Smörgåsbord facts for kids
| Type | Meal |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Sweden |
| Serving temperature | Hot and cold |
| Main ingredients | Bread, butter, and cheese |
A Smörgåsbord (say it: SMUR-gohs-boord) is a special type of meal from Sweden. It's served like a buffet, with many different hot and cold dishes on a big table. Guests can choose whatever they like!
This Swedish meal became famous around the world at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It was served at the Swedish Pavilion's "Three Crowns Restaurant." Smörgåsbord is often a meal for celebrations. In a restaurant, it means you pay one price and can eat as much as you want from the many small dishes.
Contents
What's in a Smörgåsbord?
A traditional Swedish smörgåsbord has both hot and cold foods. You will always find bread, butter, and cheese. People usually start with cold fish dishes. These often include different kinds of herring and salmon.
After the fish, people move on to other cold dishes. Finally, they enjoy the hot dishes. Sometimes, dessert is also part of the smörgåsbord.
The Christmas Smörgåsbord (Julbord)
A very special kind of Swedish smörgåsbord is called the julbord. This means "Christmas table." It's a big part of traditional Swedish cuisine during the holidays.
A traditional julbord is usually eaten in several courses, like a buffet.
- The first courses are often fish dishes. You might find pickled herring or different types of cold salmon.
- Next come cold sliced meats. The most important one is the Christmas ham (julskinka) with mustard. Other meats might include sausages or liver pâté. These are often served with cheese and pickled cucumbers.
- Then, there are warm dishes. These can include Swedish meatballs, small fried sausages, and a potato casserole called Janssons frestelse.
- The meal often ends with a cheese plate and a dessert plate. Desserts might include rice pudding with cinnamon. A fun tradition is to hide an almond in the rice pudding. Whoever finds it gets a small prize or good luck!
People often drink beer or a special Christmas soft drink called julmust with their julbord.
In Denmark, there's a similar Christmas meal called julefrokost. It's a big Christmas lunch with many cold and hot dishes, plus drinks. It's different from their Christmas dinner, which is served on December 24th.
How the Name Came About
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The Swedish word smörgåsbord is made of two words: smörgås and bord.
- Smörgås means "sandwich," usually an open-faced one. It comes from smör (butter) and gås (which used to mean small pieces of butter floating on cream). So, smörgås came to mean "buttered bread."
- Bord simply means "table."
So, smörgåsbord literally means "butter-bread table."
In English, the word "smorgasbord" can mean any buffet with many different dishes. It doesn't always refer to traditional Swedish food. But in Sweden, smörgåsbord usually means a buffet with classic Swedish dishes.
The idea of a buffet is still very popular in Sweden. Many restaurants, especially those serving Asian cuisine, offer "all-you-can-eat" buffets for lunch. They call this a buffé.
Sometimes, the word "smorgasbord" is used more generally. It can describe any situation where you can choose from a large variety of things. For example, a "smorgasbord of university courses" means many different classes to pick from.
History of the Smörgåsbord
In the 1500s, rich people in Sweden and Finland had something called a brännvinsbord (schnapps table). This was a small buffet on a side table. It had appetizers like bread, butter, cheese, herring, and different drinks. People would eat these while standing before the main meal.
The smörgåsbord became popular in the mid-1600s. The food moved from the side table to the main table, and it started to include both warm and cold dishes.
At first, smörgåsbord was served as an appetizer in hotels and at train stations. But during the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, restaurants started serving smörgåsbord as the main meal instead of just an appetizer.
Since March 2020, many smörgåsbords were stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some restaurants now offer their buffet items for take-away or delivery.
In some small towns in Canada, a community potluck event called a smörgåsbord is held. People bring desserts and side dishes, and the organizers provide main courses like roast beef or turkey. These events help raise money for good causes.
See also
In Spanish: Smörgåsbord para niños
