Christmas Food from Around the World
By Rosie Sullivan
All over the world, there are many wonderful and interesting foods that people enjoy at Christmas from rice pudding in Denmark, barbecues in Australia and KFC in Japan. This article will give you an insight to some of these dishes and maybe inspire you to try making some of them.
Firstly to South America.
In Argentina, it is typical to have the main dinner on Christmas Eve. The meal consists of roasted pig, mince pies and a delicacy of vitel toné. Vitel toné is sliced veal with creamy tuna-mayonnaise sauce.
In Chile, the main Christmas meal consists of roast turkey, potatoes and vegetables similar to Britain. It is common for local Chilean wine to be served alongside a chilean drink called ‘cola de mono’ which translates to ‘tail of the monkey’. The origins of this popular drink is unknown, however, theories suggest that the drink’s potency will make you swing and jump like a monkey! The key ingredients to this drink is Chilean aguardiente (a type of alcohol), coffee, milk and sugar. I’m not surprised it turns you into a monkey!
In Colombia, there are many sweet treats that are enjoyed around Christmas time. Firstly, ‘natilla’. This is a type of custard made from milk, cinnamon and coconut. Typically it is served alongside ‘buñuelos’ which are fried balls of fresh white cheese and dough. Something ‘natilla’ is also served alongside is ‘hojuelas’ or sometimes called ‘hojaldras’ which are fried pastries containing orange juice or zest.
Recipe for hojuelas - maybe you could try it!
Heading north to Jamaica. They have a wide variety of main dishes that they eat at Christmas dinner. The most typical of these being goat curry. However, chicken curry or stew is traditional alongside the more British roast beef. Rice and peas (a staple in the Jamaican diet) are served alongside the choice of main. To wash this whole meal down ‘Rum Punch’ is served consisting of Rum, numerous fruit juices (pineapple, orange, lemon, lime) and grenadine (for the pinky/orange colour).
In Asia…
While Hinduism is the largest religion in India, many Christians do live there. Their meal on Christmas may be a biryani with lamb, mutton curry or aloo gobi. Aloo gobi is a type of spiced potato and cauliflower. The types of spices used are cumin seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric, paprika, asafoetida and coriander (although these can vary depending on the recipe). Also, jeera pulao is served alongside the main. It is a type of cumin rice with coriander. On the sweet side, Indian people have kidiyo which are deep fried dough balls dusted with powdered sugar.
Similarly to Jamaica, the Philippines have a vast array of traditional Christmas dishes. There is a huge focus on sweet dishes. Ham is sweetened with honey and roasted pork is crispened with caramelized skin. Filipino sweet spaghetti is ordinary spaghetti served with hot dog slices and dyed banana ketchup instead of tomato sauce making it sweeter than ordinary spaghetti sauce. Bananas are used instead of tomatoes because they are better suited to working in the hot, humid environments of the Philippines.
Here is a link to a recipe for sweet spaghetti!
In the Philippines, there is a huge emphasis on Christmas. It has the longest Christmas season stretching from carols in September to the feast of Black Nazarene on January 9th.
In Japan, there is a very small Christian population (around 1%) so there aren’t many christmas traditions. However, one very notable tradition is fried chicken. In the 1970s the first KFC restaurant in Japan was opened and managed by Takeshi Okawara. They introduced christmas packs filled with enough chicken to feed a whole family and a ‘party barrel’ (now known as the ‘party bucket’) consisting of Fourteen pieces of Original Recipe chicken, with eight chicken breast Mini Fillets, eight Hot Wings, one large Popcorn Chicken, two large sides and six regular fries, plus a large bottle of drink for sharing. The craze took to the millions, it is predicted 3.6 million families take part each year. This means that people have to pre-order weeks or months in advance to ensure they get their bucket on time for christmas day.
Down-under in Australia..
Because Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas day comes around during their summer. This makes it typical to have barbecues consisting of salads, prawns and chicken. Desert is usually Pavlova filled with fresh fruit.
A little closer to home in Europe…
Denmark’s Christmas food tradition lies within rice pudding. Either hot (risengrød) or cold (Ris á l’amande) it is served with whipped cream, almonds, vanilla or cherry sauce. When prepared an almond is hidden in the serving bowl and the family has a challenge to try and find it. The person who finds it receives good luck and a present!
In Spain they have two Christmasses, the traditional 25th December and ‘El Dia de los Reyes’ (Day of the Three Kings or Epiphany) on the 6th of January. Served on these two days is traditional locally sourced seafood and turkey. Sweet treats are very popular. One being turrón, a type of nougat that can be hard or soft. It is usually covered in oblea which is a type of wafer made from potato starch. Also, polvorones are served which are soft crumbly shortbread cookies. They are heavily filled with almonds and dusted with powdered sugar.
On Christmas eve, in France, dessert is a bûche de Noël more commonly known as a Yule log in english. It is very typical for French Christmas meals to have 13 desserts which represent Jesus and his 12 apostles. However, not all these dishes are cakes or pies. Many are fruit or nuts.
If you decide to try any of these Christmas dishes make sure to submit a photo on the google form below for a chance to be featured in our next edition of The Martlet!
