As you know Hot Sauce and Chili are cruising around Scandinavia in their new car.  This week on a ferry they were able to sail and eat from the on-board smörgåsbord. Hot Sauce is still sorting out how to text from her phone so let me just say that her reporting was a bit lacking.  So, Nutmeg thought it would be good to do a bit of research, as it sure sounds better than “buffet”.

Have you every wondered what is a smörgåsbord?  It is a type of Scandinavian meal served buffet-style with multiple dishes of various foods on a table, originating in Sweden. In Norway it is called koldtbord and in Denmark it is called kolde bord. Smörgåsbord became internationally known as smörgåsbord at the 1939 New York World’s Fair when it was offered at the Swedish Pavilion Restaurant.  Members of the Swedish merchant and upper class in fourteenth-century Sweden and Finland served schnapps table (brännvinsbord), a small buffet presented on a side table offering a variety of hors d’oeuvres served prior to a meal before sitting at the dinner table.  Eventually,  in the mid-seventeenth century, the food moved from the side table to the main table and service began containing both warm and cold dishes. Smörgåsbord was also served as an appetizer in hotels and later at railway stations, before the dining cars time for the guests.

So there you have it a bit of triva for today.

Maybe when Hot Sauce can sort out how to type and eat, we will get some details on their experience.

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Food Travel Tags:
European Travel Tips, Food and Travel Blog, Travel in Sweden, What is a Smorgasbord