Food eaten at Christmas, from European mince pies and stollen to Indian kul-kuls and Filipino queso de bola

Here are some delicious dishes to sample at a festive table near you this season

Mince pies, which combine meats with fruits and spices, were transported to Europe from the Middle East. Getty Images

Just like watermelon and other water-based fruit and veg make the rounds come summer and pumpkin-spiced beverages signify autumn, Christmas time, too, comes with dishes that represent the festive season.

Here are some classic foods and dishes you'll find at a table or store near you, and the stories behind them.

Turkey

What chocolate eggs are to Easter, turkey is to Christmas – but it wasn’t always the bird of choice for the festive table. In the UK, the meat centrepiece used to be anything from goose and beef to boar and chicken, with those who could afford it, even opting for swan or peacock.

King Henry VIII is thought to have started the turkey tradition, when the bird was brought to Britain in 1526, most likely from Turkey via Spain.

Turkey is typically eaten at Christmas in the UK. Photo: Atlantis The Palm

Farmers quickly realised that eating the imported bird meant they wouldn’t have to cull from their own livestock, and the birds began to be reared in Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire (the king tried a Norfolk Black bird for his Christmas meal). By the 17th century, the turkey sealed its position as the Christmas bird.

Mince pies

While associated with the western world, the style of cooking that combined meats with fruits and spices was actually transported to Europe from the Middle East through the 11th to 13th centuries.

Pies that melded savoury and sweet ingredients became popular in Britain around that time, although some food historians argue the practice dated back to Roman times when sweetmeats were eaten during the December festival of Saturnalia.

During Tudor times, the pies were called “shrid pies” owing to the shredded meat, while the term “minced pies” came about in the Elizabethan era. By the 16th century, they had been renamed “Christmas pies”.

Stollen

Stollen is a traditional German dessert with nuts, raisins, marzipan and dried fruit. Getty Images

Popular in Germany, the festive fruit bread originally called Weihnachtsstollen (Weihnachten is German for Christmas) was typically made with only flour, oats and water. It was first baked as a Christmas bread at the Council of Trent in 1545 with the additions of yeast and oil. Ingredients such as nuts, spices, dried fruit and marzipan were added over the centuries to sweeten it.

As the season of Advent was a time of fasting, bakers were not allowed to use butter in their stollen. Prince Ernst and his brother Duke Albrecht of medieval Saxony wrote to Pope Nicholas V in 1450 to request leniency in the rule, but were denied. Finally, in 1490, Pope Innocent VIII wrote the “Butter Letter” to the prince, allowing the use of butter.

Kul-kuls

Kul-kuls were brought to India by the Portuguese, but have since become popular with Indian Christian and Anglo-Indian families across the country. Photo: Michael Swamy

Popular among the Anglo-Indian community, kul-kuls are tiny ribbed dough balls rolled up into shell-like curls, then deep-fried to a golden crunchiness and served by the dozen.

The time-intensive preparation requires an all-hands-on-deck approach to shape the dough and give it its ribbed texture with forks or even combs. Made with pantry staples – oil, flour and sugar – kul-kuls can be dusted with powdered sugar, glazed with sugar syrup or eaten plain. Other variations include adding food colour, coconut milk and savoury ingredients.

The dish has its origins in Portugal, where they were known as filhoses enrolodas. They arrived on the shores of Goa, which was a Portuguese colony in India between 1505 and 1961, in the 16th century. Now a Christmas treat native to India, kul-kuls (pronounced cull-cull) symbolise community spirit and nostalgia.

Queso de bola

Queso de bola is a spherical cheese coated in red wax and typically found on Christmas tables across the Philippines. Getty Images

Akin to cheeses retailed by the Babybel, the queso de bola, or ball of cheese, is a spherical cheese coated in red wax and typically spotted on Christmas tables across the Philippines and among the diaspora. A semi-hard variety, typically store-bought, the yellowish cheese has a salty-nutty flavour profile.

The round shape signifies money and, by extension, prosperity, while the red rind represents good luck. Originally popular among the Dutch (the connection between the Netherlands and the Philippines can be traced back to the 17th century), queso de bola can be eaten by itself or in combination with is savoury and sweet dishes, as a mix-in for meatloaf or as a topping.

Panettone

Panettone originates from Italy. Getty Images

Meaning “large cake”, this Italian offering has its roots in the Roman Empire when it was a leavened cake sweetened with honey.

Its association with the festive season stems from the expenses register of the Borromeo college of Pavia, Lombardy, in 1599, which stated that on December 23, 2.3kg of butter, about 1kg of raisins and 85gm of spices were to be given to the baker to make 13 “loaves” for college students on Christmas Day for lunch.

In the 18th century, scholar and economist Pietro Verri called the dish pan de ton, or luxury bread.