Traditional Swedish Christmas Food

Is there anything more personal than eating traditions? Traditional Swedish Christmas food has a different meaning for all Swedes and descendants of Swedes. Here is a selection of some of the most common dishes and snacks served at the holidays.

Julbord

Julbord is the name of the Swedish Christmas buffet. It’s a Christmas version of the smörgåsbord served at all Swedish holidays. Organizations, clubs and companies often hold Christmas parties at restaurants serving julbord. The main occassion for the julbord is the dinner on Christmas Eve.

Julskinka (Christmas ham) is the centerpiece of the Christmas smörgåsbord. It has roots in the Viking Age. In Norse mythology, the pig Sæhrímnir was slaughtered and eaten each night in Valhalla. The next day, the pig came back to life and the festivities started over. Christmas ham was traditionally eaten at this time of year because it followed the annual slaughter. Nowadays, the julskinka is first boiled. It is then coated with eggs, mustard and breadcrumbs before it is baked in the oven [1].

Fläskkorv (pork sausage) is commonly eaten with coarse mustard.

Vörtbröd is a dark bread baked with wort or beer. Other ingredients include bitter orange peel, anise, fennel seeds, and raisins.

Dopp i grytan (sop, literally “dip in the pot”) is another traditional meal. It consists of vörtbröd dipped in the broth from the boiled Christmas ham. It was a common meal on days when meat was not served and would make dry bread easier to eat. [1]

Lutfisk (lutefisk) originates from the early Middle Ages. It was used as an alternative to meat when Sweden was Catholic and observed meat-free holidays. It’s typically eaten with white sauce, potatoes and green peas. Green peas and lutefisk have a long history together. [1]

More julbord classics

Kalvsylta, jellied veal, is another ancient dish. It’s made from boiled veal and pork that is poured into molds and left to set. It’s often served with pickled beets. [1]

Leverpastej, liver pâté, is a baked meat spread with old roots. It’s made from pork liver and seasoned with allspice. [1]

Other popular dishes are köttbullar (meatballs), sill (pickled herring), prinskorv (literally “prince sausage,” a small sausage), äppelmos (apple sauce) to go with the Christmas ham, gravlax, rödkål (simmered red cabbage), brysselkål (Brussels sprouts), Janssons frestelse, and potatoes.

Julmust and glögg

The soft drink julmust was introduced in 1910. [3] It’s now a staple in Sweden around Christmas. It was developed as an alcohol-free alternative to beer and has a similar taste. It tastes a bit like a sweet, dark beer.

From the start of Advent, Swedes have glögg, a sweet mulled wine with or without alcohol. All the time. The spices used in glögg are typically ginger, bitter orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. It’s sold with the spices already added.

If you get your hands on glögg, heat it slowly without boiling to preserve the taste. Serve it in a small cup with raisins and peeled almonds. It goes well with a gingerbread cookie. Lately, it’s become popular to have the cookie with blue cheese. 😋

Candy and pastry

Fruits that are in season during winter are still commonly used as snacks around Christmas. Among them are dried dates and figs, oranges, hazelnuts, and walnuts. Excuse me, let’s move on to the sweets.

Knäck is a chewy toffee with roots in the late 19th century. [4] Try the recipe on Wikipedia!

Lussekatter are wheat buns with saffron. They’re formed into a rolled-up S with two raisins, one in the center of each roll. On the west coast of Sweden, lussekatter were often made without saffron. Lussekatter are primarily served on St. Lucy’s Day.

Pepparkakor (gingerbread cookies) are of course another Christmas classic. Swedish gingerbread cookies are very thin, around 2–3 mm or 1/8 inch. The seasoning typically includes cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and often bitter orange peel.

Conclusion

So there you have it: some classic Swedish Christmas foods with roots going back centuries. A Swedish julbord may include these as well as a selection of local or personal favorites. Is yours listed here? What’s something you would add?

Sources

1. Westergren, Björn, Bonniers Stora Kokbok, Bokgruppen i Malmö AB and BonnierFakta Bokförlag 1983 Bonnier Alba 1996.
2. https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risgrynsgr%C3%B6t, retrieved 5 December 2019
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julmust, retrieved 5 December 2019
4. https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kn%C3%A4ck, retrieved 5 December 2019