Christmas tables and Christmas food in Sweden have strong traditions, which also differ slightly around the country. At the same time, we are changing the traditions and introducing new dishes. We have collected a lot of information about Swedish Christmas food, and we would like to hear about your experiences.
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Christmas food in Sweden
When people talk about Christmas food in Sweden, they usually think of the Swedish Christmas table. The tradition of setting out a smorgasbord of many dishes is different from many other countries, perhaps with the exception of Finland with its 'boxes'. Christmas food in many countries is rather served as a classic dinner at a seated table.
Swedish Christmas food - why do we eat Christmas dinner?
A precursor to the Christmas table is the 'brandy table', which was popular among the bourgeoisie in the 18th century. Before fancy dinners, and on holidays such as Christmas, a starter consisting of bread, butter, cheese, herring or salmon and sausage or dried meat, as well as a few types of spiced brandy, was often served.
In the 19th century, the starter evolved into a full-scale smorgasbord. At the beginning of the 20th century, the habit of eating 'Christmas sandwiches' spread, followed by lutefisk as a main course and rice pudding as a dessert.
Classic dishes on a Swedish Christmas table
Most of the dishes that we now recognise as classic on a Swedish Christmas table only became popular in the 19th or 20th century. Here are some examples of Swedish Christmas food that are more or less classic:
- Pickled herring
- Herring salad
- Herring
- Grilled, smoked or cured salmon
- Jansson's temptation
- Eggs
- Christmas ham
- Meatballs
- Prince's sausage
- Other sausages
- Pâté and liver paste
- Spare ribs
- Beetroot salad
- Potatoes
- Different types of cabbage (red cabbage, Brussels sprouts etc.)
- Worthy bread
- East
- Lutefisk
- Rice pudding or rice á la Malta
Local specialities on the Swedish Christmas table
We live in an elongated country and Christmas traditions have been different in different parts of the country. Today, it may be becoming more and more standardised, but there are some local traditions that people like to keep. Here are some local dishes on the Christmas table according to Wikipedia. Now we would like to check with you who live in different parts of the country. Do you (still) eat these dishes? Are there more local Swedish Christmas foods that you can tell us about?
- Northern Sweden - game meat, blana (a mixture of mess butter and cream) and fatost (a northern speciality containing milk, cheese rennet, sugar and eggs).
- Hälsingland - grynkaka (a pudding made from semolina), rörost (a cheese flavoured with cinnamon, syrup and cardamom) and egg cheese.
- Gästrikland - semolina cake
- Värmland - pork sausage and Värmland sausage
- Uppland - Christmas pike and brown beans
- Östergötland - brown beans and pork sausage with white sauce
- Bohuslän - red cabbage, brown cheese (cheesecake) and egg cheese (dish made from milk, eggs, vinegar and film milk or sour cream).
- Västergötland - semolina sausage (unsmoked sausage made from pork, semolina and spices) and brown beans.
- Gotland - saffron pancake (dessert made from porridge rice, cream, milk, sugar, eggs, almonds and saffron).
- Öland - small fried body biscuits
- Småland - cheesecake, small fried body cakes and eel
- Halland - kale (long cabbage)
- Skåne - brown eel and luad eel (salted eel that is grilled and smoked)
Swedish Christmas food is changing
Christmas food traditions change over time, which is perhaps only natural. Here are some dishes that you might not see as often as you used to:
- Dip in the pot
- Pig's feet
- Christmas sausage
- Sylta
It's not just that dishes are becoming less popular - new ones are emerging! Here are some examples of dishes that can be seen on modern Christmas tables:
- Shrimp and other seafood
- Pies
- Kale in new forms (kale chips, kale pie, kale salad, etc.).
- Bacon wrapped dates
- Vegetarian and vegan dishes
Christmas drinks
People used to drink mead, beer or soft drinks - both at Christmas and at other times of the year. Since the entire Christmas table originates from the "Brännvinsbordet", nubbe is of course part of it, and schnapps is still common. However, the drink 'mumma' (a mixture of porter, port and sugar drink, lager or Christmas must) is not so common anymore. Here are some more classic Christmas drinks:
- Christmas beer
- Julmust
- mulled wine
- Eggnog
Christmas desserts
The classic dessert on a Swedish Christmas table is rice pudding or rice á la Malta. Here are some examples of other desserts you can see today:
- Cheesecake
- Saffron pancake
- Saffron cheesecake
- Saffron pannacotta
- Gingerbread ice cream
Christmas cakes and pastries
Eating biscuits at Christmas is a must! Lussebullar (lussekatter) and gingerbread are standard in many homes, and some may even make a gingerbread house. Here are examples of some other cakes that can be served at Christmas:
- Saffron rolls
- Soft gingerbread
- Almond clams
- clergymen
- biscuits
- Chess squares
- Cola cuts
Christmas goths
Treats have long been served at Christmas, and in the 18th and 19th centuries, Swedes in upper-class homes were inspired by foreign traditions and flavours. Exclusive products such as figs, dates, nuts, chocolate and marzipan were imported and served on the Christmas 'gottebord'. Other treats that are common today:
- Knuckles
- Ice chocolate
- Chocolate pralines
- Chocolate truffles
- Viennese nougat
- Rocky Road
- Kola
- Burnt almonds
- Polka dots
Christmas table in a restaurant
Christmas dining in restaurants became popular after the First World War, and Swedish Christmas food was served for a few Sundays before Christmas. Nowadays, Christmas tables start to be served already in November, and it is very popular among companies to invite their employees to a Christmas table. Here are some Christmas meals that I (Helena) have tried at work in Stockholm:
Christmas food in Sweden - questions for you about your traditions
Please answer the following questions:
- Do you remember any Swedish Christmas food from the past - that has become more unusual today?
- Have you introduced anything new to your Christmas table?
- Do you eat any dish that could be considered a local speciality where you live? What is it?
Many of the photos were taken at a fantastic home cooking Christmas table that Peter's talented niece Dessi invited us to a few years ago.
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Marias memoarer says:
I will make a salad based on kale and red cabbage this year actually ? The Swedish Christmas table is very similar to the Finnish-Swedish one, but we have boxes instead of Janssons and ribs? But sometimes I eat ribs and a few other little things at my mum's for Christmas lunch, so it doesn't look too much like the Christmas table served at my dad's in the evening? I'm a bit unsure how much we differ from the real Finnish Christmas table though, I'll try to research it.
22 December 2019 - 8:41
Helena says:
Nice to have something new on the Christmas table! 🙂 Very interesting about how the Finnish-Swedish and Finnish Christmas table differs. Feel free to tell me if you find out more! 🙂
22 December 2019 - 16:26
Ama de casa says:
1: When I was little, there were always pig's feet on the Christmas table. I liked them a lot and when I think about it, I probably didn't really know what I was eating. I was quite fussy about the food when I was little 🙂.
2: Not that I can think of ... We are struggling to try to get a classic Christmas table that (usually) is enjoyed out on the terrace. But some years we have had cauliflower son instead of the usual. Maybe that can be considered a new approach?
3: There is no local speciality for the Christmas table here in Spain for Christmas Eve. It's just an ordinary day. But I remember that when I was in Kalmar one Christmas Eve, I was very surprised that there were body cakes on the Christmas table. Surprised and happy - I love body biscuits 🙂.
Have a nice fourth advent!
3:
22 December 2019 - 10:34
Helena says:
I don't think I've ever actually tasted pig's feet. It doesn't sound like much fun, but who knows, maybe it's delicious? (And as a child it is sometimes good to know. I loved black pudding until I began to understand what it was ;)) I had also been surprised by the body cakes, but now I have understood that they can be found on the Christmas table in some places!
22 December 2019 - 16:28
Ditte says:
Fun and interesting compilation. Now Christmas food is not exactly my thing to eat but I like to read about it. I realise that I will probably have to try very little on Christmas Eve, but also hope for some seafood (I usually eat fresh lobster).
This week I have looked a lot in Jan Öjvind Swahn's book "Stora Julboken", including when I wrote the post about gingerbread a while ago. An exciting book where many of our traditions and origins in terms of food are discussed.
22 December 2019 - 10:43
Helena says:
I also think it is super interesting with traditions! Lobster does not sound stupid 😉 We have actually bought some Christmas food for ourselves today, but we only choose what we think is best 🙂 .
22 December 2019 - 16:29
Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Christmas food is always good in moderation. But I have never understood vegan Christmas food You can't call herring herring that is made from vegetables.
Easter and Midsummer are a bit the same the older you get, so I think it decreases with expectations.
But have a good Christmas and relax now
Greetings from us
22 December 2019 - 15:38
Helena says:
Agreed, it can be delicious in moderation! I (not being vegan or vegetarian) would never choose a vegan alternative to herring. However, I think it's nice that there's a bit more green on the Christmas table since there's so much meat and fish 😉.
22 December 2019 - 16:34
Maria / MagnoliaMagis says:
I agree that vegan ham, meatballs, sausages, herring etc. sounds so wrong! The son is vegan and there we have different views on the matter. Otherwise, there are many good things such as mushrooms in a classic 1-2-3 dish. Hot vegetable dishes and cold. But I'm not much for substitutes... Merry Christmas!
26 December 2019 - 14:25
BP says:
Yes, imagine how much you (read: I) didn't know about Christmas food. Pig's feet are actually still sold ready-cooked in cans but also fresh. I actually tried for the first time in my life to cook them myself. Was inspired by Finnish-Swedish Paula (https://paulaz.se/) who ate them for the Nobel dinner on TV. I didn't really understand what it was you could eat, but the jelly was incredibly good, as I spiked it with a lot of spices.
One thing I haven't seen in a long time is Aladåb, a kind of jam. No great loss...
It would actually be interesting to know how many fish shops/restaurants still sell/offer eel. I actually love eel, but it is said to be endangered. I thought it was mostly in Skåne that you "must have" eel on the Christmas table.
22 December 2019 - 17:07
Helena says:
Wow, how brave of you to try cooking pig's feet yourself!!! Right, aladåb, I had almost forgotten that word 😉 But in general, jams and similar products are not a favourite for me ... Eels are well restricted, but when we were on the coast outside Åhus, we understood that you can fish eels there. I see that eel is on my list for Småland too. The information comes from Wikipedia, but have not double-checked in other ways.
23 December 2019 - 10:12
Elisabeth says:
There will be lots of good things of all kinds!
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Elisabeth and Lennart
22 December 2019 - 23:03
Helena says:
Thank you very much! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
24 December 2019 - 9:28
Maria / MagnoliaMagis says:
Imagine how much good food there is anyway!... In our house, more vegetables have come in as the son is vegan. Something that is really good is to replace the herring in the pickling with mushrooms !!! Really nice as it lightens up and does not become so powerful! Kale is quite new to us, while the sausage has always been there and still exists as it is a must for my brother and dad, as well as the brown beans (yes we are from Västergötland). The veal jam has disappeared and it's nice!
Merry Christmas!!!
23 December 2019 - 21:27
Helena says:
Interesting to hear what has changed in your house! We have always eaten kale (since my parents are from Halland) but today it is sometimes served in new and interesting ways! I don't miss jam either ... Merry Christmas!
24 December 2019 - 9:30
Lena - gott för själen says:
Hmm, yes, grandma always had veal stew, I remember. I haven't seen it on any Christmas table for a long time.
Cinnamon pork is something new we have quite often nowadays. It's pork belly fried with an embarrassing amount of cinnamon. Sounds crazy, but it's really good.
Hug Lena
26 December 2019 - 18:00