Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

A Swedish julbord is often described as “a lot of food,” but it is also a meal with a recognisable structure and a set of shared habits. Many guests begin with something warm to drink, then move through the buffet in a familiar sequence, cold dishes first, warm dishes second, dessert and coffee last. Julbord is commonly eaten in “rounds,” with several smaller visits rather than one large plate.

A west coast setting, classic julbord by the sea

On the Swedish west coast, the julbord is often framed by the sea, both literally and in the menu. In Gothenburg and the archipelago, Christmas dining is frequently described in terms of herring and salmon variations, and, in some settings, more pronounced seafood and shellfish elements.

At Långedrag Värdshus, the julbord is presented as a classic “julbord by the sea,” with views over Göteborg’s archipelago. Their description highlights several kinds of herring, salmon prepared in different ways, cold cuts, and warm staples such as Jansson’s frestelse, boiled Christmas ham, prinskorv, and homemade meatballs, followed by a large dessert table.

Glögg and the calm beginning

Glögg is closely associated with Christmas today. Historical accounts trace spiced, heated wines back to the Middle Ages, and glögg’s role as a Christmas-season tradition is commonly linked to later developments, including the 1800s. In julbord settings, glögg often functions as the opening note, a way to start slowly before the first plate is assembled.

The cold table, and why herring comes first

Pickled herring is a cornerstone of the cold table. It has roots in older everyday diets based on salted herring and Baltic herring, and the modern julbord version expands those traditions through sauces, spices, and seasonal flavourings.

Contemporary julbord herring selections typically include classics such as matjes, senapssill, and inlagd sill, alongside more playful or festive variations. Alongside familiar varieties like matjes, senapssill, inlagd sill, currysill, and löksill, there may be festive flavours such as saffran, gin & tonic, and truffle.

Vörtbröd, the Christmas loaf with malt and warm spice

A special place on the julbord belongs to vörtbröd, the dark, fragrant Christmas bread associated with the season. It is a loaf bread traditionally baked with vört, a malty wort, the liquid extracted from mashing grains during beer brewing, before fermentation, essentially “beer before it has been fermented.”

Recipes vary, but vörtbröd is typically made with a mix of rye and wheat, wort for its distinctive malt character, and warm Christmas spices such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. It is often lightly sweetened, for example with syrup, and some versions include raisins.

On a julbord, vörtbröd is usually served on the bread section and eaten as an accompaniment to the cold table. It pairs especially well with butter and Christmas ham, cured or smoked salmon, and creamy salads. Many also enjoy it with cheese, where the sweetness and spice balance salt and richness.

Dopp i grytan, porridge, and older household traditions

Several julbord elements point back to household Christmas preparations. Dopp i grytan, dipping bread into broth, has practical origins. It was a way to soften hard bread by dipping it into meat broth during busy preparations, and later became a named tradition.

Porridge also has a long place in festive meals. Historical descriptions often point out that earlier Christmas porridge was not rice porridge, but barley porridge, a practical festive food when people gathered.

Warm dishes, ham, meatballs, and Jansson’s frestelse

On the warm table, certain dishes have become enduring markers of Swedish Christmas food culture, including ham, and also the child-friendly standards, meatballs and prinskorv.

Christmas ham, despite its central role today, has a more layered history. Some accounts date it to the late 1600s and describe it as associated first with higher social groups, while farming households historically had different patterns of pork use and preservation.

Meatballs are widely regarded as a Swedish national dish today, though their preparation has changed over time, including older methods where they were more often boiled rather than fried.

Jansson’s frestelse is a later classic, and the story of its name is often linked to the 1800s, with the name’s broader establishment arriving later.

Alongside these traditional warm dishes, many modern julbord now include plant-based centrepieces. Some restaurants offer moulded vegetarian “ham,” made from ingredients such as chickpeas and beans and shaped to resemble the familiar holiday form, served within the same sequence of cold and warm tables.

Drinks and sweets, Julmust, and the modern julbord format

Christmas drinks have deep cultural roots in Scandinavia, and modern Swedish Christmas dining includes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic traditions. Julmust, a major Christmas soft drink in Sweden, is widely reported to have been introduced in 1910.

Christmas sweets also reflect changing access to ingredients over time, with older staples such as apples and nuts joined by imported dried fruits, chocolate, and marzipan as trade expanded.

A meal shaped by order rather than urgency

A julbord is extensive, often described as forty dishes or more, but its social logic is not urgency. The usual practice is to take smaller portions, return multiple times, and follow the cold to warm to dessert progression. In west coast settings, that familiar structure often sits alongside a stronger presence of fish and seafood, from multiple salmon preparations and pickled herring variations to, in some venues, shellfish-forward Christmas dinners.

At heart, the julbord reads less as excess and more as a seasonal arrangement of Swedish food history, preserved dishes, newer flavours, and shared habits, held together by a widely recognised order of eating and a strong emphasis on letting the table work well for everyone.