Before I was born, my mother undertook post-graduate studies at an international study center. Since cooking was her passion, she collected recipes from her fellow classmates reflecting a wide array of cultures. One of her favorites was a Danish berry dessert called rødgrød med fløde, mainly because she loved pronouncing it! (a Danish person once told me that the language is like speaking German under water 🙂
Despite her liking to talk about it, I only saw her make it once. Later in life, though, a friend shared her Danish grandmother’s recipe for rødgrød, which she simply called Danish Dessert. It is an incredibly light and delightful dessert.
Here is my version, which uses wineberries that I wild harvested in the mountains this weekend. Hungry Wolf recently posted a more traditional rødgrød recipe using raspberries and currents, and arrowroot instead of cornstarch.
- 4 cups of berries
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (I used organic non-GMO)
- ¼ cup sugar (I used organic fair-trade evaporated cane juice) – adjust to suit your sweetness preference
- ¼ cup whipped cream or yogurt for garnish
Rinse 4 cups of berries and place them in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with ½ cup of water.
Cook over low heat until the berries are thoroughly mushy, stirring from time to time. This can take a while.
Strain the berries through a fine sieve, squishing them with the back of a spoon to squeeze out the juice. You should have about 2 cups of juice.
Pour the juice back into the saucepan, reserving about ½ cup of juice.
Whisk in the cornstarch until thoroughly mixed. Add the cornstarch mixture and sugar to the juice in the saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to bubble. Cook for another minute or two.
Pour into a large bowl, or four individual serving bowls.
Let cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with a light coating of sugar. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or yogurt (I made fresh whipped fløde with a dash of vanilla). Bon appetite!
I found an instant German version of rødgrød (Rote Glütze) at The Silo in Connecticut, which I have yet to try (I need to have someone translate the directions for me!).
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