The swedish Christmas food is very tasty. I have tried Christmas food from other countries and the Swedish is in my opinion one of the best in the world.
The swedish Christmas food can vary some nowadays and is not as traditional and similar for people as it used to be. Some people want vegetarian Christmas food and put in other new dishes. But here I will show a fairly traditional variant. Both the products people buy in the store and finished on the plate.
I start with the Christmas eve buffé with the swedish name first (I did my best with the translation).
Julskinka - Christmas ham. For many swedes the most important dish on the Christmas table. Sliced and often served with mustard. Nowadays it is most common to buy cooked but there is a long tradition to cook it at home and grin with mustard. A even older tradition is to dip bread in the spade.
Mimosasallad - Mimosa salad. Served cold as it is.
Potatissallad - Potato salad. Served cold as it is.
Hot dogs. I use with chicken meat but it goes fine with ordinary hot dogs. Cut into pieces and fried.
Kalvsylta - Jellied veal. Sliced and served cold.
Rödbetssallad - Beetroot. Served cold as it is.
Löksill - Canned herring in onion. Many people use ordinary canned herring. Served cold as it is.
Senapssill - Canned herring in mustard sauce. Served cold as it is.
Leverpastej - Liver pasty. Sliced and served cold.
Rödkål - Red cabbage. Cut in small pieces and fried with salt, sugar, vinegar and syrup. Served warm.
Köttbullar - Meatballs. Fried and served warm.
Brysselkål - Brussels sprouts. Boliled with salt and served warm.
Gurka - Cucumber. Sliced and canned with vinegar, sugar and parsley. Served cold. This is a tradition in my family and maybe not everybody knows this delicacy.
And here is the finished buffé.
To the Christmas eve buffé many people drinks julmust, a soda with ground hops I guess. The recipe is a secret.
Lutfisk - Stockfish.
Lutfisk - Stockfish with potatoes and white sauce is often served later in the Christmas eve. But my stomach is so full I do it on the days after Christmas eve. Not all people like this but I do. This is my mama`s recipe:
Put the stockfish in foil and sprinkle salt over. Grill it in the oven for about 45 minutes in 175 degrees. Boil potatoes with salt. Make white sauce of milk, black pepper, white pepper, salt, mustard and make it thick with a mix of wheat flour and water. Served warm with butter on the fish. Some people have boiled peas to this but I don´t like it.
Ostkaka - Cheesecake. It is an very old traditional Swedish food from 1500s or middle ages.
Cheesecake served with strawberry jam and cream.
Vörtbröd - Wort bread. It is common to eat to the Christmas eve buffé with edam cheese or ham with mustard. But can also be eaten separate with leftovers from the buffé in many variants or other spread.
Edamer - Edam cheese for the wort bread or christmas crispbread.
Wort bread with ham and mustard. Incredibly tasty.
Wort bread with jellied veal, canned beetroot, potato salad and herring in mustard sauce. In the glass it is Christmas soda.
Ansjovis - Anchovy. It is used in Janssons frestelse, "Jansson´s temptation".
Cream. It is used in Janssons frestelse, "Jansson´s temptation".
Janssons frestelse - "Jansson´s temptation". Mix sliced potatoes, onion, cream and ansjovis. On the top it is butter and breadcrumbs. Then grill it in the oven. Often served warm on the Christmas eve buffé but I like to eat it alone on the days after Chritmas eve. One of my favorite dishes.
Risgrynsgröt - Rice porridge. Used in the dish Ris a la Malta. A dessert on Christmas eve.
Saftsoppa - Juice soup. Used in Ris a la Malta.
Mandariner - Tangerines. Used in Ris a la Malta.
Ris a la Malta - "Rice a la Malta". A Christmas Eve dessert. Many swedes, me and many danes are crazy about this delicious dish. But the danes makes it without tangerines. Mix rice porridge, cream, tangerines and sugar. Serve cold with cold juice soup or cherry sauce. The danes use cherry sauce.
Glögg - Mulled and spiced wine. A beverage for the Christmas eve evening. Served heated.
Small cups for mulled and spiced wine. These are a little bit old.
Now we come to the candy, cookies and so on:
Glögg, chokladbollar, pepparkakor - Mulled and spiced wine, gingerbread cookies and "chocolate balls". Can be eaten any day in Christmas time. The chocolate balls are mady of oatmeal, cocoa and butter.
Juleskum. A kind of marsmallows formed as Santa Claus.
Lösgodis - Candy. Picked by me in the grocery ICA with a small spade and put in the bag. There are many varieties to choose from and people have their own favorites.
Lösgodis - Candy.
Salta pinnar - "Salty sticks".
