Tuck in! Traditional Festive Feasts From Around the World
Christmas comes with a rich array of flavours across the globe. We've served up some traditional fare – bon appétit!
What would Christmas be without the taste of turkey and the smell of gingerbread baking in the oven? Or was that the taste of oysters and the smell of roasting chestnuts? Work up your appetite and get inspired with this tour of holiday, Christmas and new year’s food from around the world. And if you’re looking for something a little different this year, why not incorporate some of these foods into your own festive feast or enjoy them as treats throughout the holiday season?
Mac and cheese, rice and peas, mashed potatoes, corn bread along with baked sweet potatoes and marshmallows are all staples. Alternatives are potatoes, vegetables, various kinds of gravy and the mandatory (or controversial, depending on who you ask) cranberry sauce. However, many families also add international dishes from their own traditions or incorporate favourite adopted foods. The meal usually also includes a baked dessert, often enjoyed with eggnog, punch, sherry or wine.
UK: brandy pudding
The main Christmas meal in the UK consists of stuffed fowl – usually turkey, goose or duck – accompanied by bacon, potatoes with other vegetables, brussels sprouts, gravy and cranberry sauce.
Of course, no meal would be complete without dessert. Mince pies containing a dried fruit mix are a mainstay. The Christmas cake is a fruitcake soaked in whiskey or brandy, often topped in an almond glaze and embellished with both edible and inedible decor.
Brandy and other liquors are also added to another dessert, Christmas pudding, which is served with a brandy butter.
The main Christmas meal in the UK consists of stuffed fowl – usually turkey, goose or duck – accompanied by bacon, potatoes with other vegetables, brussels sprouts, gravy and cranberry sauce.
Of course, no meal would be complete without dessert. Mince pies containing a dried fruit mix are a mainstay. The Christmas cake is a fruitcake soaked in whiskey or brandy, often topped in an almond glaze and embellished with both edible and inedible decor.
Brandy and other liquors are also added to another dessert, Christmas pudding, which is served with a brandy butter.
France: turkey, chestnuts, ‘logs’ and kings
French tables on Christmas and New Year’s Eve feature foie gras, oysters, snails and salmon. The main course is turkey with chestnuts; dessert is a Christmas ‘log’ (bûche de noël) made of regular or chocolate sponge cake rolled up with icing.
Many French families also celebrate Epiphany (January 6), the day the three kings are said to have come bearing gifts celebrating the birth of Jesus. The main dish on this holiday is galette des rois, or ‘kings cake’, a cake made of frangipane filling and puff pastry, with a figurine hidden inside. It is usually eaten with friends or colleagues, and the one who finds the ‘surprise’ becomes the king or queen for the day. The cake kit is often sold along with a paper crown for the winner.
French tables on Christmas and New Year’s Eve feature foie gras, oysters, snails and salmon. The main course is turkey with chestnuts; dessert is a Christmas ‘log’ (bûche de noël) made of regular or chocolate sponge cake rolled up with icing.
Many French families also celebrate Epiphany (January 6), the day the three kings are said to have come bearing gifts celebrating the birth of Jesus. The main dish on this holiday is galette des rois, or ‘kings cake’, a cake made of frangipane filling and puff pastry, with a figurine hidden inside. It is usually eaten with friends or colleagues, and the one who finds the ‘surprise’ becomes the king or queen for the day. The cake kit is often sold along with a paper crown for the winner.
Spain: seafood and sweets
In Spain, the Christmas table is dominated by seafood and turrón, a nougat made of honey, sugar, egg whites and various nuts that is served in small pieces. Many Spaniards also celebrate the Epiphany with their own version of kings cake, roscón de reyes.
Browse Christmas-themed table settings for inspiration
In Spain, the Christmas table is dominated by seafood and turrón, a nougat made of honey, sugar, egg whites and various nuts that is served in small pieces. Many Spaniards also celebrate the Epiphany with their own version of kings cake, roscón de reyes.
Browse Christmas-themed table settings for inspiration
Italy: sweet yeast breads
Almost every region of Italy has its own special recipes for Christmas, such as the north Italian pasta frolla or shortcrust pastry that is being used as a centrepiece in this photo. In the south, this might be replaced with struffoli, or fried dough balls. The sweet staples throughout the country, however, are panettone or pandoro, two different kinds of sweet bread.
Some favourite main dishes for Christmas dinner are tortellini en brodo (tortellini in broth), bollito (boiled beef). Cotechino e lenticchie, a pork sausage served with lentils, is a northern favourite.
Almost every region of Italy has its own special recipes for Christmas, such as the north Italian pasta frolla or shortcrust pastry that is being used as a centrepiece in this photo. In the south, this might be replaced with struffoli, or fried dough balls. The sweet staples throughout the country, however, are panettone or pandoro, two different kinds of sweet bread.
Some favourite main dishes for Christmas dinner are tortellini en brodo (tortellini in broth), bollito (boiled beef). Cotechino e lenticchie, a pork sausage served with lentils, is a northern favourite.
Germany: all about the cookies
The menu for most Germans’ main Christmas meal – dinner hosted on Christmas Eve – varies from family to family and ranges from duck to fondue and raclette. According to our German colleagues, even simple sausage and potato salad can be the main dish at Christmas dinner.
Baked goods are truly emblematic of the holiday season in Germany. Noteworthy ones are Christstollen, a kind of fruit cake with nuts, dried fruit and optional marzipan filling; various Christmas cookies known as Weihnachtsplätzchen; and a soft gingerbread called Lebkuchen – sometimes known as Nuremberg lebkuchen, as the most famous (and some would say, best) variety comes from that city in Germany.
The menu for most Germans’ main Christmas meal – dinner hosted on Christmas Eve – varies from family to family and ranges from duck to fondue and raclette. According to our German colleagues, even simple sausage and potato salad can be the main dish at Christmas dinner.
Baked goods are truly emblematic of the holiday season in Germany. Noteworthy ones are Christstollen, a kind of fruit cake with nuts, dried fruit and optional marzipan filling; various Christmas cookies known as Weihnachtsplätzchen; and a soft gingerbread called Lebkuchen – sometimes known as Nuremberg lebkuchen, as the most famous (and some would say, best) variety comes from that city in Germany.
Denmark and Sweden: one-of-a-kind potatoes and a pudding with a surprise
The traditional Danish Christmas Eve menu includes roast duck or a pork roast with a garnish of hot pickled red cabbage, white boiled potatoes and potatoes browned in butter and sugar served with a gravy on the side.
A beloved Danish December treat is Aebleskiver, meaning ‘apple slices’, which is a dish of small pancake puffs served with icing sugar and marmalade. Traditionally, a slice of apple was put into each pancake puff before they were baked, hence the name.
Dessert is risalamande, a cold rice pudding served in a large bowl with slices of almonds, vanilla and hot cherry sauce. A single whole almond is hidden somewhere inside, and the person who finds it gets a special gift.
Across the bridge, many of their Swedish neighbours also like to have a hearty Christmas dinner of meatballs, pickled herring, Västerbotten cheese, potatoes, knäckebröd crackers, beetroot salad and sausage.
How Do I… Decorate in a Scandi-Christmas Style?
The traditional Danish Christmas Eve menu includes roast duck or a pork roast with a garnish of hot pickled red cabbage, white boiled potatoes and potatoes browned in butter and sugar served with a gravy on the side.
A beloved Danish December treat is Aebleskiver, meaning ‘apple slices’, which is a dish of small pancake puffs served with icing sugar and marmalade. Traditionally, a slice of apple was put into each pancake puff before they were baked, hence the name.
Dessert is risalamande, a cold rice pudding served in a large bowl with slices of almonds, vanilla and hot cherry sauce. A single whole almond is hidden somewhere inside, and the person who finds it gets a special gift.
Across the bridge, many of their Swedish neighbours also like to have a hearty Christmas dinner of meatballs, pickled herring, Västerbotten cheese, potatoes, knäckebröd crackers, beetroot salad and sausage.
How Do I… Decorate in a Scandi-Christmas Style?
Finland: long live the casserole
Finnish Christmas food traditions include a turnip, rice or potato casserole, salad with whipped cream, lots of fish and ham. The casserole can be slow-cooked in an oven at home or bought ready-made. As in other Scandinavian countries, many Finnish families also eat rice pudding with a hidden surprise.
Finnish Christmas food traditions include a turnip, rice or potato casserole, salad with whipped cream, lots of fish and ham. The casserole can be slow-cooked in an oven at home or bought ready-made. As in other Scandinavian countries, many Finnish families also eat rice pudding with a hidden surprise.
Bulgaria: a filling pie with added blessings
Traditional winter holiday dishes in Bulgaria are cabbage rolls and banitsa, a large pastry filled with sirene cheese. As with many festive pastries, banitsa recipes are often closely-guarded family secrets. However, all banitsas have one thing in common: on Christmas, Bulgarians add lucky charms or pieces of paper to the dough with blessings or wishes for good health, love or possessions. Some people add coins, too, as a blessing for financial wellbeing, and bake these in as well. All lucky additives are wrapped in tinfoil so they survive the baking process.
Traditional winter holiday dishes in Bulgaria are cabbage rolls and banitsa, a large pastry filled with sirene cheese. As with many festive pastries, banitsa recipes are often closely-guarded family secrets. However, all banitsas have one thing in common: on Christmas, Bulgarians add lucky charms or pieces of paper to the dough with blessings or wishes for good health, love or possessions. Some people add coins, too, as a blessing for financial wellbeing, and bake these in as well. All lucky additives are wrapped in tinfoil so they survive the baking process.
Photo by James Hills, from pixabay.com licensed under creative commons CC0
Russia: Olivier salad, caviar and tangerines
Generations of Russians love to celebrate the coming new year with family or friends around a table laid out with festive treats. The main culinary draw, without which New Year’s Eve would not be the same, is Olivier salad. The basic recipe is a mixture of potato, egg, meat and cucumbers or pickles, but from there each family has its own twist.
People can argue for hours over whether to use mayonnaise (homemade or store-bought?) or sour cream; pickles or fresh cucumbers; sausage, boiled chicken or other meat; and whether or not they should add grated green apple, carrots or peas. This is the real symbol of the Russian New Year, prepared in such quantities that families eat the leftovers for the rest of the week.
The salad was invented by Lucien Olivier, who was head chef of the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow in the 1860s. At the time, the base of eggs and potatoes was augmented with delicacies like partridge, hazel grouse, calf’s tongue, crayfish, black caviar, capers, pickles and truffles. The recipe was simplified in Soviet times: the fancy meats were replaced with sausage or boiled meat, pickles filled-in for capers, and green peas were added.
Russia: Olivier salad, caviar and tangerines
Generations of Russians love to celebrate the coming new year with family or friends around a table laid out with festive treats. The main culinary draw, without which New Year’s Eve would not be the same, is Olivier salad. The basic recipe is a mixture of potato, egg, meat and cucumbers or pickles, but from there each family has its own twist.
People can argue for hours over whether to use mayonnaise (homemade or store-bought?) or sour cream; pickles or fresh cucumbers; sausage, boiled chicken or other meat; and whether or not they should add grated green apple, carrots or peas. This is the real symbol of the Russian New Year, prepared in such quantities that families eat the leftovers for the rest of the week.
The salad was invented by Lucien Olivier, who was head chef of the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow in the 1860s. At the time, the base of eggs and potatoes was augmented with delicacies like partridge, hazel grouse, calf’s tongue, crayfish, black caviar, capers, pickles and truffles. The recipe was simplified in Soviet times: the fancy meats were replaced with sausage or boiled meat, pickles filled-in for capers, and green peas were added.
Photo by Perovict, from pixabay.com, licensed under creative commons CC0
Another popular salad has the picteuresque monicker ‘herring under a fur coat’. It consists of pieces of herring layered in onion, potatoes, carrots and beetroot, each covered in mayonnaise.
Other mainstays are slices of red fish and caviar. Some Russian families prefer open-faced sandwiches with butter and caviar; others put caviar into boiled egg whites. Kholodetz, meat in savoury jelly served in a cold broth with horseradish or mustard, is another favourite. It usually takes at least six hours to prepare.
Another dish that appears without fail on New Year’s Eve tables are tangerines. In Soviet times, Abkhaz tangerines that ripen by December, were the main fruit served on New Year’s Eve.
Another popular salad has the picteuresque monicker ‘herring under a fur coat’. It consists of pieces of herring layered in onion, potatoes, carrots and beetroot, each covered in mayonnaise.
Other mainstays are slices of red fish and caviar. Some Russian families prefer open-faced sandwiches with butter and caviar; others put caviar into boiled egg whites. Kholodetz, meat in savoury jelly served in a cold broth with horseradish or mustard, is another favourite. It usually takes at least six hours to prepare.
Another dish that appears without fail on New Year’s Eve tables are tangerines. In Soviet times, Abkhaz tangerines that ripen by December, were the main fruit served on New Year’s Eve.
Japan: special food for a special time of year
In Japan, the period from the end of the year to the first few days of the new year is called Nenmatsu Nenshi. It is one of the most important holidays of the year. Christmas traditions are also popular but largely superficial, most visible in the decor of public places. As for food, cake made of fresh strawberries is often enjoyed around this time.
On New Year’s Eve, many Japanese families eat toshikoshi soba noodles. This tradition originated during the Tokugawa Shogunate (that is, between the 17th and mid-19th centuries). On New Year’s Eve, a special sake called toso is a popular beverage.
In Japan, the period from the end of the year to the first few days of the new year is called Nenmatsu Nenshi. It is one of the most important holidays of the year. Christmas traditions are also popular but largely superficial, most visible in the decor of public places. As for food, cake made of fresh strawberries is often enjoyed around this time.
On New Year’s Eve, many Japanese families eat toshikoshi soba noodles. This tradition originated during the Tokugawa Shogunate (that is, between the 17th and mid-19th centuries). On New Year’s Eve, a special sake called toso is a popular beverage.
Another tradition that is unique to Japan is the kagami mochi, a plump, rounded rice cake made from rice harvested in autumn of the same year. A decorative glass version is pictured here, but, in keeping with tradition, people make edible kagami mochi as well. The mochi made around the end of the year are kept in people’s homes until around January 11 – the exact date varies throughout the country.
16 Jobs for Christmas Early Birds
16 Jobs for Christmas Early Birds
Photo by Shinya Suzuki, from Flickr, licensed under creative commons CC BY-ND 2.0 licence
International foodies can certainly get behind the tradition of osechi ryori, a set of traditional new year dishes prepared in advance so the chef of the house doesn’t have to cook for the first three days of the new year. These are often also bought pre-made.
International foodies can certainly get behind the tradition of osechi ryori, a set of traditional new year dishes prepared in advance so the chef of the house doesn’t have to cook for the first three days of the new year. These are often also bought pre-made.
Photo courtesy from Goodwood Park Hotel
Singapore: western traditions with an Asian twist
Having been a colony of the British Empire, Singaporeans began celebrating Christmas the English way – despite the tropical weather. Traditional holiday fare such as roast turkey with trimmings has taken on uniquely Singaporean flavours. This soy-braised turkey served with toasted spiced almonds and homemade chili sauce would be perfect served with pumpkin rice or egg noodles. It’s made in the Cantonese style, braised and slow-cooked with traditional Asian aromatics such as cinnamon, cloves, star anise and dark and light soy sauces. Other Singaporean turkey twists throughout the years have been chicken rice-stuffed turkey and curry-spiced turkey.
For dessert, another western tradition – the French log cake – also takes on a tropical twist. The sponge and filling flavours range from mango to durian.
Singapore: western traditions with an Asian twist
Having been a colony of the British Empire, Singaporeans began celebrating Christmas the English way – despite the tropical weather. Traditional holiday fare such as roast turkey with trimmings has taken on uniquely Singaporean flavours. This soy-braised turkey served with toasted spiced almonds and homemade chili sauce would be perfect served with pumpkin rice or egg noodles. It’s made in the Cantonese style, braised and slow-cooked with traditional Asian aromatics such as cinnamon, cloves, star anise and dark and light soy sauces. Other Singaporean turkey twists throughout the years have been chicken rice-stuffed turkey and curry-spiced turkey.
For dessert, another western tradition – the French log cake – also takes on a tropical twist. The sponge and filling flavours range from mango to durian.
Seychelles: complete fusion
Christmas food in Seychelles is all about fusion. Grilled fish – usually, the biggest red snapper at the market – is a perennial favourite, but Christmas tables are also filled with a mixture of foods from different cultures: curry, chow mein, salads, barbecued cuisine, lasagna and rice.
Christmas food in Seychelles is all about fusion. Grilled fish – usually, the biggest red snapper at the market – is a perennial favourite, but Christmas tables are also filled with a mixture of foods from different cultures: curry, chow mein, salads, barbecued cuisine, lasagna and rice.
Australia and New Zealand: pomegranates and pavlova
Australia and New Zealand the hot Christmas climate is reflected in the cuisine, with fresh and light dishes such as grilled fish or prawns and salad dominating the holiday table. Pomegranates are also popular around this time and fresh cherries are a holiday treat.
A popular Christmas dessert is pavlova – Australia and New Zealand are still fighting over who can claim the credit for inventing this beloved dessert, which was named after a Russian ballerina.
Also popular are fresh figs, (shown above on a delicious cake).
Tell us
What’s your family’s festive foodie tradition? Tell us in the Comments below and if you enjoyed this story, like it, share it with those who will gather around your table, and join the conversation.
More
For some Christmas traditions closer to home, check out these 12 Signs You’ve Dropped In on an Aussie Christmas
Australia and New Zealand the hot Christmas climate is reflected in the cuisine, with fresh and light dishes such as grilled fish or prawns and salad dominating the holiday table. Pomegranates are also popular around this time and fresh cherries are a holiday treat.
A popular Christmas dessert is pavlova – Australia and New Zealand are still fighting over who can claim the credit for inventing this beloved dessert, which was named after a Russian ballerina.
Also popular are fresh figs, (shown above on a delicious cake).
Tell us
What’s your family’s festive foodie tradition? Tell us in the Comments below and if you enjoyed this story, like it, share it with those who will gather around your table, and join the conversation.
More
For some Christmas traditions closer to home, check out these 12 Signs You’ve Dropped In on an Aussie Christmas
In the United States and Canada, the Christmas table is built around roast turkey or duck – the latter being especially popular in New England and on the East Coast. Honey-glazed ham is another favourite. All are served with a variety of side dishes that often reflect the heritage of the family.
What’s Your Christmas Decorating Style?