What does Christmas taste like to you?
I think the general agreement is that Thanksgiving tastes like pumpkin, sage, nutmeg, and so forth. But Christmas is often much more personalized, given what is served and the traditions vary.
In my memory, Christmas tastes like the peppermint of candy canes, the candied red and green cherries picked off of a store bought fruit cake (sorry f.c. haters), and the dates, root beer, After Eights, provolone cheese, salami, and liverwurst sandwiches (not all together, a mix) and other 'nibblies' eaten at my grandmother's family Christmas party when I was young.
So, lots of mints and dried fruit and appetizers in my mind.
What about for all of you--then and/or now?
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42 Comments:
Not so much the taste - but the SMELL of tangerine skins!
lemons at 10:32AM on 12/15/08
Old fashioned ribbon candy, peppermint candy canes, a big bowl of nuts with the shells on. Breaking open the walnuts and trying to get each half out without them breaking was the best fun!
izatryt at 10:52AM on 12/15/08
Eggnog, mexican wedding cake cookies, chocolate and oranges.....
sausage w/peppers & onions on Christmas eve.
mepolo at 10:55AM on 12/15/08
I guess I never thought about a taste for Christmas but Easter does have one for me...purple jelly beans. I can never really identify the flavor since it's not really grape. It taste like Easter.
SandyO at 10:57AM on 12/15/08
the first taste of eggnog of the season (spiked with whiskey).
crab cakes (we have those every christmas eve).
champagne, and the sound of a cork popping.
and i second the smell of tangerine skins. wow, that brings back some memories from early childhood. we used to put tangerine skins on top of the heater in my 3rd grade classroom and it would make the whole room smell great.
french tart at 11:18AM on 12/15/08
Christmas tastes like spiked egg nogg, the only time as a child that alcohol was allowed to pass out lips, it always looked so yummy with the whipped cream on top but I always got shocked by the burn as it hit my stomach! Now, it's pretty yummy stuff alright!
The ultimate tastes of Christmas has got to be Shrimp cocktail, it always was the start of a remarkable dinner at my grandmother's house, followed by chocolate eclaires and cream puffs for dessert! I know dinner in the afterlife got a lot more delicious when she crossed over!
nancyromero at 11:59AM on 12/15/08
Christmas tastes like the red and white peppermint candy, fruit cake, and egg nog.
Christmas wasn't really that big a tradition in my family. The food was plentiful and always different. There was nothing "traditional" that I always saw at the table to associate with the holiday.
New Year's celebration is a whole other thing with weeks of preparation.
Cassaendra at 11:59AM on 12/15/08
My mom always makes this really great braided orange bread. It's the perfect Christmas breakfast, warm with some butter on it. mmmmm.
joyyy at 12:06PM on 12/15/08
Orange cinnamon rolls and milk tea spiked liberally with cloves
Aynsl156 at 12:08PM on 12/15/08
Cinnamon and butterscotch sticky buns on Christmas morning...and the accompanying aroma. Mmm, my mouth is watering already.
(Served with, fresh squeezed orange juice)
luswim06 at 12:32PM on 12/15/08
Hmm...like most of my favorite things: pork.
hungryinhouston at 12:47PM on 12/15/08
Fruit cake. I love it.
vickiee at 1:42PM on 12/15/08
bagna caulda.
coolname at 1:57PM on 12/15/08
a hot spiced grape wassail that my Mother made
ocarol at 2:20PM on 12/15/08
Candy cane, mincemeat, turkey and dresssing, tangerines, cranberry sauce, roasted chestnuts, posole or tamales.
Blue Iris at 2:52PM on 12/15/08
Oh yeah, I forgot to add -- pfeffernüße.
I ate that quite a bit as a kid around this time of year. These days, I buy 10-12 bags and pack them away like a squirrel so I can eat them throughout the summer. :P They don't taste as good when they're older, but it still hits the spot.
Cassaendra at 2:52PM on 12/15/08
Christmas Eve tastes like Egg Nog and plain oatmeal cookies and fruit salad with the marshmallows. Christmas day tastes like Mimosas, Dad's breakfast casserole, baked brie, rum balls and a big italian dinner that my mom started doing a few years back when we all were sick of having turkey three times a year. :) I can't wait.
alacto at 3:34PM on 12/15/08
Gingerbread cookies.
Prime Rib.
Nutmeg.
Christmas Eve really has no smell for me - except garlic in a saute pan. Fresh seafood barely has a scent and that's all we have on Christmas Eve.
therealchiffonade at 3:37PM on 12/15/08
Egg Nog - Russian Teacakes - Tamales - Ham
Weird combo, I know, but not eaten all at once.
Nog and a variety of cookies to munch on while we open presents-Russian Teacakes being my favorite.
Tamales served with a traditional American Breakfast.
Ham and a full buffet for Dinner. Ham being the most important item on my plate :)
ddvierra68 at 3:43PM on 12/15/08
Gingerbread cookies.
dhorst at 3:46PM on 12/15/08
Peppermint and ginger, chocolate, kraut, Dick's cheeseburgers.
pjracz10 at 4:15PM on 12/15/08
everything Izzy said, plus the bf cooking breakfast, eggnog, prime rib , crab cakes, scallops and bacon, green beans. just the smell and feel of the house, a sad day for us, but comforting at the same time.
dearrie at 5:45PM on 12/15/08
cinnamon sugar and angel food cake
ilovepancakes at 5:47PM on 12/15/08
My birthday is on Christmas, so to me Christmas morning is a smoked salmon frittata, potato pancakes with caviar and creme fraiche and champage. Christmas afternoon is buttered popcorn (from the annual Christmas Day movie). Christmas supper is a two pound lobster with clarified butter, blini (or roasted fingerling potatoes with preserved lemon cream) with more caviar, and Vongterichten's winter-spiced molten chocolate cakes with mascarpone and crystallized ginger ice cream. Oh yeah, and more champagne. Did I mention the champage?
Mizbee at 7:55PM on 12/15/08
Christmas Eve is Clam Chowder, and separately, eggnog.
Christmas day started w/orange cinnamon rolls, then all the usual, plus the old fashioned ribbon candy and the raspberry hard candies w/the soft center (fruit? gel?).
Strangely I had a barista friend who concocted a drink for me to try and my first thought was, "Christmas in a cup!!!". It was a mocha with cinnamon and irish cream syrups. Random and I NEVER would have tried it had she not made it for me. :)
MaresyDotes at 7:58PM on 12/15/08
Prime Rib
bessfour at 8:08PM on 12/15/08
Candy canes. And ... no that's about it. =) Oh! Seafood -- Christmas Eve is all about the seven fishes.
kfarrel3 at 8:15PM on 12/15/08
To me it's 7 fishes on Christmas eve, the Italian tradition.
joanpieroni2 at 8:29PM on 12/15/08
"purple jelly beans. I can never really identify the flavor since it's not really grape. It taste like Easter."
SandyO - that purple "taste" is violet.
Bakerloo Line at 8:39AM on 12/16/08
To me, Christmas smells like orange rinds, cinnamon and balsam fir. (I always get giddy when I walk into a tiny old-fashioned gift shop up here an the whole place smells of balsam!) And taste? I guess, predominantly, honey.
@joanpieroni2 - Please start a thread detailing your family's Christmas Eve traditions. Each Italian family I know [including mine] seems to have a different list of 7 "traditional" fishes to eat.
Robbo at 3:27PM on 12/16/08
Prime rib, yorkshire pudding, creamed corn and spinach . AuJus simmering OH I feel fat already!!!
stacemace at 3:46PM on 12/16/08
Nisu, or cardomom bread. My mom was Finnish and made it every holiday. Hot out of the oven is the best!
KB in Toledo at 3:51PM on 12/16/08
Finnen Haddie (smoked haddock) bathed in garlic butter.
VioletCrumble at 4:24PM on 12/16/08
My comment got stolen!
Ham, egg nog, candy canes, and Christmas Morning Blintzes
nightowl at 4:34PM on 12/16/08
i love this thread. I always do a poem with my first graders
What does christmas :
smell like-
taste like-
feel like-
sound like-... and taste is always my favorite. They are so creative!
but to me christmas tastes like
sugar cookies
cinnamon
peppermint
chocolate
christmas tree
@coolname - my fiance would LOVE you... you can smell the bagna caulda down the street at their house on christmas eve
hungrygrl7 at 4:44PM on 12/16/08
Green Beans with Bacon and onions
Ham with Brown Sugar and Pecans
Hot chocolate with whipped cream and cocoa on top
Stained Glass Cookies (that I still can't make)
Pickles (me and my cousins would have my papa buying pickles by the truck loads when he knew we were coming)
lots of seafood : shrimp ,oysters, mussels
This was a great question .
lesliesushi at 7:18PM on 12/16/08
pine, chocolate, citrus. (ok, there is a scent/taste combo)
blizcheetah at 7:56PM on 12/16/08
I'm worried that I will seem less than fancy to this crowd, but Pillsbury orange sweet rolls with icing is my Christmas taste. Every year for who-knows-how-long, it has been Bob Evans sausage patties and the orange Dough Boy on Christmas morn.
Helldog at 1:20AM on 12/17/08
Squid, bacala, anise (in pizzelles and biscotti), and prosecco.
nyclocavore at 2:22AM on 12/17/08
When I was a kid, Christmas tasted like navel oranges I'd find in my stocking. Now it tastes like tangerines,
Why...oh why is my Christmas shrinking?
bisbee at 3:49AM on 12/17/08
Gin! Gin and tonic w/ fresh lime...
katarina_santiago at 5:17AM on 12/17/08
The mixture of tamales and spritz cookies for breakfast. And then loads of mince pies for snacks!
souldawg at 10:55AM on 12/17/08