The Danish cuisine still contains elements harking back to the time before industrialisation, i.e. the time before c. 1860, the age of storage housekeeping with a cuisine based on beer and rye bread, salted pork and salted herrings.

Among the dishes from those days which are still eaten today are øllebrød (a dish made of rye bread, sugar and non-alcoholic beer), vandgrød (porridge, usually barley porridge, made with water), gule ærter (split pea soup), æbleflæsk (slices of pork with apples fried in the fat), klipfisk (dried cod), blodpølse (black pudding), finker (an approximation to haggis) and grønlangkål (thickened stewed kale).

In the second half of the 19th century, i.e. the age of the co-operative movement, milk and potatoes played a prominent part, and the stove, the mincer and the developing retail trade provided new possibilities for dishes such as roast pork and gravy, boiled cod with mustard sauce, consommé with meat, bread or flour dumplings, rissoles, minced beef patties and other dishes based on minced meat.

The same period saw the emergence of many fruit dishes such as rødgrød (thickened stewed fruit), sødsuppe (fruit soup) and stewed fruits, and the range of vegetable dishes was expanded with boiled cabbage in white sauce, red cabbage, pickled beetroot, cucumber salad, and peas and carrots in white sauce.

Great changes and increased choices appeared in the Danish cuisine in the 1960s as a result of increased affluence, internationalisation, the advent of self-service in the retail trade, the use of electricity in the kitchen, refrigerators and freezers, and also of the increasing number of women going out to work.

American influence is obvious with such dishes as salads, baked potatoes, barbecue, turkey and ready-to-eat chicken dishes. Italian cuisine has also established itself with for instance pizzas, pasta and a widespread use of tomatoes.

Meat consumption has risen dramatically, still with pork as the most common kind of meat. The tendency is towards steaks and to minced meat. Gravy and potato dishes still maintain their place, so that sausages and rissoles are the dishes most frequently seen on Danish dinner tables

Thanks to industrial methods, produce and dishes that were once the preserves of the upper classes have become commonplace. This applies for instance to mushrooms, chicken, caviar (in Denmark usually synonymous with lumpfish roe), smoked salmon and duck as well as mayonnaise and other cold sauces.

Imports and new technology have evened out seasonal differences, so that most foodstuffs are on offer all the year round. At the same time exotic foods such as aubergine, avocado, fresh pineapple, baby maize, Barbary duck breast, courgettes, Chinese prawns, kiwi fruit and peppers have become everyday sights on the Danish table.

In the 1980s, meanwhile, a reaction set in against industrialisation, the levelling off of seasonal dishes and the influence of the foreign fast food concept: chefs like Erwin Lauterbach and Jan Hurtigkarl have created an original Danish cuisine based on the vegetables and fish that thrive best beneath Danish skies.

The pattern of meal times has changed from the five meals a day of pre-industrialised society to the three that are common now. Most people have their midday meal away from home in the form of a packed lunch or a canteen meal.

Hot food is eaten in the evening, and most people only have a single course on weekdays. First courses consisting of gruel, fruit soup or porridge are nowadays only eaten by older people. The individualisation of meals, such as is known in the USA, has only caught on in Denmark with respect to breakfast; at the evening meal families make an effort to arrange for a family meal prepared at home. Ready-to-eat dishes are mainly used by single people.

Smørrebrød (open sandwiches) consisting of rye bread, buttered and covered with sliced meat, cheese, etc. has long been known, whereas the more elaborate open sandwiches used on festive occasions only appeared in the decades around 1900.

Among the best-known of these are open sandwiches with shrimps, smoked salmon, marinated herring, smoked herring and egg yolk, radishes and chives, smoked eel with scrambled egg, pork with red cabbage, apples and prunes, and liver paste with pickled cucumber or gherkins.

Otherwise, Denmark has made few original contributions to gastronomy. Among those to be mentioned are wienerbrød (Danish pastry) and kransekage (almond cake rings), æblekage (apple charlotte) with fried breadcrumbs and fruit preserves, and then hot dishes such as boiled cod with mustard sauce, melted butter, chopped hard-boiled egg, horse-radish and boiled potatoes, and roast duck, goose or pork with apples, prunes, caramelised potatoes, red cabbage and brown gravy.