Smorgasbord

Smörgåsbord(Swedish:[ˈsmœ̂rɡɔsˌbuːɖ],lit.'sandwich-table') is abuffet-style meal ofSwedishorigin. It is served with various hot and mainly colddishes.
Smörgåsbord became known in the US at the1939 New York World's Fairwhen it was offered at the Swedish Pavilion's 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 arestaurantthe term refers to abuffet-style tablelaid out with many small dishes from which, for a fixed amount of money, one is allowed to choose as many as one wishes.
A traditionalSwedishsmörgåsbordconsists of both hot and cold dishes. Bread, butter, and cheese are always part of thesmörgåsbord. It is customary to begin with cold fish dishes, which are generally various forms ofherring,salmon, andeel. After eating the first portion, people usually continue with the second course (other cold dishes), and round off with hot dishes.Dessertmay or may not be included in a smörgåsbord.
In Northern Europe, the term varies between "cold table" and "buffet": In Norway it is calledkoldtbordorkaldtbord, in Denmarkdet kolde bord(literally "the cold table"), in theFaroe Islands,kalt borð(cold table); in Germanykaltes Buffetand inthe Netherlandskoud buffet(literally "cold buffet"); in Iceland it is calledhlaðborð("loaded/covered table"), inEstoniait is calledRootsi laud("Swedish table") orpuhvetlaud("buffet table"), inLatviaaukstais galds("the cold table"), inLithuaniašvediškas stalas("Swedish table"), in Finlandvoileipäpöytä("butter-bread/sandwich table") orruotsalainen seisova pöytä("Swedish standing table/buffet"). In Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and the Balkans, it is a called "shvedskyj stol" or "shvedskyi stil" ("Swedish table") (Cyrillic: шведский стол / шведський стiл) 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バイキング/ヴァイキング(baikingu/vaikingu, i.e. "Viking").
The Swedish wordsmörgåsbordconsists of the wordssmörgås("sandwich", usuallyopen-faced) andbord("table").Smörgåsin turn consists of the wordssmör("butter", cognate with Englishsmear) andgås(literally "goose", but later referred to the small pieces ofbutterthat 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, sosmörgåscame to mean "buttered bread". In Sweden, the termatt bre(da) smörgåsar("to spread butter on open-faced sandwiches") has been used since at least the 16th century.
In English the wordsmorgasbordrefers loosely to any buffet with a variety of dishes (as well as a metaphor for a variety or collection of anything, particularly an extensive or disorganized one), and is not necessarily used to reference traditionalSwedish cuisine. In Sweden,smörgåsbordinstead 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 atfikawith a variety of pastries. For restaurants in Sweden of various types ofAsian cuisineit is common to offer anall-you-can-eat buffet(in particular for lunch customers), which is referred to with the more generic termbuffé("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.
A special Swedish type ofsmörgåsbordis thejulbord(literally "Yule/Christmas table"). The classic Swedish julbord is central to traditionalSwedish cuisine.
A traditionaljulbordis 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, particularlylutfisk. Other traditional dishes are (smoked) eel,rollmops, herring salad, baked herring, smoked salmon, smokedcharand shellfishcanapés, accompanied by sauces and dips.
The fourth course is often a selection of cold sliced meats, the most important cold cut beingChristmas ham(julskinka) with mustard. Other traditional cuts include smoked sausages,leverpastej, wild game cuts, smoked leg of lamb (fårfiol), pâtés and several types ofbrawn(sylta). It is also common to serve the cold meats with slicedcheese, pickledcucumbersand soft (vörtbröd) andcrispbreads.
The fifth course consists of warm dishes (småvarmt). Traditionally, the fifth course begins with soaking bread in thestockfrom the Christmas ham, which is calleddopp i grytan. Warm dishes include Swedishmeatballs(köttbullar), small fried hot-dog-type sausages (prinskorv), roastedpork ribs(revbensspjäll), pork sausages (fläskkorv), potato sausages (potatiskorv), andJanssons frestelse(literally "Jansson's Temptation"; a warm potato casserole), matchstick potatoes layered with cream, onion andsprats. Side dishes includebeetrootsalad in mayonnaise and warm stewed red, green or browncabbageand boiled potatoes.
The sixth and seventh courses are a cheese plate and a dessert plate. Julbord cheeses includeStilton,Cheddar,västerbottenostand ChristmasEdam cheese(edammer). Desserts includerosettes(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(risgrynsgröt) sprinkled withcinnamonpowder. Traditionally, analmondis hidden in the bowl of rice pudding and whoever finds it receives a small prize or is recognised for having good luck.
Ajulbordoften also include local and family specialties. Among them areisterband,baked beans,omelettewith shrimps or mushrooms covered with béchamel sauce,äggost,saffranspannkaka,långkål, rörost,ostkaka,kroppkakorandjulgädda.
Beerand the occasionalsnaps,brännvinorakvavitare common beverages served with this Christmas meal. The seasonal soft drinkjulmustis also served at thejulbord, 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 (driedlingorcod), is served with boiled potato, thickwhite sauceor mustard sauce, green peas and sometimes cubed bacon. More and more families opt to eatlutfiskas dinner the day before or after Christmas Eve rather than as a dish among other at thejulbord.
Julbordis served from early December until just before Christmas at restaurants and untilEpiphanyin some homes. It is traditional for most Swedish and Norwegian workplaces to hold an annualjulbordbetween November and January.
The members of the Swedish merchant and upper class in sixteenth-century Sweden and Finland served a small buffet on asnapstable (brännvinsbord), offering a variety ofhors d'oeuvresserved prior to a meal before sitting at the dinner table.The most simplebrännvinsbordwas bread, butter, cheese, herring and several types of liqueurs; but smoked salmon, sausages and cold cuts were also served. Thebrännvinsbordwas 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.Thesmörgåsbordbecame popular in the mid-seventeenth century, when the food moved from the side table to the main tableand service began containing both warm and cold dishes.Smörgåsbordwas also served as an appetizer in hotels and later atrailway stations, before thedining carstime for the guests. During the1912 Olympic Games, restaurants in Stockholm stopped servingsmörgåsbordas an appetizer and started serving them instead as a main course.