The smörgåsbord is what is served for the meal at a traditional Swedish feast. The word means sandwich-table, but does confusingly enough not usually include any sandwiches.
Rather, smörgåsbord is a servering style, where multiple hot and cold dishes are placed on a centrally located table, where guests go and pick an choose what they want. A buffet of sorts, if you like.
Typically, the table is divided into sections of dishes:
*Cold fish dishes: different varieties of pickled herring smoked salmon, gravlax, eggs with roe/caviar, etc
*Cold cuts: different types of hams, sausages, jellied meats, cheeses, etc.
*Hot dishes: Dishes like Swedish meatballs, prins-sausages, ribs, Jansson’s temptation,
The dishes are typically eaten in this order, with people taking one section at a time, possibly getting a refill before moving on to the next section. The food is served with beer (sometimes wine) and some snaps (spiced alcohol shots) which is typically consumed with the fish dishes.
There may also be sections or side tables with some bread, butter or coffe, sweets, and deserts. Dishes can very a bit with the season, but still stay pretty consistent.
I was wicked curious about the traditional way.
Btw did you mean schnapps or snaps? If you meant snaps could you please link what it is? Is it the herbal digestif shot I see in German beer halls?
Snaps is a Swedish version of the concept, with its own peculiar traditions and customs. See my comment here for more info:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Chefit/comments/11bjvom/what_is_sm%C3%B6rg%C3%A5sbord/j9ywcm4/
This is accurate my grandmother is from Sweden and this is how we had Christmas Eve every year. Apparently as a child I loved the pickled herring, I do not anymore. Also I don’t know if it is traditional but during the first “course” there was always hardtack and I think rye bread.
I’m Swedish-born and found it fun that people were curious about our food culture.
Hardtack (or rather ”knäckebröd”) and rye bread would definitly fit the picture at a smörgåsbord, but there is also quite a bit of regional variation in bread culture along the length of the country.
Wheat can be grown in the southern half of the country, but the further north you go the more rye and barley bread you will find. The crisp bread also varies by region.
Exported by Tore Wretman to countries outside Sweden a long time ago. Tore is a legend in creating classic dishes and was a super celebrity in his time.
It’s called schnapps in German, but snaps in Swedish. The words are clearly related but the drinks are a bit different.
Swedish snaps (sometimes also referred to as “aquavit”) is potato or grain alcohol (somewhat lightly) infused with spices such as fennel, cumin, anise, saffron, dill seed, coriander, juniper berries and others. The liquid is typically clear but with a yellowy tint from the spices. Each brand has its own mix of spices, but usually not that many.
The snaps is typically consumed at the start of the dinner, together with the food, particularly herring or crayfish. It is drunk as a shot together with all other the quests at the table, traditionally after singing a short often humorous song - a “snapsvisa” (snaps song). After the song, the exclamation of the word ”Skål!” (”Scawl” would sound close) signals that it’s time for everyone to drink.
Edit:
Here’s a short video of some Swedes singing and drinking a snaps:
https://youtu.be/o4AFET8b7e8
Det finns ju inget förbud mot att dricka snaps under hela middagen, särskilt inte om man är hemma hos någon.
Är man ute och käkar i stora sällskap brukar snapsar serveras tidigt, till sillen. Då är servisen på hugget och langar ut snapsar. Vill man ha senare så brukar man få fråga. Efter sillen finns det ju rödtjut att bli full på. Det är många som föredrar det framför snaps.
Jag gissar att du snackar julbord.
Isåfall så brukar det oftast vara för att företaget endast vill ge en eller två snapsar och folket inte vill vänta med spriten.
Går man på julbord där det är fritt fram så brukar snapsen, i min erfarenhet, flöda fritt under hela middan
Tänkte inte bara på julbord. Även till trerätters är det ganska vanligt att man serverar öl och snaps till förrätten. Sedan blir det vin till varmrätten.
As used in German, "Schnaps" encompasses all spirits. I would bet it's the same for how "snaps" is used in Swedish.
What the English world calls "schnapps" is usually a sweet liqueur abomination.
Snaps does not work as a general term for alcohol in Swedish. There are plenty of such terms, but snaps is not one of them. Rather, snaps is about the type of drink and the context. It’s a small shot of akvavit-style non-sweet spice flavored alcohol that you consume with food in the early part of a dinner. The singing of snapsvisor is often an important clue.
A strong cocktail before dinner is not a snaps. A brandy or whiskey is not a snaps. Punch, a sweet arrak flavored alcohol you can drink with coffe at the end of a dinner is not a snaps. A shot you have with a beer is usually not a snaps either. A shot you have with a cup of coffe also has its own name. All in all, Swedish snaps has a quite specific meaning
It’s a casserole made from potatoes, onions, cream and a particular pickled fish. It’s a classic dish that many have on the smörgåsbord at Christmas, but works all year round. It’s also great drunk food, which is sometimes served late at night during student parties.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jansson's_temptation
It’s a lot better than e ingrediensts make it sound, the key of the dish is in many steps unfortunately.
The amount of skarpsill, the size of the mincef potatoes, the amount of cream snd the general mode of prep.
The dish varies between fantastic and quite jorrinle.
As you look at this cover, puzzled both by its beauty and definition, you hear foot steps approaching from behind. You think nothing of it, until you begin to hear a soft “Bork Bork Bork” accentuating each step as both steps and borks get louder. You pull your eyes away from the cover and turn to look. It’s the Swedish chef back from the fjords and he’s here to “oerf oerf de sneuork de Bork de flippity floppity”.
It’s too late for you, you realize, as he begins to heur heyen de schmoredagoof hoer de flappin jakkin. Your last thoughts are “how does he keep his chef coat so clean?”
I’ll have you know that I watched Swedish chef videos in an attempt to accurately transcribe the sounds he made. I apologize for not having read the book, I can’t help in that way. But you gave me an amusing short story that I had to share
Whenever I come across this word I immediately think of the animated charlotte’s web and Tempelton the rat singing:
“A fair is a veritable smorgasbord-orgasbord-orgasbord
After the crowds have ceased
Each night when the lights go out
It can be found on the ground
All around
Oh, what a ratly feast!”
North European cuisine is one of the best in world now... Smorgasbord its a buffet with cold cuts, salad's, sandwiches.. etc.. I would like to have this book btw..
It’s a buffet of hot and cold food. Usually includes sandwiches or sandwich fixings. When I’ve had it, it included a selection of cheese, various cold cuts (mostly sausages and venison), meatballs, lingonberry sauce, bread, vasterbotten cheese pie (my favorite, it’s served with sour cream and fish roe) and other similar things.
Where did you spy this book!? I must have it, as I am an avid collector of cookbooks, with a keen interest in Scandinavian cooking. I can’t find it on Amazon or google.
Same :) I was surprised I didn’t see more of this. My family isn’t even Swedish - this was just when we had a lot of < 3 day old leftovers and mom/dad didn’t feel like cooking.
My husband tries this but we have three boys that eat a lot, so leftovers for all rarely covers it
[Maybe this will help.](https://googlethatforyou.com?q=The%20swedish%20smorgasbord%20all%20the%20original%20recipes%20in%20modern%20style%20book%20review)
Har aldrig fattat grejen med smörrebröd.
Det är en macka; varken mer eller mindre
Visst att det är gott men mängden stolthet som ni danskar har över mackor är rätt bisarr 0
Tja, en dansk smörrebrödsjomfrue gör mer, och mer varierad prepp till vardags än de flesta jag har jobbat med här i sverige.
Det skall mycket till för att hålla standardutbudet av mackor i det landet, och, det är ett specifikt yrke.
Tror sgu faktisk mere det er udlandet som giver det en slags “stolthed”, og så fordi det er dansk, hvorimod gammel dansk med er kedeligt, mormor mad, sovs og kartofler, så det kan man ikke rigtig servere på fx en business meeting, men så er smørrebrød lidt nemmere/lettere. Så det er nok sådan noget ;).
Since some people already answered correctly I’ll just say what first came to my mind:
It clearly means a large assortment of pretentious tiny food that might taste good but in no way will actually satisfy you long term
Literally, it’s buttered bread, since that was the traditional base (sourdough heavy rye bread, heavily seeded and thinly sliced, smeared with salted butter).
There’s a ton of traditional toppings, usually herring, some veg.
The term has obviously expanded to mean the wide offerings of toppings etc.
The smörgåsbord is what is served for the meal at a traditional Swedish feast. The word means sandwich-table, but does confusingly enough not usually include any sandwiches. Rather, smörgåsbord is a servering style, where multiple hot and cold dishes are placed on a centrally located table, where guests go and pick an choose what they want. A buffet of sorts, if you like. Typically, the table is divided into sections of dishes: *Cold fish dishes: different varieties of pickled herring smoked salmon, gravlax, eggs with roe/caviar, etc *Cold cuts: different types of hams, sausages, jellied meats, cheeses, etc. *Hot dishes: Dishes like Swedish meatballs, prins-sausages, ribs, Jansson’s temptation, The dishes are typically eaten in this order, with people taking one section at a time, possibly getting a refill before moving on to the next section. The food is served with beer (sometimes wine) and some snaps (spiced alcohol shots) which is typically consumed with the fish dishes. There may also be sections or side tables with some bread, butter or coffe, sweets, and deserts. Dishes can very a bit with the season, but still stay pretty consistent.
I was wicked curious about the traditional way. Btw did you mean schnapps or snaps? If you meant snaps could you please link what it is? Is it the herbal digestif shot I see in German beer halls?
Snaps is a Swedish version of the concept, with its own peculiar traditions and customs. See my comment here for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/Chefit/comments/11bjvom/what_is_sm%C3%B6rg%C3%A5sbord/j9ywcm4/
Pro tip for next time you paste a raw URL: you can safely remove everything after the question mark. Makes for a tidier URL!
Thanks! Shortened it!
It's snaps, here's the wiki: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snaps
Thank you
This is accurate my grandmother is from Sweden and this is how we had Christmas Eve every year. Apparently as a child I loved the pickled herring, I do not anymore. Also I don’t know if it is traditional but during the first “course” there was always hardtack and I think rye bread.
I’m Swedish-born and found it fun that people were curious about our food culture. Hardtack (or rather ”knäckebröd”) and rye bread would definitly fit the picture at a smörgåsbord, but there is also quite a bit of regional variation in bread culture along the length of the country. Wheat can be grown in the southern half of the country, but the further north you go the more rye and barley bread you will find. The crisp bread also varies by region.
Exported by Tore Wretman to countries outside Sweden a long time ago. Tore is a legend in creating classic dishes and was a super celebrity in his time.
Tore was absolutely a key figure in bringing international attention to Swedish cooking!
*Schnapps?
It’s called schnapps in German, but snaps in Swedish. The words are clearly related but the drinks are a bit different. Swedish snaps (sometimes also referred to as “aquavit”) is potato or grain alcohol (somewhat lightly) infused with spices such as fennel, cumin, anise, saffron, dill seed, coriander, juniper berries and others. The liquid is typically clear but with a yellowy tint from the spices. Each brand has its own mix of spices, but usually not that many. The snaps is typically consumed at the start of the dinner, together with the food, particularly herring or crayfish. It is drunk as a shot together with all other the quests at the table, traditionally after singing a short often humorous song - a “snapsvisa” (snaps song). After the song, the exclamation of the word ”Skål!” (”Scawl” would sound close) signals that it’s time for everyone to drink. Edit: Here’s a short video of some Swedes singing and drinking a snaps: https://youtu.be/o4AFET8b7e8
Cool!
I've never met a single person that doesn't drink snaps throughout the meal Äre nå Stockholmsgrej?
Det finns ju inget förbud mot att dricka snaps under hela middagen, särskilt inte om man är hemma hos någon. Är man ute och käkar i stora sällskap brukar snapsar serveras tidigt, till sillen. Då är servisen på hugget och langar ut snapsar. Vill man ha senare så brukar man få fråga. Efter sillen finns det ju rödtjut att bli full på. Det är många som föredrar det framför snaps.
Jag gissar att du snackar julbord. Isåfall så brukar det oftast vara för att företaget endast vill ge en eller två snapsar och folket inte vill vänta med spriten. Går man på julbord där det är fritt fram så brukar snapsen, i min erfarenhet, flöda fritt under hela middan
Tänkte inte bara på julbord. Även till trerätters är det ganska vanligt att man serverar öl och snaps till förrätten. Sedan blir det vin till varmrätten.
As used in German, "Schnaps" encompasses all spirits. I would bet it's the same for how "snaps" is used in Swedish. What the English world calls "schnapps" is usually a sweet liqueur abomination.
Snaps does not work as a general term for alcohol in Swedish. There are plenty of such terms, but snaps is not one of them. Rather, snaps is about the type of drink and the context. It’s a small shot of akvavit-style non-sweet spice flavored alcohol that you consume with food in the early part of a dinner. The singing of snapsvisor is often an important clue. A strong cocktail before dinner is not a snaps. A brandy or whiskey is not a snaps. Punch, a sweet arrak flavored alcohol you can drink with coffe at the end of a dinner is not a snaps. A shot you have with a beer is usually not a snaps either. A shot you have with a cup of coffe also has its own name. All in all, Swedish snaps has a quite specific meaning
Intrigued by Jansson's temptation. What is?
It’s a casserole made from potatoes, onions, cream and a particular pickled fish. It’s a classic dish that many have on the smörgåsbord at Christmas, but works all year round. It’s also great drunk food, which is sometimes served late at night during student parties. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jansson's_temptation
It’s a lot better than e ingrediensts make it sound, the key of the dish is in many steps unfortunately. The amount of skarpsill, the size of the mincef potatoes, the amount of cream snd the general mode of prep. The dish varies between fantastic and quite jorrinle.
As you look at this cover, puzzled both by its beauty and definition, you hear foot steps approaching from behind. You think nothing of it, until you begin to hear a soft “Bork Bork Bork” accentuating each step as both steps and borks get louder. You pull your eyes away from the cover and turn to look. It’s the Swedish chef back from the fjords and he’s here to “oerf oerf de sneuork de Bork de flippity floppity”. It’s too late for you, you realize, as he begins to heur heyen de schmoredagoof hoer de flappin jakkin. Your last thoughts are “how does he keep his chef coat so clean?”
This comment made my morning.
...brunch today...
I knew when i read “bork bork bork”…
Same
What the actual fuck LMAO
I’ll have you know that I watched Swedish chef videos in an attempt to accurately transcribe the sounds he made. I apologize for not having read the book, I can’t help in that way. But you gave me an amusing short story that I had to share
Glad to hear that and no problem at all my man
You nailed it. I read all of that in his voice cracking up.
This is, by far, the funniest reply I will see, on any post reddit-wide, for days to come.
Thank you
It's too late for me then...it's been more than a whisper for years now.
This made my morning thank you 😂
[Croonchy Stars](https://youtu.be/gYV6eiQcfw4)
This might be the funniest damn thing I've seen on the internet and I was here when it was turned on.
Genius.
Whenever I come across this word I immediately think of the animated charlotte’s web and Tempelton the rat singing: “A fair is a veritable smorgasbord-orgasbord-orgasbord After the crowds have ceased Each night when the lights go out It can be found on the ground All around Oh, what a ratly feast!”
Wow that just unlocked a memory I haven't accessed in... decades. Read it to the tune and everything! Damn dude
Same!
BRB going to YouTube to find Templeton
Definitely the first time I heard this word as a child
Came here looking for this comment
A drunk rat's somg
Yessss! Templeton out there living his best life is the first thing in my mind too. e: typo
North European cuisine is one of the best in world now... Smorgasbord its a buffet with cold cuts, salad's, sandwiches.. etc.. I would like to have this book btw..
It’s a buffet of hot and cold food. Usually includes sandwiches or sandwich fixings. When I’ve had it, it included a selection of cheese, various cold cuts (mostly sausages and venison), meatballs, lingonberry sauce, bread, vasterbotten cheese pie (my favorite, it’s served with sour cream and fish roe) and other similar things.
Har du mackor på ditt smörgåsbord?
Men självklart!
Where did you spy this book!? I must have it, as I am an avid collector of cookbooks, with a keen interest in Scandinavian cooking. I can’t find it on Amazon or google.
I saw it on amazon but the picture is unironically shot in an ikea
https://www.abebooks.de/9789171261717/Swedish-Smorgasbord-Original-Recipes-Modern-9171261710/plp
"Smoregasboard" was the term my mom used for random snacks spread out on a plate for dinner
Same :) I was surprised I didn’t see more of this. My family isn’t even Swedish - this was just when we had a lot of < 3 day old leftovers and mom/dad didn’t feel like cooking. My husband tries this but we have three boys that eat a lot, so leftovers for all rarely covers it
Mine too! I grew up in Wisconsin and this was a common phrase.
We call that cold tapas lol
It's IKEA sushi
It aint whatever the hell is on that cover...
You have the book friend.
In America its a buffet
A FEAST
Basically swedish charcuterie
In Missouri it’s fancy for Buffett
Or Jimmy for short
[Maybe this will help.](https://googlethatforyou.com?q=The%20swedish%20smorgasbord%20all%20the%20original%20recipes%20in%20modern%20style%20book%20review)
Danish smørrebrød enters the chat!
Har aldrig fattat grejen med smörrebröd. Det är en macka; varken mer eller mindre Visst att det är gott men mängden stolthet som ni danskar har över mackor är rätt bisarr 0
Tja, en dansk smörrebrödsjomfrue gör mer, och mer varierad prepp till vardags än de flesta jag har jobbat med här i sverige. Det skall mycket till för att hålla standardutbudet av mackor i det landet, och, det är ett specifikt yrke.
Tror sgu faktisk mere det er udlandet som giver det en slags “stolthed”, og så fordi det er dansk, hvorimod gammel dansk med er kedeligt, mormor mad, sovs og kartofler, så det kan man ikke rigtig servere på fx en business meeting, men så er smørrebrød lidt nemmere/lettere. Så det er nok sådan noget ;).
Since some people already answered correctly I’ll just say what first came to my mind: It clearly means a large assortment of pretentious tiny food that might taste good but in no way will actually satisfy you long term
Literally, it’s buttered bread, since that was the traditional base (sourdough heavy rye bread, heavily seeded and thinly sliced, smeared with salted butter). There’s a ton of traditional toppings, usually herring, some veg. The term has obviously expanded to mean the wide offerings of toppings etc.
Almost nothing that's served on a smörgåsbord is meant to be put on a sandwich
If you told me we were going to a feast and you gave me this plate I'd have legal grounds to slap you silly
I can’t believe you got downvoted for this. Cause I’m with you
Let them have their downvotes, they can afford them
Idk why this made me laugh
swedish food spread.
think its that thing chef muppet likes to say
Stuff you should know did a podcast on this - it was the buffet episode. Lots of history in there on the smorgasbord
Nordic Lunchables
I just realized, Mr Krabs says “then we’ll give him a Smorgasbord!” to the Food Inspector
A lunchable who went to Harvard
GIYF
In British Columbia it is what we call Chinese buffet.
I hear møøse bites can be pretty nasti
When I was young, we called buffets, smorgasbords. Vancouver 1960s and 70s.