Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lated as 'blackbird' on English-language menus, but what you'll actually get is guillemot.
High-class restaurants favouring seasonal ingredients may have roasted
heiðagæs
(pink-
footed goose) in autumn.
A BANQUET OF BODY PARTS
Eyeball a plate of old-fashioned Icelandic food, and chances are it will eyeball you back. In
the past nothing was wasted, and some traditional specialities look more like horror-film
props than food. You won't be faced with these dishes on many menus, though - they're
generally only eaten at þorramatur(literally, 'food of Þorri') buffets during the Þorrablót
midwinter feast (named for the month of Þorri in the Old Norse calendar, and corres-
ponding to mid-January to mid-February). Plentiful brennivín(schnapps) is the expected
accompaniment.
Svið
Singed sheep's head (complete with eyes) sawn in two, boiled and eaten fresh or
pickled.
Sviðasulta
(head cheese) Made from bits of sviðpressed into gelatinous loaves and
pickled in whey.
Slátur
(the word means 'slaughter') Comes in two forms: lifrarpylsais liver sausage,
made from a mishmash of sheep intestines, liver and lard tied up in a sheep's stomach
and cooked (kind of like Scottish haggis). Blóðmörhas added sheep's blood (and equates
to blood pudding).
Súrsaðir hrútspungar
Rams' testicles pickled in whey and pressed into a cake.
Hákarl
Iceland's most famous stomach churner, hákarlis Greenland shark, an animal so
inedible it has to rot away underground for six months before humans can even digest it.
Most foreigners find the stench (a cross between ammonia and week-old roadkill) too
much to bear, but it tastes better than it smells… It's the aftertaste that really hurts. A
shot of brennivínis traditionally administered as an antidote.
Food lovers may be tempted by the 'Local Food and Gourmet' tour run by Saga Travel
(
www.sagatravel.is
)
, which allows travellers to sample fish, beef, lamb, beer and ice
cream from food producers in the fertile farmland around Akureyri.
Sweets & Desserts
Don't miss
skyr,
a delicious yoghurt-like concoction made from pasteurised skimmed
milk. Despite its rich and decadent flavour, it's actually low in fat and is often mixed with
