Of course, you cannot celebrate Christmas properly without having a delicious Holiday feast. Here are the top Christmas food traditions from around the world, you need to try!
Makowiec, Poland
Polish poppy seed cake (makowiec) is one of the best Christmas dishes in Poland.
Poles believe that they should serve 12 dishes during the official Christmas Eve supper. Makowiec needs to be one of them. Made of a thin layer of yeast dough and poppy seed filling, this cake is really hard to resist!
Why makowiec is a Christmas dish? According to the legend, poppy seeds grew on the place where Jesus’ blood fell during the crucifixion. Poles believe that eating poppy seeds during Christmastime will bring them wealth and prosperity for the following year.
Making makowiec is pretty time-consuming. You need to make a yeast dough first (which takes time to grow). When it comes to the filling, the poppy seeds need to be rinsed, and ground, then mixed with honey, sugar, egg whites, and candied fruits.
At the end, you need to spread the filling on the dough and roll it to form the cake. Traditionally, makowiec should be decorated with sugar glaze and candied fruits. Because it takes hours to make the cake, many people in Poland simply buy it a day before Christmas. It’s available in almost every Polish bakery.
Recommended by: Karolina at Polish Foodies
Roscon de Reyes, Spain
Christmas is a big celebration in Spain. And it’s not just Christmas Eve and Christmas day they celebrate. In fact, Three Kings Day, on January 5th, is the most important day. At least for the kids, because that is when they receive their Christmas presents.
The Roscón de Reyes is probably the most famous Spanish Christmas food. And it’s traditionally served as part of the Three Kings Day meal. It’s a circular cake decorated with dried fruits, candied fruits, and sugar.
It’s a nice cake you should definitely taste if you ever celebrate Christmas in Spain. But, the best part of the Roscón de Reyes is the tradition that comes with it.
Baked into the cake are a figurine and a bean. Whoever finds the figurine is blessed with good luck. Whoever finds the bean, however, is on the hook to buy next year’s Roscón! Traditionally families would bake a Roscón de Reyes but these days most people buy them at their local bakery. This is what I’d recommend you to do as well if you are ever in Spain around Christmas time.
Recommended by: Sanne at Spend Life Traveling
Escudella de Nadal, Spain
Catalan cuisine is known for its rich and creative dishes throughout Spain. Of course, Catalans have also produced their own specialties at Christmas and other important holidays.
One of these Catalan Christmas specialties is the Escudella de Nadal (Christmas Escudella). Escudella de Nadal is a Christmas variation of the regular escudella, a soup eaten all year round.
Escudella is a popular and essential dish of Catalan cuisine, of which there are several versions. The great variety of the soup is becuase the warming soup has existed in Catalonia since the Middle Ages.
Usually, the soup is prepared with a clear broth and noodles and eaten as an appetizer. However, those who want to serve escudella as the main course typically add meat to the broth. Albondigas, (Spanish meatballs) are popular. But also so-called carn d’olla, a popular way of preparing meat in Catalonia.
The Christmas version of escudella also has shell noodles (galets) added to it. Therefore, it is also often referred to as escudella de galets.
For many Catalan families, the delicious soup is part of the Christmas tradition. It is therefore traditionally served for lunch on Christmas Day. Many have their own variation of the recipe, which goes back to a long family tradition.
Recommended by: Vicki at Everyone Can Travel
Gingerbread, Germany
Gingerbread, or Lebkuchen, is one of the most traditional German Christmas foods. Even though you can find gingerbread in many countries worldwide, if you visit Germany in December, you will find local specialties that you cannot get anywhere else.
Oblatenlebkuchen is a popular variety, and they come with a thin wafer underneath the gingerbread. Traditionally, they have a high nut content and therefore taste very different from other types of gingerbread. If you want to sample them, try to find Elisenlebkuchen. They have the highest nut content and are, by many, considered to be of the best quality.
Around late autumn, packages of soft gingerbread will pop up in German supermarkets. They come in multiple varieties, either plain or filled with jam, covered with milk chocolate or dark chocolate, or even covered with sugar icing. Many Germans will buy at least one or two packages in the weeks before Christmas, together with a few other packages of German Christmas cookies.
Another variety of gingerbread is gingerbread hearts, which you can often find at German Christmas markets. The dough used for those is very different from the soft gingerbread. Gingerbread hearts are hard and crunchy, and you might find it difficult to break off a piece. They often come decorated with drawings and writing and are popular gifts, especially for children and teenagers.
Recommended by: Daniel and Ilona at Top Travel Sights
Carp, Czech Republic
Every culture and every country has its own traditional Christmas dishes that are lovingly prepared every year for the big festive feast. In the Czech Republic, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th of December beginning with a big family Christmas dinner. One of the biggest Czech Christmas traditions is the Christmas Carp, the most popular and main dish served amongst Czech families. It is often fried and served with a humble side of potato salad and cabbage soup.
The tradition dates back to the Middle Ages when Carp was widely available and kept in large ponds in monasteries and cooked during periods of fasting. While it began as a dish limited to affluent and noble families, the widespread availability of carp fish made it a cheaper alternative to expensive game meats for families.
Typically, the fish is purchased alive and if you visit the Czech Republic during the week leading up to Christmas, you can typically see fishmongers with large tanks on the streets full of carp. While you can now purchase the carp frozen and gutted, many Czech families keep the fish alive in their bathtubs in the week leading up to Christmas. Not only can they fatten it up, but it is an opportunity to cleanse the fish’s system of mud and dirt that they eat as bottom feeders. Every part of the carp is consumed, either as fried steaks or Czech fish soup. Even its scales are striped and are placed in your wallet or purse, a superstition that is meant to bring good luck and fortune in the upcoming year.
Recommended by: Samantha at The Wandering Wanderluster
Oliebollen, Netherlands
If you are looking for a top Christmas dish around the World, then the Netherlands has a delicious traditional treat for you during the winter period. This Dutch treat is oliebollen! Traditionally they were only allowed between December 26 and January 6. but these days you can buy and eat oliebollen from the beginning of November to the end of January. Oliebollen translated to English literally says ‘oil balls’, with the origin not 100% known. However, there is a reference to them in a Dutch cookbook from 1667.
Just like doughnuts and pancakes, oliebollen are made with some milk, flour, and eggs as the base then chucked in the fryer with an ice cream scoop size. The plain classic ones are delicious on their own with a bit of powder sugar on top, but the popular oliebollen is with raisins. Once made into balls with all the ingredients, they are fried to have a somewhat crunchy coating. But the middle is super soft and most special when eaten warm.
These soft doughnut texture-type balls are a must if you are in the country during Christmas time. They can be bought fresh from nearly all local bakeries, but also from lots of temporary markets stands that pop up across cities on a fixed location for the period. There they also make them fresh at the stand and sell them directly warm!
Recommended by: Zoe at Together In Transit
Yule log, France
The bûche de Noël (Yule log in English) is the most popular cake in Paris at Christmas time. Actually, it is possible to find bûches de Noël everywhere in France, but they are much more beautiful and sophisticated in Paris.
The bûche de Noël is a traditional Christmas cake in the shape of a log, hence the name. It is a cake usually eaten at the end of the Christmas lunch or dinner, but today, it is possible to find it in all the pastry shops in Paris from mid-November until the end of the year.
The origin of this Christmas cake is uncertain, and there are different stories around it. We like the one that says that the bûche de Noël was invented by a pastry chef in Saint-Germain-des-Près in Paris in the 19th century.
The bûche de Noël is a sponge cake on which we spread buttercream flavored with coffee, chocolate, and Grand Marnier. The cake is then rolled to give it the shape of a log. Finally, the cake is covered with a thin layer of buttercream with a bark-like texture, often produced by dragging a fork. The final touch consists of powdered sugar sprinkled to resemble snow and other Christmassy decorations.
Today, it is possible to find bûches de Noël of all colors and flavors, so it is difficult not to like it!
Recommended by: Elisa at World In Paris
Potica, Slovenia
Potica is a sweet cake that is the national dish of Slovenia, protected in the European Union. It is traditionally served in the Christmas and Easter seasons. A simple description would be rolled dough cake with different kinds of filling. The most common is made of walnuts.
Other options would be raisins, poppy seeds, or tarragon. There are some variations with savory filling like cracklings. Back in medieval times, it was just bread filled with dried fruits. The first recipe is from 1799 published by Valvasor. People would take a loan just to have this cake on their table during festivity times.
It takes some effort to prepare this cake. First, you need to prepare yeast in water before it is put into flour to create a dough that should be kneaded. After one hour the dough rises and doubles in volume. Onto the dough, you then spread filling with nuts and raisins. The dough is then rolled as a loaf and then set into a round baking tin with a shape like a donut. After baking for one hour in a preheated oven at 180-celsius degrees it should be finished. Before serving you should coat it with powdered sugar. Now it is ready for your holiday table.
Recommended by: Dzangir at Drjam Travels
Natilla and Buñuelo, Columbia
Christmas in Colombian culture is known for being one of the most significant times of the year, not only for the traditional Colombian food dishes but for family and friends to get together to share that food. So strong that many locals start playing Christmas songs well before December and as early as September just to get in the spirit. In Antioquia, which is home to the Paisa culture, you’ll find a prominent food dish eaten by more or less everyone called Natilla – which is a super sweet custard-like dessert made from Panela (unrefined brown sugar derived from sugar cane), along with milk and butter.
The ingredients are mixed together to form a square block that is served on a mini plastic or paper plate. In some regions Natilla can be found to be made up of different variations, some may have coconut milk, condensed milk, or even shredded coconut. However, the most traditional version is made with Panela which is what gives the Natilla its caramel coloring and ever so desirable flavor. Many families will also combine the Natilla with a Buñuelo, which is a deep-fried dough ball stuffed with special cheese.
The Buñuelos are so fluffy inside they are like heaven in a ball, and the good news is, you can find them outside of the Christmas period. So, if you are traveling to Colombia during the Christmas season, look out for both Natilla and Buñuelo together as they are a true Christmas special, and even harder to come by outside of the country due to the special local ingredients used.
Recommended by: Dan at Layer Culture
Pavlovas, New Zealand
Pavlovas are a staple dessert for Christmas in New Zealand. A meringue-based dessert, covered in whipped cream and summer fruits, they’re the perfect accompaniment to a summer Christmas. While New Zealand Christmas menus can vary from the traditional roast meats to a BBQ on the beach, you’ll find a pavlova on almost every Christmas table.
The pavlova was reportedly named after the famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, who toured New Zealand and Australia in 1926, sparking a debate about which of the countries the dessert originated in. When the dessert became synonymous with Christmas is unclear, but pavlovas have been popular in New Zealand since the 1930s.
Pavlovas are available from most supermarkets, ready to be decorated, but many people make their own. They can be a bit finicky to make, particularly on humid days – and Auckland, in particular, can be very humid around Christmas. The great thing is that the whipped cream topping can hide a multitude of imperfections. A more recent trend is to shape Christmas Pavlovas into a ring before baking, creating a festive-looking wreath which is then decorated with berries. The light dessert is a perfect complement to a heavy meal and the warm, summery Kiwi Christmas.
Recommended by: Roxanne at Faraway Worlds
Thank you for reading!
If you have any specific questions, do not hesitate to comment down below! Or you can email us!
No Comments