---
title: "Smörgåsbord: what it means in cooking — Tiny Plates"
description: "A smörgåsbord is a Swedish buffet of herring, cured salmon, meatballs, cold cuts, salads and warm dishes, eaten in set rounds. See the order to eat it in."
url: "https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/smorgasbord"
---

# Smörgåsbord

A smörgåsbord is a Swedish buffet of herring, cured salmon, meatballs, cold cuts, salads and warm dishes, eaten in set rounds. See the order to eat it in.

Also called Smorgasbord, Smörgåsbord buffet.

A smörgåsbord is a Swedish buffet with many cold and warm dishes laid out at once. You help yourself, going back several times and taking a clean plate each round. The name means "sandwich table". The Christmas version, called _julbord_, is the best-known today, with similar tables at Easter and Midsummer.

## How to use it

Swedes eat a smörgåsbord in a loose order, from fish to meat to warm food to sweets. Each round gets a fresh plate.

1. Herring in different marinades, with boiled new potatoes, sour cream and chives.
2. Other fish: gravlax ([cured](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/cure) salmon) with mustard sauce, smoked salmon, egg halves topped with shrimp or fish roe.
3. Cold meats and pâtés: ham, liver pâté, sausages, similar to a [charcuterie](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/charcuterie) board.
4. Warm dishes: meatballs, small sausages, Jansson's temptation (a gratin of potatoes, onion and Swedish-style sprats), ribs.
5. Cheese with [crispbread](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/knackebrod) and butter.
6. Desserts: rice pudding, cakes and cookies, often followed by coffee.

## Common mistakes

* Piling everything onto one plate. Fish sauces run into the meat, and you miss the point of the rounds.
* Starting with the warm food. You will be full before the herring.
* Making too many dishes at home. Eight to ten good ones, with bread and butter, make a fine table.
* Leaving cold fish and meat out for hours. Refill small platters from the fridge instead, and do not let food sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

## In recipes

Recipes from Sweden often say a dish is "for the smörgåsbord" or "for julbord", meaning it is served in small amounts among many others, usually [family style](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/family-style). In English, "smorgasbord" also means any wide mix of things. It is different from Danish [smørrebrød](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/smorrebrod), which is an open sandwich, and from [fika](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/fika), the Swedish coffee break.

## Where it comes from

Large shared tables of bread, butter and cold food go back centuries in Sweden. The modern buffet became widely known abroad after it was shown at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

## Related terms

* [CureTo cure is to preserve meat or fish with salt, often with sugar, nitrite or smoke. It draws out water and adds flavor, as in bacon and gravlax.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/cure)
* [CharcuterieCharcuterie is cured, smoked and cooked meat such as ham, salami, pâté and rillettes, often served on a board. See what to buy and how to serve it.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/charcuterie)
* [KnäckebrödKnäckebröd is Swedish crispbread, a thin, dry, crunchy rye bread that keeps for months. How Swedes eat it and what to use instead outside Sweden.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/knackebrod)
* [SmørrebrødSmørrebrød is the Danish open sandwich of buttered dark rye bread piled with herring, pork, egg or shrimp. See the classic toppings and how to build one.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/smorrebrod)
* [FikaFika is the Swedish break for coffee and something sweet, such as a cinnamon bun, shared with others. See what is served and how to do it at home.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/fika)
* [Family styleFamily style means serving food on large shared platters and bowls set in the middle of the table, so everyone passes them around and helps themselves.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/family-style)

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