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Danish Word of the Day: Træstamme

Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett - [email protected]
Danish Word of the Day: Træstamme

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash and Nicolas Raymond/FlickR

This Danish word is full of timber and the name of one of the country’s most recognisable sugary treats.

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What is træstamme?

Literally, a "tree" (træ) "trunk" or "log" (stamme), and it is entirely correct to use the word when talking about tree trunks.

However, it is probably fair to say that only Danish lumberjacks – and these make up a small proportion of the overall population – say træstamme exclusively in reference to forestry. 

For everyone else, the word is synonymous with the delicious marzipan and truffle-based cakes which can be seen behind glass counters in bakeries all over Denmark.

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Made by mixing a cake base with marzipan, raspberry jam, dark chocolate and some essence of rum, and then rolling it all in marzipan and dipping the ends in chocolate, the squat, round træstamme is a filling and mouthwatering edition to any kagebord ("cake table").

Why do I need to know træstamme?

An easy way to impress Danes with your knowledge of Denmark, and avoid social faux pas, is to know the names of its best-loved pastries. You can’t use the blanket term "Danish" (no pastry is referred to as a "Danish" in Denmark) and expect to be understood.

The good news is that Danish cake names are characteristic and therefore quite easy to learn, and the most popular ones appear in almost every bakery. For every træstamme, you'll probably also see a Napoleonshatte (Napoleon's hat) and a hindbærsnitte ("raspberry slice").

If a Swede tells you træstammer are Swedish, you can politely object. Sweden’s equivalent, the punschrulle, is made with green marzipan, not the normal egg-white colour, and is therefore something completely different.

Examples

Jeg er så lækkersulten lige nu. Jeg kunne godt æde en træstamme.

I really fancy a tasty snack right now. I could stuff my face with a træstamme.

Jeg kan ikke spise flere træstammer. Jeg er ved at eksplodere.

I can't eat any more træstammes. I’m going to explode.

Man støder ofte på bunker af træstammer, når man færdes uden for skovens markerede vandreruter.

It's common to come across stacks of tree trunks when venturing away from the marked forest pathways.

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