Iceland is rapidly becoming a popular destination for travellers,
and with this growing tourist trade comes an inevitable slate
of pricey new restaurants serving international cuisine. So
rest assured you're not about to be stranded in Iceland with
only a putrefying shark for company, but let's face it, no-one
goes to an exotic destination without even trying the local
speciality..do they?
Steel yourself. Remember that this close to the Arctic Circle
food options were limited for centuries, and some quite unusual
dishes have evolved out of necessity. Mouldy shark is definitely one of the most challenging meals an intrepid
traveller will ever have to face.
Origins and history
Until the latter half of the 20th century, Icelanders had
no means of preserving food except salting, smoking it, soaking
it in mysa (whey) or just going with nature and allowing it
to rot for so long that the decomposition process comes to
an end. Not surprisingly, traditional Icelandic food is rather
strong-tasting!
Thorrablot is the Icelandic midwinter festival which
takes place towards the end of January, the harshest of the
winter months. It's a Thorrablot traditional to prepare foods
which would have been eaten a hundred years ago, using only
the original methods of preservation from the days when people
had to do without refrigerators. It certainly makes for an
interesting feast, if only so you can regale your friends
with tales of how you survived a close encounter with a shark
and came off better than the other guy.
Serving suggestion
Shark meat is buried for between two and six months, until
it has reached just the right stage of decomposition. It's
known as hakarl, and is a real treat for steely stomached
Icelanders.
If you're new to hakarl, hold your nose: this will really
sort the men from the boys. Some say it tastes cheesy, some
say they just swallowed it in one gulp...but most have lived
to tell the tale. Just make sure you have a shot of brennivin to hand, a strong Icelandic spirit made from potatoes, to
wash it down. And don't eat it before an important date, harkal
and halitosis go hand in hand.
The shark is not the only animal to be subjected to Iceland's
strange ideas about delicacies. Here are some other dishes
you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else on earth:
Svió - lambs head charred in the fire to singe
off hair, then boiled and served either fresh or pickled.
Can also be mashed up and soured in mysa to make a kind of
pate.
Hrútspungur - ram's testicles pickled in mysa
and moulded into little cakes
Slátur - black pudding stitched inside a lamb's
stomach, rather like Scottish haggis. |
