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 Pur ...

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 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 country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

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 , establishe ...

(literally "the cold table"), in the

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

, (cold table); in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

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 Nether ...

(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, and t ...

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 Bo ...

("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-eigh ...

, 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 invas ...

, it is a called "Shvedskyj stol" ("Swedish table") ( Cyrillic: Шведский стол) or "zakusochnyj stol" ("snack table") ( Cyrillic: закусочный стол) or "kholodnyj stol"("cold table") ( Cyrillic: холодный стол). In Central and Eastern Europe each language has a term meaning "Swedish table". In Japan it is referred to as / (''baikingu'' / ''vaikingu'', i.e. "Viking"). The Swedish word consists of the words ''smörgås'' ("sandwich", usually

open-faced An open sandwich, also known as an open-face/open-faced sandwich, bread baser, bread platter or tartine, consists of a slice of bread or toast with one or more food items on top. History During the start of the middle ages, thin slabs of coar ...

) 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 (food), spread, melted a ...

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 id ...

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

it is common to offer an all-you-can-eat buffet (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 Ocea ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

, and

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

. 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 indige ...

/Christmas table"). The classic Swedish julbord is central to traditional Swedish cuisine. 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 Gravlax () or graved salmon is a Nordic dish consisting of salmon that is cured using a mix of salt and sugar, and either dill or sprucetwigs placed on top, and may occasionally be cold-smoked afterwards. Gravlax is usually served as an appet ...

); the third plate is hot fish dishes, particularly lutfisk. 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 wit ...

, herring salad, baked herring, smoked salmon, smoked char 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 A Christmas ham or Yule ham is a ham often served for Christmas dinner or during Yule in Northern Europe and the Anglosphere. The style of preparation varies widely by place and time. Despite the common claim that the tradition of eating ham i ...

(''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 product ...

, 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 company ...

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 types ...

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

pork ribs Pork ribs are a cut of pork popular in Western and Asian cuisines. The ribcage of a domestic pig, meat and bones together, is cut into usable pieces, prepared by smoking, grilling, or baking – usually with a sauce, often barbecue – and the ...

('' revbensspjäll''), pork sausages ('' fläskkorv''), potato sausages ('' potatiskorv''), and ''

Janssons frestelse Jansson's temptation (Swedish: Janssons frestelse ()) is a traditional Swedish casserole made of potatoes, onions, pickled sprats, bread crumbs and cream. It is commonly included in a Swedish '' julbord'' (Christmas '' smörgåsbord''), and t ...

'' (literally "Jansson's Temptation"; a warm potato casserole), matchstick potatoes layered with cream, onion and

sprats ''Sprattus'' is a genus of small oily fish of the family Clupeidae. They are more usually known by their common name, sprats. There are five species in the genus. Species * '' Sprattus antipodum'' (Hector, 1872) (New Zealand blueback sprat) ...

. 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 beet ...

salad in mayonnaise and warm stewed red, green or brown cabbage and boiled potatoes. The sixth and seventh courses are a cheese plate and a dessert plate. Julbord cheeses include

Stilton Stilton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, about north of Huntingdon in Huntingdonshire, which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic county of England. History There is evidence of Neo ...

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and ...

, ''västerbottenost'' and Christmas

Edam cheese Edam ( nl, Edammer, ) is a semi-hard cheese that originated in the Netherlands, and is named after the town of Edam in the province of North Holland. Edam is traditionally sold in flat-ended spheres with a pale yellow interior and a coat, or rin ...

(''edammer''). Desserts include rosettes (''struvor''),

klenät ''Klenät'', ''kleinur'', ''klena'', ''klejne'', ''kleina'', ''kleyna'', and ''fattigmann'' are all names for Angel wings, a fried pastry common in the Nordic countries as well as the rest of Europe and the United States. In nearby countries (s ...

s (''klenäter''),

polkagrisar Polkagris (plural: ''polkagrisar'') is a Sweden, Swedish stick candy that was invented in 1859 by Amalia Eriksson in the town of Gränna, Sweden. It remains a well-known albeit old-fashioned candy in Sweden, often sold at fairs, Christmas market ...

, knäck, dates,

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the worl ...

, ischoklad, saffron buns, ''mandelmusslor'',

gingerbread cookie Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as ...

s, marzipan figures, different kinds of nuts,

risalamande Risalamande (also spelled as ''ris à l'amande'') is a traditional Danish dessert served at Christmas dinner and julefrokost (Christmas lunch). It is made of rice pudding mixed with whipped cream, sugar, vanilla, and chopped almonds. It is ser ...

, 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, brea ...

powder. Traditionally, an almond 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 Isterband (Swedish: "lard-strips") is a coarsely ground, lightly smoked sausage from Sweden. It is made of pork, barley groats and potato. There are many varieties of isterband in Swedish cuisine, such as "småländska isterband" from the regio ...

,''

baked beans Baked beans is a dish traditionally containing white beans that are parboiled and then, in the US, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. In the United Kingdom, the dish is sometimes baked, but usually stewed in sauce. Canne ...

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 Saffranspannkaka or Gotlandspannkaka ''(English: saffron pancake or Gotland pancake, Gutnish: saffranspannkake or saffranspannkakå)'' is a dessert from the island of Gotland, Sweden, and is considered one of their provincial dishes. It is made of ...

, långkål, rörost,

ostkaka Ostkaka, meaning "cheese" and meaning "cake" in Swedish, also known as Swedish cheesecake or Swedish curd cake, is a Swedish dessert that has its roots in two different parts of Sweden, Hälsingland and Småland, though there are some differen ...

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 cer ...

and the occasional

snaps Snaps ( ) is a Danish and Swedish word for a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal. A ritual that is associated with drinking snaps is a tradition in Scandinavia, especially in Denmark and Sweden, where ...

brännvin Brännvin is a Swedish liquor distilled from potatoes, grain, or (formerly) wood cellulose. It can be plain and colourless, or flavoured with herbs and spices. Beverages labelled ''brännvin'' are usually plain and have an alcohol content betwee ...

akvavit ''Akvavit'' or ''aquavit'' (; also ''akevitt'' in Norwegian; ''aquavit'' in English) is a distilled spirit that is principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century. ''Akvavit'' is distilled from grain or po ...

are common beverages served with this Christmas meal. The seasonal soft drink ''

julmust ''Julmust'' ( sv, jul "yule" and ' English: 'must' "not-yet-fermented juice of fruit or berries", though there is no such juice in ''julmust'') is a soft drink that is mainly consumed in Sweden around Christmas. During Easter, the name is ' (fr ...

'' 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, lyed fish made of stockfish (dried ling or

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not c ...

), is served with boiled potato, thick

white sauce White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

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 ne ...

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 ...

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 condi ...

, 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 identified ...

, as there are restaurants offering

take-away A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

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