Smörgåsbord
Smörgåsbord (Swedish: [ˈsmœrɡɔsˌbuːɖ]) is a type of Scandinavian meal,
originating in Sweden, served buffet-style with multiple hot and cold
dishes of various foods on a table.
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The Swedish word smörgåsbord 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. Gås literally
means goose, but later referred to the small pieces of butter that
formed and floated to the surface of cream while it was churned.
A special Swedish type of smörgåsbord is the julbord (literally "Christmas table").
The classic Swedish julbord is central to traditional Swedish cuisine, often including
bread dipped in ham broth and continuing with a variety of fish (salmon, herring,
whitefish and eel), baked ham, meatballs, pork ribs, head cheese, sausages, potato,
Janssons frestelse, boiled potatoes, cheeses, beetroot salad, various forms of boiled
cabbage, kale and rice pudding.
It is customary to eat particular foods together; herring is typically eaten
with boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs and is frequently accompanied by strong
spirits like snaps, brännvin or akvavit with or without spices. Other traditional
foods are smoked eel, rollmops, herring salad, baked herring and smoked salmon.