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Banquet noodles in Korea, sadya in Kerala, party jollof in Nigeria, croquembouche in France and kransekake in Norway. Wedding food compared across cultures.
Wedding food almost everywhere is a feast meant to signal abundance and luck, but the dishes differ widely. Chinese banquets serve several courses with symbolic ingredients, Korean weddings serve banquet noodles for a long life, Kerala weddings serve a vegetarian sadya on banana leaves, and Nigerian weddings aren't complete without party jollof. Sweets often carry the most meaning: Greek sugared almonds, the French croquembouche and the Scandinavian ring cake all stand in for the classic tiered wedding cake.
Signature wedding foods compared: Chinese, Multi-course banquet, Luxurious, symbolic ingredients for fertility and prosperity; Korean, Janchi-guksu (banquet noodles), Long noodles for a long life together; Kerala, India, Sadya, A vegetarian feast of many dishes on a banana leaf; Nigerian, Party jollof rice, A staple of every celebration; Greek, Koufeta (sugared almonds), Sweetness, fertility and endurance; French, Croquembouche, A tower of cream puffs bound with caramel; Norwegian and Danish, Kransekake, A tower of almond rings; Jewish, Seudat mitzvah, A festive meal that's a religious obligation; Western (general), Tiered wedding cake, Descends from the older bride cake.
In traditional Chinese weddings, the banquet usually runs to five to ten courses, with luxury ingredients such as abalone, lobster, sea cucumber and fish roe chosen partly for what they symbolise. See Chinese wedding traditions.
Janchi-guksu means "feast noodles": thin wheat noodles in a light anchovy broth, eaten at weddings, birthdays and 60th-birthday celebrations. Long noodles stand for a long life. See Korean wedding traditions.
In Kerala, weddings often feature a sadya, a vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf, with rice, curries, pickles, pappadam and payasam (a sweet pudding) served in a set order. It's also the meal for Onam and Vishu. Wedding food across India differs hugely by region, religion and community; see Indian wedding traditions.
Pan-Atlantic University's story on Nigerian party jollof describes the smoky, wood-fired version cooked in big pots for weddings and other parties. It usually sits alongside other dishes, and a Yoruba wedding may run from the ceremony to an owambe party with food throughout. See Nigerian wedding traditions.
Koufeta, sugared almonds, are given to Greek wedding guests, traditionally in odd numbers. The almond's hardness stands for a lasting marriage and the sugar for its sweetness, and an odd number can't be divided, like the couple. See Greek wedding traditions.
Croquembouche. A cone of choux pastry puffs held together with caramel, served at weddings, baptisms and First Communions in France and Italy. Kransekake. A tower of almond rings stacked into a cone, eaten in Norway and Denmark at weddings, baptisms, Christmas and, in Norway, on Constitution Day. See Scandinavian wedding traditions. The tiered cake. The wedding cake most English-speaking weddings serve developed from earlier bride cakes and became the iced, tiered cake familiar today once refined sugar was cheaper.
Italian wedding soup is a mistranslation: minestra maritata means "married soup", a marriage of greens and meat, not a dish for weddings. And "Mexican wedding cookies", known in Mexico as polvorones, are a favourite Christmas treat there.
The meal after a Jewish wedding is a seudat mitzvah, a festive meal that's itself a religious obligation. Kosher rules shape the menu at observant weddings. See Jewish wedding traditions.
Where the food comes from matters as much as what it is, and service styles differ as much as dishes do:
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