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A Christmas ham or Yule ham is a ham often served for Christmas dinner or during Yule in Northern Europe and the Anglosphere. [1] The style of preparation varies widely by place and time.
The tradition of eating ham is thought to have evolved from the Germanic pagan ritual of sacrificing a wild boar known as a sonargöltr to the Norse god Freyr during harvest festivals. [2]
The centerpiece of the cold cuts section of a traditional Swedish Christmas smörgåsbord (at Christmas called "julbord") is a large Christmas ham (a cured ham which has been boiled or baked, then coated with a mixture of egg, breadcrumbs and mustard, browned in the oven). [3]
As of 2019 [update] , Americans purchase about as much ham as turkey around the holiday season. [4] [5] Ham began being mentioned as a Christmas dish in around 1900, and started growing in popularity in about 1960. The holiday ham began being promoted by Armour & Company in 1916 as part of its marketing efforts for its novel industrially quick-cured and less salty hams. The baked Christmas ham with a clove-studded, diamond-hatched sugar glaze which became popular in the 20th century was introduced in the 1930s. Glazed hams had long been popular long before that, but until the 1880s, they were usually glazed with stock, not sugar, and were not associated with Christmas. [6]
The sugar-glazed ham has become identified with Southern cooking. [7] [8]
There are also various regional recipes. Stuffed ham is popular in southern Maryland, and particularly St. Mary's County, where it is traditional to stuff a corned ham with greens such as kale and cabbage. This tradition has been around in the area for at least 200 years.[ citation needed ] Similar stuffed hams are also sometimes prepared in Kentucky. [9] [10]
Ham is a traditional Australian dish that features on most tables on Christmas Day. It is cooked and served in various ways throughout Australia, with many families adding special ingredients, making it an important aspect of a Christmas meal. [11]
As Christmas in Australia comes at the beginning of summer, many people no longer serve a traditional hot roast dinner, serving cold turkey and ham, seafood and salads instead. [12] [11] Christmas ham leftovers are often frozen to make soup and other dishes when the summer is over. [13]
In the Philippines and among diaspora groups such as Filipino-Americans, a ham is prepared for Christmas celebrations. The ham is referred to as a hamón, from the Spanish word for "ham", jamón. The hamón is sometimes soaked in kumquat and lime juice. [14] [15] It is similar to, but not to be confused for, hamonado , which is another Filipino dish that can include pork and is also served around the Christmas season.
Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat that has been combined with other ingredients and formed into the shape of a loaf, then baked or smoked. The final shape is either hand-formed on a baking tray, or pan-formed by cooking it in a loaf pan. It is usually made with ground beef, although ground lamb, pork, veal, venison, poultry, and seafood are also used, sometimes in combination. Vegetarian adaptations of meatloaf may use imitation meat or pulses.
Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and other ingredients such as cinnamon, vanilla, and raisins.
A cabbage roll is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. It is common to the cuisines of Central, Northern, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and much of Western Asia, Northern China, as well as parts of North Africa. Meat fillings are traditional in Europe, and include beef, lamb, or pork seasoned with garlic, onion, and spices. Grains such as rice and barley, mushrooms, and vegetables are often included as well. Fermented cabbage leaves are used for wrapping, particularly in southeastern Europe. In Asia, seafoods, tofu, and shiitake mushrooms or Vegeta may also be used. Chinese cabbage is often used as a wrapping.
The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States is Thanksgiving dinner, a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Thanksgiving could be considered the largest eating event in the United States as measured by retail sales of food and beverages and by estimates of individual food intake. People often consume as much as three or four thousand calories during the course of the dinner.
A buñuelo (Spanish:[buˈɲwelo], alternatively called boñuelo, bimuelo, birmuelo, bermuelo, bumuelo, burmuelo, or bonuelo, is a fried dough fritter found in Spain, Latin America, and other regions with a historical connection to Spaniards, including Southwest Europe, the Balkans, Anatolia, and other parts of Asia and North Africa. Buñuelos are traditionally prepared at Christmas. It will usually have a filling or a topping. In Mexican cuisine, it is often served with a syrup made with piloncillo.
Christmas dinner is a meal traditionally eaten at Christmas. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of the Christian feast day celebration, and form a significant part of gatherings held to celebrate the arrival of Christmastide. In many cases, there is a ritual element to the meal related to the religious celebration, such as the saying of grace.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American celebration of Christmas Eve with dishes of fish and other seafood. It is not a "feast" in the sense of "holiday", but rather a grand meal. Christmas Eve is a vigil or fasting day, and the abundance of seafood reflects the observance of abstinence from meat until the feast of Christmas Day itself.
Sephardic Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Sephardi Jews.
Jul, the Danish Jule and Christmas, is celebrated throughout December starting either at the beginning of Advent or on 1 December with a variety of traditions. Christmas Eve, Juleaften, the main event of Jul, is celebrated on the evening of 24 December, the evening before the two Christmas holidays, 25 and 26 December. Celebrating on the eve before Christmas is also used for most other holidays in Denmark.
Smörgåsbord is a buffet-style meal of Swedish origin. It is served with various hot and cold dishes.
Turkey meat, commonly referred to as just turkey, is the meat from turkeys, typically domesticated turkeys but also wild turkeys. It is a popular poultry dish, especially in North America and the United Kingdom, where it is traditionally consumed as part of culturally significant events such as Thanksgiving and Christmas respectively, as well as in standard cuisine.
Christmas in Iceland (Jól) starts four weeks before proper Christmas, which begins on 24 December (Aðfangadagur) and ends thirteen days later on 6 January (Epiphany).
Hamonado, or hamonada, is a Filipino dish consisting of meat marinated and cooked in a sweet pineapple sauce. It is a popular dish during Christmas in Philippine regions where pineapples are commonly grown. Hamonado is also a general term for savory dishes marinated or cooked with pineapple in the Philippines.
Christmas is celebrated throughout December and traditionally until St. Knut's Day on January 13. The main celebration and the exchange of gifts in many families takes place on Christmas Eve, December 24. The Feast of St. Lucy, a high point in the Swedish Christmas season, is celebrated during Advent, on December 13.
Romani cuisine is the cuisine of the ethnic Romani people. There is no specific "Roma cuisine"; it varies and is culinarily influenced by the respective countries where they have often lived for centuries. Hence, it is influenced by European cuisine even though the Romani people originated from the Indian subcontinent. Their cookery incorporates Indian and South Asian influences, but is also very similar to Hungarian cuisine. The many cultures that the Roma contacted are reflected in their cooking, resulting in many different cuisines. Some of these cultures are Middle European, Germany, Great Britain, and Spain. The cuisine of Muslim Romani people is also influenced by Balkan cuisine and Turkish cuisine. Many Roma do not eat food prepared by a non-Roma.
Embutido, or embotido, is a Philippine meatloaf made with ground pork and stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and sliced ham or various sausages. It is traditionally wrapped in aluminum foil and steamed, though it can also be baked.
German baked apples are a German dish of baked apples traditionally made with the Dutch Belle de Boskoop apple. They can be prepared with many different fillings and are a common Christmas dish. Often they are served with vanilla custard.
New Year's foods are dishes traditionally eaten for luck in the coming year. Many traditional New Year dishes revolve around the food's resemblance to money or to its appearance symbolizing long life, such as long noodles or strands of sauerkraut. Some cultures and religions have evolved complex food traditions associated with the new year.