Smörgåsbord () is a

buffet A buffet can be either a sideboard (a flat-topped piece of furniture with cupboards and drawers, used for storing crockery, glasses, and table linen) or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve ...

-style meal of Swedish origin. It is served with various hot and cold dishes. Smörgåsbord became internationally known at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purc ...

when it was offered at the Swedish Pavilion "Three Crowns Restaurant". It is typically a celebratory meal and guests can help themselves from a range of dishes laid out for their choice. In a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

the term refers to a buffet-style table laid out with many small dishes from which, for a fixed amount of money, one is allowed to choose as many as one wishes.

Etymology

In Northern Europe, the term varies between "cold table" and "

": In

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

it is called or ''kaldtbord'', in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(literally "the cold table"), in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, (cold table); in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and in

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(literally "cold buffet"); in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

it is called ("loaded/covered table"), in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

it is called ("Swedish table") or ''puhvetlaud'' ("buffet table"), in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

("the cold table"), 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 ...

("butter-bread/sandwich table") or ''ruotsalainen seisova pöytä'' ("Swedish standing table/buffet"). In

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

, it is a called "Shvedskyj stol" ("Swedish table") (

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking co ...

: Шведский стол) or "zakusochnyj stol" ("snack table") (

: закусочный стол) or "kholodnyj stol"("cold table") (

: холодный стол). In Central and Eastern Europe each language has a term meaning "Swedish table". In

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

it is referred to as / (''baikingu'' / ''vaikingu'', i.e. "Viking"). The Swedish word consists of the words ''smörgås'' ("sandwich", usually open-faced) and ''bord'' ("table"). ''Smörgås'' in turn consists of the words ''smör'' ("butter", cognate with English ''smear'') and ''gås'' (literally "goose", but later referred to the small pieces of

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condim ...

that formed and floated to the surface of cream while it was churned). The small butter pieces were just the right size to be placed and flattened out on bread, so ''smörgås'' came to mean "buttered bread". In Sweden, the term ''att bre(da) smörgåsar'' ("to spread butter on open-faced sandwiches") has been used since at least the 16th century. In

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

the word ''smorgasbord'' refers loosely to any buffet with a variety of dishes and is not necessarily used to reference traditional

Swedish cuisine Swedish cuisine () is the traditional food of Sweden. Due to Sweden's large north-to-south expanse, there are regional differences between the cuisine of North and South Sweden. Historically, in the far north, meats such as reindeer, and other ...

. In Sweden, ''smörgåsbord'' instead refers to a buffet consisting mainly of traditional dishes. The buffet concept remains popular in Sweden even outside of its traditional presentation. Buffets are for example commonly served at larger private gatherings consisting of any type of food, or at fika with a variety of pastries. For restaurants in Sweden of various types of

Asian cuisine Asian cuisine includes several major regional cuisines: Central Asian, East Asian, North Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and West Asian. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with ...

it is common to offer an

all-you-can-eat buffet A buffet can be either a sideboard (a flat-topped piece of furniture with cupboards and drawers, used for storing crockery, glasses, and table linen) or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve ...

(in particular for lunch customers), and is referred to with the more generic term ''buffé'' ("buffet"). In an extended sense, the word is used to refer to any situation which invites patrons to select whatever they wish from an abundant selection, such as the smorgasbord of university courses, books in a bookstore, etc.

''Smörgåsbord'' and ''julbord''

A traditional Swedish ''smörgåsbord'' consists of both hot and cold dishes. Bread, butter, and cheese are always part of the ''smörgåsbord''. It is customary to begin with cold fish dishes, which are generally various forms of

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...

, and eel. After eating the first portion, people usually continue with the second course (other cold dishes), and round off with hot dishes.

Dessert Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and most parts o ...

may or may not be included in a smörgåsbord.

Julbord

A special Swedish type of is the (literally "

Yule Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indi ...

/Christmas table"). The classic Swedish julbord is central to traditional

. A traditional ''julbord'' is typically eaten buffet-style in five to seven courses (depending on local and family traditions). The first three courses are usually fish courses. The first plate is an assortment of different pickled herrings served with sour cream and chives. The second is a variety of cold fish, particularly several kinds of lox (e.g. gravlax); the third plate is hot fish dishes, particularly

lutfisk ''Lutefisk'' ( Norwegian, in Northern and parts of Central Norway, in Southern Norway; sv, lutfisk ; fi, lipeäkala ; literally "lye fish") is dried whitefish (normally cod, but ling and burbot are also used). It is made from aged stock ...

. Other traditional dishes are be (smoked) eel,

rollmops Rollmops () are pickled herring fillets, rolled into a cylindrical shape, often around a savoury filling. Presentation The filling usually consists of onion, sliced pickled gherkin, or green olive with pimento. Rollmops are often skewered with ...

, herring salad, baked herring, smoked salmon, smoked

char Char may refer to: People * Char Fontane, American actress * Char Margolis, American spiritualist * René Char (1907–1988), French poet *The Char family of Colombia: ** Fuad Char, Colombian senator ** Alejandro Char Chaljub, mayor of Barranquill ...

and shellfish canapés, accompanied by sauces and dips. The fourth course is often a selection of cold sliced meats, the most important cold cut being Christmas ham (''julskinka'') with mustard. Other traditional cuts include smoked sausages, leverpastej, wild game cuts, smoked leg of lamb (''fårfiol''), pâtés and several types of brawn (''sylta''). It is also common to serve the cold meats with sliced

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...

, pickled

cucumbers Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.crispbreads. Julbord 1990b

The fifth course consists of warm dishes (''småvarmt''). Traditionally, the fifth course begins with soaking bread in the

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a compan ...

from the Christmas ham, which is called ''dopp i grytan''. Warm dishes include Swedish

meatballs A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many typ ...

(''köttbullar''), small fried hot-dog-type sausages (''

prinskorv Prinskorv, which directly translates to "prince sausage", is a small Swedish sausage which is often sold in links. Created in 1805 by Viennese butcher Georg Lahner, this dish is usually fried in a frying pan and served with a generous helping of m ...

''), roasted pork ribs ('' revbensspjäll''), pork sausages (''

fläskkorv Fläskkorv () is a Swedish sausage made largely or entirely from pork.Travel Stockholm, Sweden: An Illustrated Guide, Phrasebook, and Maps. Published. MobileReference, 2007. Traditionally it is sold raw (though now it is not uncommon to find precook ...

''), potato sausages ('' potatiskorv''), and '' Janssons frestelse'' (literally "Jansson's Temptation"; a warm potato casserole), matchstick potatoes layered with cream, onion and sprats. Side dishes include

beetroot The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden bee ...

salad in mayonnaise and warm stewed red, green or brown

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&n ...

and boiled potatoes. The sixth and seventh courses are a cheese plate and a dessert plate. Julbord cheeses include Stilton, Cheddar, ''västerbottenost'' and Christmas Edam cheese (''edammer''). Desserts include rosettes (''struvor''), klenäts (''klenäter''), polkagrisar, knäck, dates, figs, ischoklad, saffron buns, ''mandelmusslor'', gingerbread cookies, marzipan figures, different kinds of nuts, risalamande, and, most importantly,

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 ...

(''risgrynsgröt'') sprinkled with

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

powder. Traditionally, an

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 ...

is hidden in the bowl of rice pudding and whoever finds it receives a small prize or is recognised for having good luck. A ''julbord'' often also include local and family specialties. Among them are '' isterband,'' baked beans,

omelette In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives ...

with shrimps or mushrooms covered with béchamel sauce, ''äggost, saffranspannkaka, långkål, rörost, ostkaka,

kroppkakor Kroppkaka (plural "kroppkakor") is a traditional Swedish boiled potato dumpling, most commonly filled with onions and meat. Potatoes, wheat flour, onion, salt and minced meat/pork are common ingredients in kroppkaka. They are very similar to th ...

and julgädda.''

Beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

and the occasional snaps, brännvin or akvavit are common beverages served with this Christmas meal. The seasonal soft drink '' julmust'' is also served at the ''julbord'', as well as during the whole Christmas holiday. The Christmas ham is either boiled or broiled and then painted and glazed with a mixture of egg, breadcrumbs and mustard.

Lutfisk ''Lutefisk'' ( Norwegian, in Northern and parts of Central Norway, in Southern Norway; sv, lutfisk ; fi, lipeäkala ; literally "lye fish") is dried whitefish (normally cod, but ling and burbot are also used). It is made from aged stock ...

, lyed fish made of stockfish (dried

ling Ling may refer to: Fictional characters * Ling, an ally of James Bond's from the film ''You Only Live Twice'' * Ling, a character in the ''Mulan'' franchise * Ling, a playable character from the mobile game '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'' * Ling ...

or cod), is served with boiled potato, thick white sauce or mustard sauce, green peas and sometimes cubed bacon. More and more families opt to eat ''lutfisk'' as dinner the day before or after Christmas Eve rather than as a dish among other at the ''julbord''. ''Julbord'' is served from early December until just before Christmas at restaurants and until Epiphany in some homes. It is traditional for most Swedish and Norwegian workplaces to hold an annual ''julbord'' between November and January.

History

The members of the Swedish merchant and upper class in sixteenth-century Sweden and Finland served

schnapps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to neu ...

table (''brännvinsbord''), a small buffet presented on a side table offering a variety of

hors d'oeuvres An hors d'oeuvre ( ; french: hors-d'œuvre ), appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the m ...

served prior to a meal before sitting at the dinner table. The most simple ''brännvinsbord'' was bread, butter, cheese, herring and several types of liqueurs; but smoked salmon, sausages and cold cuts were also served. The '' brännvinsbord '' was served as an appetizer for a gathering of people and eaten while standing before a dinner or supper, often two to five hours before dinner, sometimes with the men and women in separate rooms.Nordiska Museet
in Swedish The ''smörgåsbord'' became popular in the mid-seventeenth century, when the food moved from the side table to the main table and service began containing both warm and cold dishes. ''Smörgåsbord'' was also served as an appetizer in hotels and later at

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

s, before the

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that do ...

s time for the guests. During the

1912 Olympic Games Year 191 ( CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 ''Ab urbe condit ...

, restaurants in Stockholm stopped serving ''smörgåsbord'' as an appetizer and started serving them instead as a main course. Since March 2020, many smörgåsbords were suspended because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, as there are restaurants offering take-away or delivery. In small towns in parts of the Canadian prairies a communal potluck called a smörgåsbord is a common event organized by local service organizations to raise money for needy causes. Willing individuals in town will commit to providing various desserts and side dishes while the service organization will be responsible for providing the main course(s). This often includes roast beef, pork, and turkey, a variety of boiled vegetables, potatoes and gravy. Typically these are heavily attended events held on a weekend, often over multiple days drawing people from surrounding small towns, each of which can count on a similar attendance from neighboring towns and villages when they hold their own smörgåsbord.

References

External links