Þorramatur
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Þorramatur (Icelandic pronunciation: .
History
Þorramatur is an example of an
The idea of connecting this kind of buffet to the month of Þorri and the Þorrablót festivals, which had been held by many student associations since the late 19th century, came from the restaurant Naustið in Reykjavík. In 1958 the restaurant started advertising Þorramatur, which is the first mention of the word in Icelandic texts. The food was served in large wooden troughs, containing enough food for four people, which were copies of old troughs that could be seen at the National Museum of Iceland. The idea, according to the restaurant owner, was to give people who were not members of a regional association the opportunity to taste traditional country food. It was also an attempt to generate business in an otherwise rather dull season for restaurants. The attempt was successful, as the idea immediately caught on and boosted the popularity of Naustið, even though it was quickly copied by other restaurants. Very soon, many of the regional and student associations which organised annual Þorrablót festivals started serving Þorramatur buffets at their events.
Þorramatur has undergone many changes since the 1950s. The great midwinter festivals of associations in Reykjavík have been supplemented by many smaller ones and nowadays even informal family gatherings can be called Þorrablót, which has come to be defined by the serving of Þorramatur, i.e. the consumption of Þorramatur is a necessary and sufficient condition for any kind of party to be called "Þorrablót". Originally, this led to the standardisation of the buffet around a few foods mass-produced by large meat-production houses for the Þorrablót season, whereas previously the food was obtained locally. Not least, Þorrablót festivals have become one of the high points of the year in the countryside and villages around Iceland in the last three decades. Being thus exported from the city to the countryside, the buffet has again come to reflect regional culture and traditions.
Þorramatur has also changed to reflect changing tastes. The traditional method of storing meat by submerging it in fermented
Dishes
Þorramatur consists of many different foods, including:
- Kæstur hákarl, fermented Greenland shark.
- Súrsaðir hrútspungar, the testicles of rams pressed in blocks, boiled and cured in lactic acid.
- Svið, singed and boiled sheep's heads, sometimes cured in lactic acid.
- Sviðasulta, brawnmade from svið, sometimes cured in lactic acid.
- Lifrarpylsa (liver sausage), a pudding made from liver and suet of sheep kneaded with rye flour and oats.
- Blóðmör (blood-suet; also known as slátur lit. 'slaughter'), a type of blood pudding made from lamb's blood and suet kneaded with rye flour and oats.
- seawolf), served with butter.
- Rúgbrauð (rye bread), traditional Icelandic rye bread.
- Hangikjöt, (hung meat), smoked and boiled lamb or mutton, sometimes also eaten raw.
- Lundabaggi, sheep's loins wrapped in the meat from the sides, pressed and cured in lactic acid.
- Selshreifar, seal's flippers cured in lactic acid.
- Súr Hvalur, whale blubber pickled in sour milk.
- Rófustappa, mashed turnips.
During the month of þorri, þorri buffets are quite popular in Iceland where many restaurants in Reykjavík and elsewhere serve þorramatur, sometimes on wooden platters, called trog (trough). At these gatherings, Icelandic Brennivín is often consumed in copious amounts. Plastic trays with a selection of þorri delicacies can also be found in supermarkets during midwinter.
Notes
References
- Þorramatur [1] from the Reykjavík Grapevine, Iceland's main English-language newspaper. Fetched 28 November 2006.
- Þorrablot Menu
- Icelandic feasts
Further reading
- Björnsson, Árni. 1986. Þorrablót á Íslandi. Reykjavík: Bókaklúbbur Arnar og Örlygs.
- Björnsson, Árni. 2007. Everyday Life in Traditional Iceland: Marking the seasons. Paper presented at the Beck Lectures on Icelandic Literature, University of Victoria, September 26. Electronic document, http://gateway.uvic.ca/beck/wo_audio.html (around 1:14:00 – 1:16:45).
- Hastrup, Kirsten. 1998. A place apart: an anthropological study of the Icelandic world. Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press. (see pages 96–107)
- Lacy, Terry G. 1998. Ring of seasons: Iceland, its culture and history. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. (see pages 58+)
- Simpson, Jacqueline. 1987. Review of Þorrablót á Íslandi by Árni Björnsson. Folklore 98(2):243–244.
- Torres, Jessica. 2008. Thorrablot: Consuming Icelandic Identity
- Maum, Courtney. 2008. A Pot-Porri of Fermentation: The Thorramatur Festival in Iceland
- Rögnvaldardóttir, Nanna. 2001. Feast Days and Food Days – A Few Icelandic Food Traditions