Sønderjysk coffee table and tradition.
Sønderjysk Kaffebord is a coffee table tradition that dates back to the 1800s, when Southern Jutland was under ther Prussian rule. At that time, the German authorities would not grant alcohol licenses to the South Jutland town halls and inns, but coffee and baking ingredients were cheap and easy to get to, and so the South Jutland cake bakery became a new discipline.
At the same time, it was also forbidden to hold meetings for the Danish-minded, but it was not forbidden to hold events with coffee and cake. Quietly, the Sønderjysk Kaffebord concept became a loophole for the Sønderjyderne, where they could meet legally.
A tradition has been created
Today, the Sønderjysk Kaffebord is no longer a substitute for beer and spirits, or a good excuse to meet like-minded people. The South Jutland cake tradition has become a food experience that can be experienced in some places in South Jutland.
Here you can experience South Jutland coffee table on selected dates:
The modern Sønderjysk Kaffebord table.
The original number of cakes as described in the story of the tradition, offers you 21 different. 7 soft, 7 hard and 7 dry cakes. Although tradition says 21 cakes, restaurants today have often reduced the amount of different cakes.
In most places you will experience 14 cakes, as very few can fit 21 cakes on just one afterdinner. However, there are also places where they have chosen to increase the number of cakes, and you can experience a sumptuous buffet af all 29 cakes.
The basic idea remains that one should taste dry, soft and hard cakes.
Our best tips for a good experience
Eat alot the day before, so there is plenty of room the next day. Feel free to eat a light breakfast, because we are sure that there will be a shortage of space once you have gotten through the first cakes.
The order of how to eat them also matters, but often the host will describe what is being served and how one should eat them.
First you will be offered the "stop cakes" - the dry ones that workr as a good bottom or a foundation in the stomach so that one does not eat too much of the next.
Then one will move on to the soft ones, which is the term for cakes with whipped cream. Finally, the hard cakes await, which are often cookies and thus a smaller cake.
Most people drink coffee for the cakes, if you do not like coffee, tea or water is a good bet. Soda can often help to fill the stomach more, so you can eat less cake.
Sønderjysk Kaffebord can be found at various inns and restaurants, e.g. you can try it at: Døstrup Landevejskro, Hohenwarte and Klægager.
Sønderjysk coffee table can be experienced all year round, but it is most common in the summer half of the year. Such events are not held every day, so plan and book a table.
Tradition says 21 cakes, 7 dry, 7 soft and 7 hard.
Depending on where you go today to experience the modern cake table, you can order anything between 14 and 30+ cakes.
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