During the 1800’s the citizen’s of Copenhagen felt the need to separate themselves from the farming community and this also affected our Christmas food. They added whipped cream and almonds to our beloved Danish Risengrød and called it Risalamande to give it some French flair, because that is what was in fashion at that time. Kristeligt Dagblad
Danish Christmas Tradition: Mandelgaven (the Almond Present)
Today you still see Ris a la mande served in most Danish households on Christmas Eve. Since then, we have add a warm Cherry Sauce to top it off and traditionally a fun game goes along with eating this wonderful Christmas treat. A single whole Almond is blanched and stirred into the Risalamande to hide it. The dish is served after Christmas dinner and whoever finds the almond wins a gift. The problem with the Almond gift is that the winner could be anyone from a child to grandmother. This is often solved by giving a traditional small Marzipan pig as the gift, but today, the gift could be anything. Also, there is a lot of cheating going on with this game. Some may choose to place an Almond in each of the children’s bowls so all the children gets a gift. I think my Mom did that one year but we thought the game should be done “the right way”. I can honestly say that I have never won this game. The winner in our home was typically my Dad. He would often times get the almond and then he would keep it hidden against his cheek until all the Risalamande was eaten up. Sneaky. One year my Dad took pity on me and gave me the Almond under the table 🙂 but I didn’t feel right taking the gift since I did not honestly win it.
I should also mention that some households may chop blanched Almonds into small pieces and add them to the dish. We have never done this at our house, instead pure Almond Extract is added giving the dish a wonderful Almond flavor. This dish is by far one of the biggest highlights of Christmas for me and I continue to serve it every single year, for it would not be Christmas without it.
Update:
I am very honored to be asked to participate in the LexioPhiles International Recipe Advent Calendar 2011. My recipe for Risalamande with warm Cherry sauce will appear on December 2nd, 2011. LexioPhiles will feature a new recipe every day during the month of December from bloggers around the world.
Ingredients for 1st stage – Risengrød:
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup rice (Grødris)
4 1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
Ingredients for 2nd stage – Risalamande:
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoon confectioners sugar
4 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 whole almonds
For the Cherry Sauce:
15 oz can Oregon Bing Cherries in heavy syrup
1 tablespoon cornstarch
water
Directions:
Place water and rice in a medium cooking pot, cover with a lid and simmer for 2 minutes. Add milk and vanilla sugar and simmer covered over low heat for 40-45 minutes. Stir often to make sure the milk does not burn, especially the last 30 minutes. You may have to turn the heat all the way down as low as your stove will allow for the last 15 minutes.
Place in Tupperware and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Once mixture is completely cooled remove from refrigerator and break it up with a spoon. In a small bowl add whipping cream, confectioners sugar and almond extract. Beat with a handheld mixer until you see tracks from beaters in the cream. Add half of the whipping cream to rice mixture and combine well with a spoon, add remaining whipping cream in small increments. The final texture should be creamy and easily mixed with the spoon. Place covered in refrigerator until ready to serve.
To blanch almonds. Place almonds in a small dish and pour boiling water over to cover. Let sit in water for 1 minute, drain and rinse with cold water. Pat dry and slip the skins off. I usually blanch two almonds in case I have trouble with one. Before serving Risalamande, place one blanched almond in mixture and stir well to hide almond.
In a small dish mix together the cornstarch and some water to form the thickening agent. In a small saucepan bring cherry and syrup to a simmer. Add the cornstarch/water mixture to cherries a little at the time, stirring until syrup starts to thicken. Simmer for 1 minute and remove from heat.
Serve Risalamande cold with the warm cherry sauce on top.
Glædelig Jul and Merry Christmas♥
Source: My Danish Kitchen
Great recipe! I made this one yesterday for my Danish husband and he loved it. OK it’s a bit late for Xmas but it’s super tasty any time. 🙂 This is a much simpler recipe than one I used in DK (I think it was a Klaus Meyer one that you had to partially bake in the oven?) but this one tastes just as good and is super easy. Yummy!
Better late than never 😄 So glad you liked it.
[…] our Christmas dinner from Aarstiderne too. We’re having mushroom Bourguignon with vegetables, ris a la Mande, plus of course a tonne of fruit – fresh and dried, nuts, cheese and of course a proper […]
Hi Gitte,
Thanks for sharing your ris a la mande recipe. I wanted to share that I have been making this for around 20 years here in the US (Seattle) and in the begining I had always had a difficult time finding both the rice and a suitable cherry sauce. I got my recipe from my Danish mother in law when we lived in Denmark and she always used Den Gamle Fabrik cherries in a jar for the sauce which I could not find here. For many years I used Wilderness cherry pie filling in a can which was delicious, but a few years ago they started using high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar which changed the taste so I decided to make one from scratch. I now buy frozen pie cherries (tart red cherries) and add water and sugar (it takes quite a bit of sugar to sweeten the cherries) and potato starch for thickening. It turns out exactly like the Danish cherry sauce we had there for Christmas. I also found that sushi rice or pearl rice is almost identical to the short grain rice they use in Denmark.
Valerie, thank you for your advice. It is always a challenge to find substitutes when you make Danish recipes. My favorite cherries are the Oregon cherries in heavy syrup and a Aborio rice also works really well.
I’m just about to make my favourite Christmas dessert! Thank you for the recipe and history behind this. I’ve been having this dessert most years for Christmas since I was a little girl. Would you believe I’ve only ever won the almond once! My cherry sauce varies depending on which country I’m living in. I use Bonne Mamon Cherry Jam and heat this slightly and then add a portion of Cherry Heering liqueur to taste. This cherry jam is a little tart, which I think goes great with the ris a la mande. I also use short grain rice. Can’t wait until tomorrow to have a bowlful!
Fimpsy, always my pleasure. I’m getting started making my Risengrød now and then Ris a la Mande for Christmas Eve tomorrow. Merry Christmas 🎄
Where can I buy vanilla sugar in British Columbia, Canada?
June, try scandinavianbutik.com which is an online store located in the US. There may be some scandinavian stores or web stores closer to you, try a Google search and see what you come up with. Or, you can easily make your own by placing some used/empty vanilla bean pods into a closed jar of sugar. Hope this helps you.
Thank you!
Thank you very much for the recipe. I’m Polish, but my grandmother was Danish, who decided to move to Warsaw as a young girl. Me and my parents often visited grandma Birthe when I was a child. I’m 24 years old now and I have always missed the taste of certain Danish dishes, especially ris a la mande.
And now my boyfriend is a Dane living in Poland. I know he misses Danmark very much, so I’ve decided to make him ris a la mande for tonight. And I really don’t know who will be happier: me or him 🙂
Thanks once more!
I am sure he will be very surprised and happy. Ris a la mande is one of those foods that simply just brings you back home. 🙂
I moved to Canada in the 50’s. I make this every Christmas and find sticky rice works fine.
Yes, someone the other day said Sticky Rice too. Thanks for the info 🙂
Hi there!!!! This is my first time making Ris a la mande and just wondering how many servings this would be. My aunt that usually makes it out of the country. Please help!!!!
Thanks Jenn
Well, I am pretty much the only one here who eats it, and I probably have at least 6 servings of it (that sounds really terrible when I say it out loud 🙂 but not all in one sitting though). Eventhough I am the only one eating it I still make it every single year, just made the Risengrød this afternoon and I’ll make the Ris a la mande tomorrow morning. If you have never made this before, word of advise, watch it like a hawk and stir very very often because it does burn very quickly and careful not to have the heat too high. I hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Jenn, I just finished making the Ris a la mande this morning and there are easily 8-10 servings. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Thanks for that!!!!! It was just enough for a small portion 9 people. After having the traditional danish meal there’s usually not much room leftover in the belly!!!! Very pleased with the out come and will make this recipe again. The only things I did differently was use a dbl boiler, and I added 1/4 cup sherry to the sauce!!!!!
Hope ur holiday was heavenly!!!!!
My Christmas was wonderful as well, it’s the highlight of the year. I am so glad you enjoyed the Ris a la mande and that it was a big enough portion for your family. Happy New Year to you all.
Im a Dane who has lived in the states for 15 years by now. My family is still in Denmark and during the holidays I miss them the most, so having an online recipe guide (My dad always cooked and especially for christmas it was best to just leave him to doing that and stay out of his way) is great. This year Im making a traditional Danish christmas for my boyfriend so this website is great help. Oh and we did have traditional marzipan pig as the gift when I was young but as we have grown up, it has become a lottery ticket…lol
Tessa, it really gives me great joy to know that my little blog here is bringing so many Danes closer to their roots. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year.
I love ris a la mande. I’ve tried it last year when I spent Christmas in Denmark. Definitely my favorite! I’m so happy I found your blog. I really wanted to learn how to make danish dishes, especially since next year i’m moving from Croatia to live in Denmark with my husband to be (who’s a dane). 🙂
I am so glad your enjoying my food blog. Ris a la mande is also one of my favorites. I think you are going to find that there is many different ways it can be made, but this is my favorite. The best of luck to you in your move to Denmark 🙂
Gitte,
Thank you for sharing your recipes. My husband is Danish and I did get the opportunity to live over in Denmark for about 4 years! It’s a wonderful place. Ris a la mande is a Christmas favorite for us. (I confess, we like it more than just for Christmas, so I’ll make it a couple of more times!) It’s great for breakfast too! Seriously, when my mother in law comes to visit from Denmark she brings the groedris to us. Where to find that type of rice here in the US? It’s a short grain, pearl type, but I’m not having much success in finding it.
On another note, I would be happy to share any of my danish recipes with you.
Thank you again!
Susan
Susan – I am so glad your enjoying MyDanishKitchen! Here is a link to a web site that sell Grødris as they have it in stock.
http://www.nordichouse.com/ look under their “Dry Goods” section
I am so happy to have discovered your blog! My great grandparents immigrated to the states from Denmark, but they failed to hold onto their recipes! It has always made me so sad that all of our ties to Denmark were cut off. I am going to bake some of your recipes and mail them to my grandmother!
Thank you!
Kirsten
hi gitte,
what a treat to find this blog post! i spent last year studying in denmark and had a blast at the julefrokost at my kollegium… through the drunken hazy i vaguely remember lots of singing and madness over the mandel in the ris a la mande. thank you for the anecdotal post and recipe. maybe i will cook ris a la mande (or at least risengrød) for my american family this year!
🙂 maya
It is so neat reading about other traditions and food that people eat all around the world this time of year! I have never had or heard of ris a la mande, but it sounds and looks amazing! 🙂
Christina @ Sweet Pea’s Kitchen
How cute, your dad gave you the almond. Your 12 days of xmas series is so nice. I love reading about other countries traditions. Hope you had a great weekend.
-Gina-
This sounds delicious. Rice pudding is good, but with juicy cherries on top it sounds absolutely divine.
Congratulations finishing your 12 days of Christmas! I like the very Danish theme running through it all.
Thank you so much, I am glad you have enjoyed it 🙂
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So sweet you dad gave you his cookie. Whip cream and almonds sounds like a delicious tradition!