Rødgrød med fløde

I loooove rødgrød med fløde---which I translate as "red pudding with cream," but "grød" I think actually means "gruel," so I've seen it sometimes called "red soup" or "cold berry soup" too.  (And you may have seen "Danish dessert" mix sold in stores by the pudding---but this homemade stuff is just as easy and much yummier, I think.) 

Yes, rødgrød med fløde is the phrase Danes love to use to make fun of Americans and how they can't pronounce things the right way. The way Nana and my mom and I say it, it sounds kind of like "hoy [gutteral 'r'] ghoy ma floy-ya." But a video I watched online sounded a lot more grunt-y and slurred, more like "reh-heh-meh-fleh." Lazy. :) I'm sure the Danes would laugh, but the children and I are constantly saying it to each other and then feeling quite pleased with ourselves.

Anyway. It's so good, and SO easy. You can use any kind of berry or currant juice, or a combination of juices. All the recipes I found online tell you how to make it by cooking down the berries and then straining out the solids to get your juice, but for a faster way (and a better way for winter!), just use pre-juiced juice. (?) Even juice from concentrate works okay.

Here's the recipe:

Rødgrød med fløde

2 c. red fruit juice---currant, raspberry, plum, cherry, etc., or a combination of these (I used part pomegranate juice this time because I was trying to use some up)

1 small cinnamon stick

3/8 c. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

About 1- 1 1/2 c. sugar, or to taste (don't make it too sweet)

Bring juice, sugar, and salt to a boil. Mix cornstarch with small amount of water and stir into the hot juice. Bring to a quick boil and remove from heat as soon as it thickens. Pour into large pudding dish or individual bowls. Serve with unwhipped cream poured on top.