green (semi-skimmed) and red (skimmed) in large 3+ litre plastic cartons, my yogurt in pots and my cream in tubs. But here you'd better be good at reading!
Let’s start with mælk (that's milk in Danish). You’ve got sødmælk (it means sweet milk but is actually whole milk), which is pretty much your blue carton friend from back home. Then there's letmælk (light milk which turns out to be semi-skimmed), and let’s not forget skummetmælk (skimmed milk), but now enter minimælk—the slightly mysterious cousin in the milk family. It’s basically a low-fat option that hovers somewhere between skummetmælk and letmælk, but even after five years I often forget whether mini or skummet is the bottom of the chain!
Next up, you’ve got the yogurt products. They, again are standing to attention in the same 1 litre cartons. You have your bog-standard natural yogurt (that often comes in a carton identical to the sødmælk above), and the flavoured equivalents that are usually confined to strawberry, vanilla, fruits of the forest, and pear and banana. But standing beside that you find ymer (a slightly thicker, tangy yogurt that’s practically a national treasure) and tykmælk, a slightly thicker (but not as thick as ymer) soured milk that’s not just for baking but also makes a mean drink on a hot day. As far as I can tell, you are meant to eat ymer with ymerdrys - a crunchy, sweet topping made from a mix of dried, liquidised, toasted rye bread and brown sugar, (I kid you not) which surprisingly, is actually quite nice, though I actually prefer ymerdrys on tykmælk. That's probably sacrilegious to a Dane but I am too scared to ask! And I have no idea what you are actually meant to do with tykmælk. This is where it doesn't help that Thomas was brought up by a German, who also has little idea what to do with all these options! Of course, there's also skyr (the Icelandic cousin that’s taken the world by storm—because who doesn’t love a good health trend?).
Next up we mustn't forget about A38, a deliciously creamy fermented milk product that has been a staple in Danish kitchens for ages. I've been here five years and I still am not entirely sure what you are meant to do with A38, or for that matter what happened to A1 thru A37! It’s perfect for breakfast or as a snack, often enjoyed with a sprinkle of sugar or fruit according to the packaging, but I am not sure how it differs from Ymer or Tykmælk.
You can also find a selection of koldskål, a cold lemony buttermilk dessert yogurt that’s perfect for summer, often served with crunchy biscuits (kammerjunkere) or fresh fruit. And let’s not overlook kærnemælk (standard buttermilk).
And don't even get me started on Ryeost, a really weird, smokey, cheese that always looks to me like a cheesecake, especially when I am fooled into thinking the caraway seeds on top are chocolate sprinkles! I made the mistake of buying it to have with my coffee, but only once! I love cheesecake, but despite cheese being my favourite food, this soft, thick, smokey version does nothing for me.
So, while the rest of the supermarket might leave you scratching your head and wondering why the selection is so small, the milk section will have you singing its praises. Just remember to practise your Danish dairy vocabulary; otherwise, you might end up with a trolley full of something that looks like milk but tastes like a weird yogurt-cheese hybrid. Poor Léon still often accidentally puts yogurt in his coffee first thing before he's fully awake!
