Student blogs

In Sweden, there are many great Christmas traditions and one of them is the Julbord (which would translate to Christmas table). It is a buffet which consists of many many dishes, and restaurants usually offer it from late November/early December to the 23^rd or 24^th of December.

I had been meaning to try it, so during a trip to Umea, I went to Brännlands Wärdshus to have their delicious julbord, which was mainly made with local ingredients.

So, what is in a Julbord?

So many things! There are variations but from some menus I have read, I think it usually contains the following:

Jansson’s temptation: An amazing creamy dish made of potatoes and anchovies

Julkinka: Christmas ham

Cold meats: Such as salami, reindeer, or elk meat.

Strömming: Herring, which can be cooked in different ways

Lax: Salmon, whether boiled or smoked

Prinskorv: Sausages

Risgrynsgröt: Rice pudding for dessert

Glogg: Mulled wine usually drank with raisins and almonds.

At the julbord I went to, they had the following categories for their food:

Herring, fish and egg

Cold cuts and cured meats

Accessories

Hot dishes

Bread, butter and cheese

Desserts

Confectionary

Cheese, biscuits and fruit

And after all the good food that I ate, I can say that I really liked this tradition and I would love to have a julbord again. Prices usually differ according to days and times (for instance, Saturday evening is usually the most expensive shift), so a weekday lunch would probably be a smart choice for a student budget.

Or you could also try to make it at home!

Hope you get to try a julbord, I would recommend it!