What characterizes your food consumption?
»We have a very high food consumption. I never chase bargains because, with the amount I consume, it’s immeasurable whether I save DKK 10 on a pack of butter. However, there are many items we never buy: candy, cakes, ice cream, bakery bread except for rye bread occasionally, ready meals, breakfast cereals, and the like. There are also dishes that are banned in my kitchen, like quiches and food wrapped in puff pastry. We hardly ever buy take-away, but a lot of homemade food costs more than industrial food.«
Do you buy organic?
»We prioritize buying organic whenever possible. We have a pesticide-free garden that provides large quantities of berries and fruit, which I turn into jam to last the whole year. We never buy apples because we produce enough ourselves, lasting until early February, from which point we buy oranges.«
Where do you shop?
»I get most of our groceries from Nemlig.com about once a week. The rest we buy at SuperBrugsen, the only place that has the skyr, juice, and large parmesan we consume a lot of. We eat fresh fish twice a week, bought from our reliable fishmonger. We always buy different kinds of fish, ranging from sole to cod.«
How often do you cook?
»I usually cook for two days at a time, and the time saved on the second day is spent, for example, baking bread or making jam. I bake all our bread and cook everything from scratch. We’ve stuck to these principles for many years, even when the kids lived at home. Yesterday, I made goulash in two cast iron pots, which yielded nine portions. That means we had it yesterday and today. The rest is frozen for two shared meals and one for my husband when I’m not home.«
If you had to cut back, what would you eliminate?
»In recent months, we’ve been frequenting a local restaurant quite a bit. It’s cozy, but there are always far too few vegetables, so it’s a bit rubbish. If I had to save, I would eliminate restaurant visits entirely because they don’t provide me with anything food-wise. It’s purely for the ambiance. I think my own cooking is a thousand times better than any meal I can buy at a restaurant.«
Where does your interest in food come from?
»I grew up with a father who was a trained butcher and sausage maker in Southern Jutland. When we went for walks during my childhood, we stopped at every butcher shop and fishmonger, and my father explained why this butcher was skilled or why another wasn’t good. You could tell by how they decorated their windows. He gave many lectures on food quality. So, it’s not surprising that it stuck with me. We make as much as we can ourselves and buy good quality ingredients.«
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