Whether cocktail party, New Year’s Eve or garden party: finger food is practical and popular. Not only the guests are happy with finger food about the small, lovingly prepared bites that can be eaten quickly in passing, without having to juggle plates and cutlery. Finger food also saves hosts a lot of work. Instead of piles of dirty dishes, all that’s left at a finger food party are a few napkins and wooden chopsticks. But what exactly does finger food mean? Find out here what the little snacks are all about and discover new finger food recipes.
Finger food: ideas for cold buffet
What is actually finger food? Basically, eating food with your bare hands is nothing new. In Arabia or India, it has always been part of the culture to lead the food with the right hand directly to the mouth. In Germany, too, the sandwich, the salami roll or the portion of French fries are not exactly among the latest trends in eating culture. Although these are also usually eaten with the fingers, they are not necessarily considered finger food. Rather, finger food means small, lovingly prepared bites that would usually be too expensive, too hearty or too elaborate as a whole meal. Finger food should be eaten in one bite, if possible, so that you don’t spill it on yourself or get your fingers dirty. Hard-to-grasp appetizers with multiple ingredients can be held together with the help of plastic or wooden chopsticks. Depending on the number of guests, different types of cold dishes are offered.
Finger food offers variety
Finger foods often make celebrations and parties more casual, because instead of focusing the evening purely on the food and the menu sequence and tying guests to a table for the entire celebration, a cold buffet with finger foods offers the opportunity to move freely around the room, talk, drink and taste a few tasty bites along the way. The varied selection means that there is usually something for everyone, and it is easier for the hosts to cater for vegetarians or allergy sufferers than with a menu. However, finger food does not necessarily have to replace the “real” meal. Even as a break snack at an all-day event or as an appetizer, the appetizers are usually well received.
Finger food: snacks with bread
Probably the best known form of finger food are small sandwiches. Salmon, salami, cheese and some vegetables skewered on a piece of baguette are still popular classics at parties. Such canapés are delicious, but not exactly innovative. It doesn’t always have to be the typical white bread with a slice of beer ham, a leaf of lettuce and a pickle:
- Why not try brown bread and spread it with fresh goat cheese, bung cheese or crab salad.
- Or use toast bread, cut it into four small squares, spread each with different spread and then put them on top of each other like a small tower.
The eye eats with
With finger food it depends strongly on the optics. If the small bites do not look appetizing, the guests will not touch them. However, with a few little tricks, even simple bread bites can be spiced up:
- With the help of cookie cutters, for example, you can bring slices of bread into pretty shapes.
- A few fresh herbs sprinkled over the bread topping just before serving, also make very decorative finger food.
Mediterranean finger food
In addition to German classics, Italian food also tastes great as finger food:
- In fact, apart from pizza and spaghetti, Italians also love tramezzini, ciabatta and bruscetta, which look wonderful on any cold buffet.
- Mini mozzarella balls speared with a leaf of basil between two cherry tomatoes also fit in your mouth with a bite and taste like a vacation.
- In addition, small pieces of pizza or crispy grissini spice up the menu selection.
The Spaniards are masters in finger food anyway with their tapas: small salty peppers, spicy salami, tortilla cubes, Serrano ham, dates wrapped in bacon, potatoes in salt crust with spicy dip or stuffed olives make you want more finger food.
Exotic finger food
Although the Japanese eat it with chopsticks, sushi is also good as finger food.Especially rolls wrapped with seaweed or deep-fried are easy to bring to the mouth with the fingers. Spring rolls, small saté skewers, fried banana, shrimp with chili dip, tofu cubes or exotic fruit skewers also add a very special touch to a cold buffet. In addition, many other countries offer great dishes that are great to eat with your hands. How about deep-fried couscous balls from Morocco, Norwegian salmon rolls, Turkish cigar böreks, filled Greek wine leaves, Mexican mini burritos or Swedish kötbullar as finger food?
Sweet finger food as dessert
Since finger food often replaces a complete menu, desserts should not be missing from the buffet. Here, too, all dishes should be able to be eaten by hand without a plate. Therefore, of course, baked goods are particularly well suited. Whether muffins, cookies, donuts or brownies – there is no danger of spills here. Also colorful fruit skewers, mini cream puffs, petits fours, fruits with chocolate coating or ice cream canapés can sweeten the celebration.
Finger food: simple, fast, fancy
As finger foods become more and more popular, finger food recipes and variations are also becoming more and more unusual. Therefore, more and more chefs are throwing out the basic idea of finger food, namely small snacks that you can eat with your hand. Whereas in classic finger food the appetizers are held together with a chopstick at best, small glasses, bowls or spoons with a curved style are now also used to hold the small dishes. This, of course, also allows for a much wider range of dishes suitable for finger foods. From small soups served in tiny bowls to salads served in a special finger food spoon and dessert creams served in a jar, the sky’s the limit for chefs when it comes to miniature dishes. But if you want to surprise your guests at home with such variations, you don’t have to buy special spoons or bowls. Usually, larger shot glasses, espresso cups or tea light containers made of glass do the trick.
Seasonal finger food: New Year’s Eve or summer party?
People have different tastes depending on the time of year – whether it’s real meals or finger foods. While light snacks with lots of vegetables, fruit, cream cheese and herbs are popular in the summer, in the winter it can be a bit heartier and spicier. For example, tomato-mozzarella skewers, canapés, sushi, cheese-grape cubes, Mexican tacos, grilled vegetables or small salads are suitable for a garden party. Fruity cocktails, punch or cool white wine taste good as drinks. In winter, finger food is especially popular on festive days. On Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the light appetizers are increasingly replacing the obligatory raclette or fondue. Finger food can also be served lukewarm, for example in the form of a small soup, onion tart or baked mini-casserole. Spicy cheeses such as Roquefort or Gorgonzola go well with canapés at Christmas or New Year’s Eve, as do pickled fruits, meatballs and filled puff pastry. Such hearty dishes are best served with dry red wine or a freshly tapped beer to round off the consumption of finger food.
