Oats, Water, and Spelt?...

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge.  Goldilocks was hungry   She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.  "This porridge is too hot!" She exclaimed.  So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.  "This porridge is too cold," She said.  So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.  "Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily as she ate it all up.

- Goldilocks and the Three Bears

This weekend I had the "privilege" of attending a porridge making competition.  I am being compeletly serious, this was actually real.  Only in Denmark would they have a porridge making competition.  In Danish porridge is called "grød".  There is actually a restaurant here with that same name that only serves different types of porridge.    

We first were able to sample some of the less fancy porridge otherwise known as instant oatmeal, but definitely still fancier than the dinosaur egg Quaker instant oatmeal that I love so much.  

We were also able to sample some lentil soup and hot apple cider.  Unfortunately the latter was made in true Danish style and was liquorice flavored.

The competition started with four chefs each making their own type of sweet porridge.  There were many combinations with maple syrup, apples, butternut squash, and grapes.  

Porridge was first made in Asia and then moved to the Middle East.  Because of the Crusades Porridge was brought back to Europe.  The first Scandinavian occurrence of porridge was in 1542 in Malmo, Sweden.  At that point it was made for festivals.  Since the rice used for the rice pudding needed to be imported it became a luxury item.  Having the rice pudding became a status symbol.  When the rice became more and more available, the porridge needed to develop so that it could once again be exclusive.  This resulted in the traditional rice pudding served at Christmas today made of rice porridge mixed with almonds, cream, and vanilla.  Obviously the Danes take their porridge very seriously.  I couldn't believe that there is actually a wikipedia page on porridge in Scandinavia.      

 Let me just tell you that watching a cooking competition on TV is a lot more exciting than being at a cooking competition.  Also watching people cook porridge for 30 minutes is about as exciting as watching a snail crawl.  

 While the judges deliberated, another set of chefs set up to make savory porridges.  These porridges had meat and vegetables in them.  Apparently in Denmark porridge is no longer a breakfast item.  

This time I actually got to try some of the porridge.  This one was a type of beef risotto with pumpkin and kale.

It was actually super good.  

As pathetic as this sounds my goal currently is to at least leave my apartment once a day, that is why I ended up at a porridge making competition.  So is the life of a student studying abroad.  See studying abroad is not all about sightseeing and traveling to exotic places.  After the first two months living in a city that is only 8 square miles larger than my hometown of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and has 40,000 less people than Milwaukee, Wisconsin you run out of things to to do.  So that is when you make the pathetic goal of leaving your apartment once a day.

Random Danish Facts:

- Copenhagen literally translates to "merchant's harbor"

- 36% of Copenhageners cycle to school or work everyday.  

-Copenhagen restaurants boast a total of 14 Michelin stars the most in Scandinavia.  

-Copenhagen has the busiest bike lane in the world.  36,000 cyclist use it everyday.