Risalamande (also spelled as ''ris à l'amande'') is a traditional Danish dessert served at

Christmas dinner Christmas dinner is a meal traditionally eaten at Christmas. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of ...

and julefrokost (Christmas lunch). It is made of

rice pudding Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and other ingredients such as cinnamon, vanilla and raisins. Variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined with a sweetener such ...

mixed with

whipped cream Whipped cream is liquid heavy cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy and holds its shape, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a firm colloid. It is often sweetened, typically with white sugar, an ...

, sugar,

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus '' Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from whic ...

, and chopped

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genu ...

s. It is served cold with either warm or cold

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The n ...

sauce (''kirsebærsovs'').

Etymology

The name is based on

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

''riz à l'amande'' meaning "rice with almonds", although the dessert has a Danish origin. Today ''risalamande'' is the spelling authorized by the Danish Language Committee. The usual Danish pronunciation is �ri:salaˈmɑŋ

History

Risalamande was clearly inspired by the classical French dessert of riz à l'impératrice (empress rice) which is more solid, shaped in moulds and decorated with

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...

jelly. Risalamande was created in the late 19th century. It gained popularity when

became more common. Until then rice pudding had been an exclusive dish, requiring two expensive, imported ingredients: almonds and cinnamon. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, risalamande experienced an increase in popularity, being touted as a "savings" dessert: adding whipped cream (which was easily available) to the still fairly expensive rice would make the rice last longer. In order to minimize costs, risalamande was frequently made without almonds during this time, too.

Use in Christmas tradition

Simple rice pudding (''risengrød'') can be served all year in Denmark, but is also often seen as a Christmas dish. It is served hot and topped with cinnamon and butter, often along with

malt beer Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as "malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, whi ...

(''hvidtøl''). Some families make a large batch of rice pudding for dinner on December 23 (''lillejuleaften'' meaning "Little Christmas Eve") and keep a part of it for preparing risalamande as a dessert after the big

. Others eat hot rice pudding as part of the Christmas dinner, usually as a starter and more rarely as a dessert. This is often regarded as an older tradition than the risalamande. According to tradition, hot rice pudding is also the dish eaten by '' nisser'', the Christmas elfs, which is common in other Nordic countries too. As such, children may put out a bowl of rice pudding, and if eaten (possibly by a cat, or more often, the parents), it will demonstrate the existence of the ''nisse''. This usage is derived from the ancient belief in house spirits. On Christmas Eve, a whole almond is added to the dessert, and the person who finds it wins a small prize such as a

marzipan pig The marzipan pig is a traditional German, Dutch, Flemish and Scandinavian confectionery consisting of marzipan shaped as a pig. During Jul in Norway and Sweden, a tradition is to eat a rice porridge known as risgrøt (risgrynsgröt in Swedish ...

, a chocolate heart or a small board game. The finder may conceal their discovery as long as possible, so that the rest of the partygoers are forced to eat the entire dish of risalamande, even after they have already devoured a large

In Sweden, Finland, and Norway

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, this dish is called ''ris à la

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

'', which is a corruption of the Danish name. Typically it is made of chilled leftover rice pudding, whipped cream, sugar and vanilla, with or without almonds. By tradition, the person finding a hidden almond in the dessert is expected to get married before the next Christmas. A variety containing diced oranges is called ''apelsinris''. The dish is mostly served with either a smooth cordial, jam or semi-thawed frozen berries. In

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, this dish is called '' Maltan riisi'', Typically it is made of chilled leftover rice pudding, whipped cream, sugar and vanilla, with or without almonds. By tradition, the person finding a hidden almond in the dessert is very lucky whole year. In Finland, it can be served with puree made of

(or even

lingonberry ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...

) or raisin

compote Compote or compôte (French for ''mixture'') is a dessert originating from medieval Europe, made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemo ...

Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic peoples, North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians a ...

have a similar dish called ''riskrem'' (“rice cream”) and, as in Denmark, the person finding a hidden almond in the dessert wins a ''mandelgave'' ( almond present) in the form of a marzipan pig or the like. The dessert may contain almonds for flavour, but mostly chopped on top as decoration. In Norway, the sauce is also normally made of

(or even

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

) rather than cherry.

Risifrutti

:''Read more at Rice pudding#Nordic countries'' Risifrutti is a ready-to-eat snack product inspired by risalamande, sold in the Nordic countries since 1993. Various sauces exist, such as strawberry, cherry, blueberry, and raspberry. However, ready-to-eat products marketed as risalamande (and more similar to the actual dessert) also exist.

References