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You are here: Home / Traditional Danish / Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup (Koldskål)

Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup (Koldskål)

Categories: Desserts/ Lunch/ Snacks/ Traditional Danish

Recipe for Homemade Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup (Koldskål)

This recipe for Danish buttermilk soup is probably the most traditional Danish summer dish you have. In Denmark we call this dish Koldskål, which translated means cold bowl. Koldskål is based on buttermilk and plain yogurt and sweetened by sugar and vanilla. Koldskål is almost only served in the summer time and especially in the periods with hot weather. Most of the Koldskål consumed in Denmark is processed and the sale rates are highly dependent on the weather and the temperature – the higher temperature the higher is the sale rates. The reason why this dish is so popular in the hot summer period is because it’s very refreshing and cooling which is great when your body feels like it’s going to boil.

For many Danes it’s a tradition to eat this dish in the summer where it’s mainly served as a snack in the afternoon or in the evening. Even though it’s mostly served as a snack, we also sometimes just have this for dinner when we are not in the mood for normal dinner.

The dairies are selling a lot of this buttermilk soup because the easiest way of getting this dish is just to buy it. We never buy processed Koldskål – it’s just so easy to make yourselves and we believe it has a much better taste. To make your own Koldskål you basically just need to whisk together egg yolks, sugar, vanilla with some buttermilk and plain yogurt – it’s that simple and it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare.

There a several different ways of making this dish but this is the recipe we always use and we believe it’s the most traditional one. Koldskål is normally served with Kammerjunker, which is a small and crisp Danish biscuits typically flavored with lemon and cardamom. However, we normally serve this dish with fresh strawberries and blueberries as topping – it’s just wonderful. The strawberries just make this dish even more summerly. You can basically use any topping you think is great. If you want to make this dish more filling, you can consider oats, which is rich on dietary fibers, or maybe this chocolate-coconut granola.




Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup (Koldskål)

2 liter (1/2 gal)
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Danish title: Koldskål
Cuisine: Danish

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1 liter (1/4 gal) plain yogurt (~3.5% fat)
1 liter (1/4) buttermilk
2 tbsp cane sugar
1 vanilla bean + 1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:
Step 1: Use a hand mixer to whisk the egg yolks and sugar into a light and fluffy mixture.
Step 2: Scrape out the vanilla seeds from the vanilla bean. We have made a simple step-by-step guide how to do this. Mix the vanilla seeds with one tablespoon of sugar.
Step 3: Whisk the vanilla seed together with the egg yolks.
Step 4: Whisk the yogurt with the egg yolks. Add the yogurt in 3-4 steps and whisk well in between each step.
Step 5: Finally add the buttermilk and mix it well together. Flavor with lemon juice.
Step 6: Keep the buttermilk soup/Koldskål in the fridge. You can leave the empty vanilla beans in the bowl – it still has much great flavor.

Tip: Serve the buttermilk soup with fresh strawberries or other delicious toppings of your choice.





Recipe for Homemade Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup (Koldskål)

Recipe for Homemade Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup (Koldskål)

Recipe for Homemade Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup (Koldskål)

Recipe for Homemade Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup (Koldskål)

Recipe for Homemade Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup (Koldskål)

THE VISITOR BEFORE YOU LIKED

Broccoli Salad
Homemade Bagels
Danish Brown Cookies (Brunkager)
Panini with Chicken, Pesto & Mozzarella

by Kim Nielsen Ingredients: Rich on Protein/ Summer

« Danish Chicken and Asparagus Tartlets (Tarteletter)
Danish Cold Buttermilk Soup with Rhubarb »

Comments

  1. Therese says

    August 7, 2015 at 5:19 am

    This looks like a lovely dish and something that I would like to try! I am very happy I found your blog as I want to deepen my knowledge around scandinavian food outside Norway! You will be seeing more of me :)

    Reply
    • Kim Nielsen says

      August 11, 2015 at 7:58 am

      Hi Therese, Thanks for your nice words. You are absolutely welcome :-)

      Reply
  2. matt says

    June 9, 2016 at 10:51 am

    hi Kim. will be trying this out this weekend when my girlfriend visits from DK, since you can’t buy koldskål in Germany.

    question for you: what about storage? will it last OK for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge?

    ps – try a little fresh mint with the strawberries and kammerjunker. :)

    Reply
    • Louise Dam says

      June 12, 2016 at 6:41 pm

      Sounds great! Yes it can easily be contained in the fridge for a couple of days.

      Reply
  3. Flemming N Pedersen says

    July 23, 2016 at 2:38 pm

    it never last more than 1 maybe 2 days at our house , we eat it ,I live in the US but grew up on this in Denmark

    Reply
    • Kim Nielsen says

      August 3, 2016 at 12:43 pm

      Hi Flemming. Thanks for your comment. It’s also a real favorite in this home. Regards Kim

      Reply
  4. Lise Rousseau Silva says

    December 3, 2016 at 5:06 am

    I spent a year in DK as a foreign exchange student many years ago. I remember this, I think, but that my Mor served it with a meringue? Or is that a different treat. Is there any chance you have a recipe for ollebrod? It wouldn’t be authentic since we can’t get real Danish rye bread in the US, but I’d love to try to duplicate it. Thanks for all the lovely recipes. They remind me of some happy times.

    Reply
    • Kim Nielsen says

      December 4, 2016 at 4:47 pm

      Hi Lisa. Thanks for your comment. I have never tried this Koldskaal with Meringue and actually I have never heard of this topping before – are you sure it was meringue? I have a recipe for Ollebrod but it’s not on my blog. I will add it to my to-do-list and post it when it’s ready. It is actually possible to get ‘real’ Danish Rye Bread in the US. I have lived there for some time and you can find it in some bakeries. Regards Kim

      Reply
  5. Sonja L says

    November 7, 2017 at 9:52 pm

    Do you use cultured buttermilk for this?

    Reply
    • Kim Nielsen says

      November 8, 2017 at 8:08 am

      Hi. It’s hard to say as we only have one type of buttermilk in Denmark. However, from what I can find on the internet I would suggest the cultured buttermilk. But, I don’t think it matters that much. Sometimes, I make this recipe from other diary product like yogurt, little sour cream and so on. So it is not that critical what you use.

      Reply
  6. Diane Stevenson says

    February 22, 2018 at 11:48 am

    Hi Kim, thank you for this recipe, in English. We live in Denmark now and I am completely addicted to Koldskål. I have it every morning with fresh fruit and seeds or Bran Flakes. I have been able to find it in a few stores, thankfully, in the cold months, but wouldn’t mind making it myself. Can you tell me how fattening it is? I’m thinking it’s not too bad, but I’d like to know how it breaks down.
    Thanks again for this!

    Reply
    • Kim Nielsen says

      February 23, 2018 at 11:43 am

      Hi Diane. You are very welcome. I’m also very happy about this dish. Normally I eat it everyday during the summer time. This dish is actually not that fattening as the two main ingredients are ‘Kærnemælk’ and ‘tykmælk’ which are both quite good. I’m not sure about the specific figures but you can take a look at the two products the next time you are in a danish supermarket. Regards Kim

      Reply
  7. Angel Mathews says

    March 5, 2018 at 3:25 am

    Hi, I read about this in a book and was considering making it. Do you know how long it keeps in a fridge? And if it isn’t too much trouble could you tell me what the ratio of fruit to buttermilk soup you use? Thank you

    Reply
    • Kim Nielsen says

      March 11, 2018 at 4:05 pm

      Hi Angel. I normally keep this buttermilk soup in the fridge for about 3-5 days. For a normal sized-bowl I typically use about a handful of fruits (my guess is about 100 grams / 4 oz)

      Reply

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Hello and welcome to my blog. I’m Kim from Denmark. I enjoy to cook, eat great food and travel all over the world. This blog will mainly reflect my passion for food but you will also find subjects on design and traveling. I hope you will like the blog. If you have any comments I will be pleased to hear from you.

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