Christmas is not just about Santa Claus quietly arriving and placing gifts in the stockings hanging by the chimney, giving children a big surprise. For most families, Christmas is also a day for gathering with loved ones. Different ethnicities have their own traditional Christmas delicacies.
Many people wish for a white Christmas, spending the snowy days enjoying delicious food at a warm table with family and friends, chatting, setting aside the year’s hardships, and envisioning the future in a beautiful atmosphere. So, what are some traditional Christmas foods?
A 2020 YouGov survey of Americans showed that the most popular Christmas dishes in the United States are roasted potatoes and mashed potatoes, followed by turkey; tofu, favored by the Chinese, is not a traditional Christmas food for Americans. In Central Europe, a tradition involves placing live carp in the bathtub before Christmas. In Ethiopia, many celebrate with “doro wat,” a spiced chicken stew served with boiled eggs and injera bread. And in Japan, buckets of KFC chicken are a holiday staple.
Good Housekeeping, the highest-selling family lifestyle magazine in the United States, listed 24 Christmas foods to see if you have a preference.
Tender marbled beef, wrapped in a rich and delicious crust, looks like a luxurious treat.
Mashed potatoes are perfect for the holiday season with their creamy texture and easy-to-chew consistency, making you want to scoop up some gravy with each bite.
Gingerbread is a Christmas essential. However, according to Good Housekeeping, a soft cake with double the ginger (ground and fresh) or more is a better choice.
Crispy on the outside, soft and piping hot on the inside, this is the perfect Christmas dessert, even better with butter and jam.
This is the best one-pot dish. This baked pasta dish is traditionally consumed in Northern Italy on Christmas Eve, likely made with béchamel sauce instead of the Italian-American use of ricotta.
Deviled eggs, also known as stuffed eggs or Russian eggs, are boiled eggs halved and filled with a mixture of egg yolk and seasonings. This dish, often served cold, is popular for hors d’oeuvres or main courses at holidays or parties in Europe and the United States.
Fillings can range from simple paprika to expensive caviar. Good Housekeeping recommends chopped pickles for the filling.
For Americans, stuffing dishes are mainly consumed during Thanksgiving and Christmas, often stuffed into turkeys. However, there are more stuffing options available, such as stuffing winter melon, zucchini boats, or mushroom caps.
Roasted ham takes center stage on Christmas. A large pink ham, studded with cloves, glazed with a sweet and tangy coating, complements the delicious salty pork beautifully, making it very enticing.
The most common is Honey Glazed Ham. To save time, you can buy a 10-pound pre-cooked ham at Costco, preheat in the oven for 2-2.5 hours, and brush with honey glaze for the final 15 minutes for a caramelized effect.
Holiday gatherings are incomplete without cake. For most people, buying a large cake at Costco or a bakery is a convenient choice.
In the UK, it’s bacon-wrapped chipolatas, a traditional Christmas dish served with the turkey dinner. In the US, it’s croissant bread-wrapped hot dogs, and Vienna sausages or breakfast sausages wrapped in biscuit dough, muffins, or crescent rolls for baked treats.
“Pigs in a blanket” are similar to Hong Kong-style cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, or common hot dog buns found in Taiwanese bakeries.
Coquito is the egg-free Puerto Rican counterpart of eggnog, made with coconut and condensed milk, sweet and delicious.
Westerners do not skip bread at dinner, using dinner rolls to dip in meat juices or making sandwiches with slices of holiday ham.
This platter features cured meats, cheeses, bread, and pickled snacks like olives and gherkins.
Tamale, a corn dough steamed with meat, is a staple for Christmas dinner in Honduras and Mexico. Tamales are made by mixing corn dough with meat and vegetables, wrapping in leaves, and boiling or steaming, with the leaves removed before eating.
Warm and rich, steaming hot chocolate is a must-have during the holiday season. Hot Chocolate Bombs, seasonal products available at Costco, can be purchased to indulge in this chocolate treat.
Christmas mulled wine emanates aromas of citrus and baked spices, much like a winter sangria. It’s a fantastic way to enhance the flavor of ordinary red wine.
This is a festive baked food, but it may not suit everyone’s taste.
The combination of chocolate and mint may not be accepted by everyone.
This is a traditional Christmas food for Italians.
The main ingredients are milk, cream, eggs, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and other spices. Eggnog itself is non-alcoholic, but rum or brandy is often added to make it a cocktail.
Store-bought eggnog is usually very sweet.
This is a holiday dessert in the UK typically made and enjoyed during Christmas and New Year. The filling, called mincemeat, is made up of chopped dried fruits, seeds, and various spices.