Eventually, the Danes themselves took pastry-making to the next level. And Danish became the English word for wienerbrød.
The best way to eat a Danish? Both Skov and Jensen agree it’ s best enjoyed while still warm from the oven. Ideally, it should be half gone by the time you leave the bakery.
The secret behind great Danish? It’ s all about the butter, Jensen said. Lurpak, a major Danish brand founded in 1901,“ ripens” the cream before turning it into butter. Lactic cultures give it aromatic qualities and creaminess.( Find it at upscale groceries and, in Washington, at Rodman’ s Discount Gourmet, 5100 Wisconsin Ave., NW, a one-of-a-kind store that stocks many European brands.)
Carina Griisser agrees with the butter assessment as it relates to quality pastry. The Danish-born Washingtonian supervises the baked goods sales at the Danish Club of Washington’ s annual Christmas bazaar.( The festival is always the second Saturday in November.) Starting in mid- September, volunteers begin baking almond cakes, butter cookies, rye bread, and many Danish pastries for the club’ s fundraiser. Many of the recipes are from Griisser’ s mother and grandmother.
An estimated thousand people attended the most recent event. They dined on smørrebrød, the Danish lunchtime staple made with a generously buttered slice of dark rye bread and topped with a choice of ingredients like smoked salmon, Danish cheese, fried fish, or shrimp salad, with appropriate garnishes.
The sweet aroma of æbleskiver, ball-shaped fried-dough snacks, wafted through the air. Other booths offered hard-to-find treats from Denmark. A customer examined a black licorice pipe wrapped in cellophane.“ Ah, now that’ s a childhood memory,” she said.
The Danish Club of Washington, D. C., is a nonprofit social organization that welcomes anyone interested in Danish culture. It hosts events throughout the year, including the annual Danish Christmas Bazaar, Danish movie nights, and a midsummer celebration.
Royal Danish Embassy
Credit: Matthew Paul D’ Agostino danishclubdc. org
LEGO Center
The LEGO Discovery Center in suburban Springfield, Va., has over two million plastic bricks ready for creative hands. The company’ s name is a contraction of two Danish words that mean“ play well.” Founded in 1932, this toy giant remains family-owned. The Discovery Center offers various options for imaginative play, including a brick-building area, a Mini World of LEGO structures, a 4D cinema, workshops led by Master Model Builders, interactive features, and a retail store.
6500 Springfield Mall, Springfield, Va.; 571-506-4322; legodiscoverycenter. com
Danish Housing Solutions
The District Architecture Center is hosting the exhibit Boliglaboratorium: A Danish Housing Lab through Jan. 22. It features six projects by Danish architecture firms exploring how housing can address factors like climate change, resource scarcity, changing family patterns, and growing urban populations.
Gallery open Tuesdays-Thursdays 11 a. m.-3 p. m.; 421 Seventh St. NW; 202-347-9403; Dcarchcenter. org
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