Icelandic cuisine
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2010) |
Part of a series on the |
Culture of Iceland |
---|
People |
Languages |
Folklore |
Cuisine |
Festivals |
Religion |
Art |
Literature |
Music |
Sport |
The cuisine of Iceland has a long history. Important parts of
Modern Icelandic chefs usually emphasise the quality of available ingredients rather than age-old cooking traditions and methods. Numerous restaurants in Iceland specialise in
Because of the history of settlement in a harsh climate, animal products dominate Icelandic cuisine. Popular taste has been developing, however, to become closer to the European norm. As an example, consumption of vegetables has greatly increased in recent decades while consumption of fish has diminished, yet is still far higher than any other developed country at about quadruple the average.[1]
History
The roots of Icelandic cuisine are to be found in the traditions of Scandinavian cuisine, as
Historians often use the
Medieval Iceland
When Iceland was
Preservation methods
Fish was stored in salt, and before the Black Death, Iceland exported stockfish to the fish market in Bergen. However, salt seems to have been less abundant in Iceland than in Norway. Saltmaking, which was mostly done by boiling sea water or burning seaweed, gradually disappeared when overgrazing caused a shortage of firewood in most parts of the country in the 14th century. Instead of curing with salt, the people of Iceland began to preserve meat in fermented whey. This method was also known from Norway but acquired little significance there.
Archeological digs in medieval farms have revealed large round holes in storage rooms where the barrel containing the lactic acid was kept. Two medieval stories tell of men who saved their lives in a burning house by staying submerged inside the acid barrel. Medieval Icelanders used
Cheese
Cheese was made from goat and sheep milk as well as cow milk.
Cooking and meals
The longhouses of the first settlers usually included a long fire in the center to warm the house. Around it, holes were dug in the floor to be used as earth ovens for baking bread and cooking meat. Women would place dough or meat in the hole along with hot embers from the fire, and cover it tightly for the time needed. They boiled liquids in wooden staved churns by putting hot stones from the fire directly into the liquid (a practice that continued to the modern age). Low stone hearths surrounded the fire, but mostly the cooking was done on the floor.
In the 14th century,
In medieval Iceland the people ate two meals during the day, the lunch or dagverður at noon, and supper or náttverður at the end of the day. Food was eaten from bowls. Wooden staved tankards with a hinged lid were used for drinking. Later these were developed into the bulging casks, called askar used for serving food. The upper class used elaborately carved drinking horns on special occasions. Spoons were the most common eating utensil, made of horn or bone, and often decorated with carvings. Except for feasts, where tables would be laid, people ate their food from their laps, while sitting on their beds, which lined the outer wall of the house. In addition to processing crops and meats and cooking, the farmer's wife apportioned the food among the family and friends. In richer households this role was entrusted to a special butler called bryti.
Early modern period
Icelandic
Considerable regional variation in subsistence farming developed according to whether people lived close to the ocean or inland. Also, in the north of the country, the main fishing period coincided with the haymaking period in the autumn. This resulted in underdevelopment of fishing because labor was devoted to haymaking. In the South, by contrast, the main fishing period was from February to July. Some historians have described Icelandic society as a highly conservative farming society. Because of the demand for farmhands in the short summers, tenant farmers and landowners opposed the formation of fishing villages. Fishing was considered risky compared to farming, and the
Foreign trade
Given the dominance of subsistence farming in Iceland, there was a lack of specialisation and commerce among farms. As testified in some of the
In 1602 the Danish king, worried about the activities of English and German ships in what he considered to be territorial waters, instituted a trade monopoly in Iceland, restricting commerce to Danish merchants. They were required to regularly send merchant ships to Iceland carrying trade goods needed by the country. While illegal trade flourished in the 17th century, from 1685 the government instituted stricter measures to enforce the monopoly. It flourished until 1787. As a result, Iceland farmers grew a type of rye predominant in Denmark, and brennivín, an akvavit produced from rye, was introduced. These products displaced other cereals and beer.
Cereals
Different types of bread were considered a luxury among common people, although they were not uncommon. Corn bought from the merchant would be ground using a
Cooking and meals
From the 14th century, food was prepared in the kitchen on a raised stone hlóðir or hearth. Hooks were placed above in order to hold the pots at the desired height above the fire. Ovens were rare, as these required much firewood for heating. Baking, roasting and boiling were all done in cast iron pots, usually imported.
The two meals of the medieval period were replaced by three meals in the early modern period; the
Modernity
During the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), there was a shortage of trade goods as merchant ships were diverted by war. Forced into self-reliance, Icelanders began to emphasize production and consumption of local vegetables raised during the short growing season. In the 19th century, nationalism and schools for women were influential in formalising traditional methods and shaping modern Icelandic cuisine.
Danish influence
The first written cookbooks to be published in
In addition, Danish merchants who settled in Iceland, after the ban was lifted in 1770, often ran large households characterised by a mixture of Danish and Icelandic customs. Reykjavík, which developed as village by the end of the 18th century, began to grow and became a center of a melting pot of Icelandic and Danish culinary traditions. Fishing villages formed in the 19th century, many located by the trading harbours, which previously had featured little more than a natural harbour and a locked warehouse nearby. The Danish influence was most pronounced in pastry-making, as there were few native traditions in this craft. Ethnic Danish bakers began to operate around the start of the 20th century in both Reykjavík and Akureyri. Some Danish pastry-making traditions have survived longer in Iceland than in Denmark.
Vegetables
In the late 17th century, some farmers cultivated the first vegetable gardens, but growing vegetables did not become common until the early 19th century, when the Napoleonic Wars resulted in the merchant ships staying away. Resident Danes, who brought the tradition of vegetable gardens with them, were usually the first to start growing vegetables. Popular early garden vegetables included hardy varieties of cabbage, turnip, rutabaga, and potato. They were generally prepared in Iceland as boiled accompaniments to meats and fish, and sometimes mashed with butter.
Girls' schools
In the first half of the 20th century, many
The modern economy began to expand, based on commercial export of seafood. The modern generation rejected many traditional foods, embracing the concepts of "freshness" and "purity" associated with ingredients from the sea, especially when marketed abroad. During the urbanisation boom of the late 1940s, many Icelanders formed regional associations in Reykjavík. As fraternites, they revived some old culinary and other rural traditions. These associations organised midwinter festivals, where they started serving "Icelandic food", traditional country foods served in a buffet. This was later called Þorramatur.
The cooperatives
In the beginning of the 20th century, farmers living near the towns would sell their products to shops and directly to households, often under a
The large cooperatives were believed able to implement
Fishing
Fishing on an industrial scale with
Types of food
Fish
Icelanders consume fish caught in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Fresh fish can be had all year round. Icelanders eat mostly haddock, plaice, halibut, herring, and shrimp.
Hákarl
Hákarl (meaning 'shark' in Icelandic) is putrescent shark meat, which has been preserved. It is part of the þorramatur, the traditional seasonal Icelandic foods. It is often accompanied by brennivín, a local schnapps.
Meat
Traditionally, domestic
Icelandic beef is usually of top quality with good marbling due to the cold climate. Icelandic cattle are grass-fed and raised without growth hormones and drugs. However, the lack of tradition for eating beef has resulted in sales of lower quality meat, forcing buyers to be careful.
Game
Small game in Iceland consists mostly of
Seal hunting, especially the more common harbor seal, was common everywhere farmers had access to seal breeding grounds. Seal was considered an important commodity. Whereas mutton was almost never eaten fresh, seal meat was usually eaten immediately, washed in seawater, or conserved for a short time in brine. Seal meat is not commonly eaten anymore and is rarely found in stores.
Systematic whaling was not possible in Iceland until the late 19th century, due to the lack of ocean-going ships. Small whales were hunted close to the shore with the small rowboats used for fishing. Beached whales were also eaten. The Icelandic word for beached whale, hvalreki, is still used to mean a stroke of good luck. When Iceland started commercial whaling (mostly minke whales) in the early 20th century, whale meat became popular as a low-priced red meat. It can be prepared in much the same manner as the more expensive beef. When Iceland withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in 1992, commercial whaling stopped. Some whale meat was still sold in specialised stores, coming from small whales that had beached or been accidentally caught in nets. In 2002 Iceland rejoined the IWC, and commercial whaling recommenced in 2006. Whale meat is commonly available again, although the price has gone up due to the cost of whaling.
Reindeer were introduced in Iceland in the late 18th century and live wild on the moorlands in the eastern farthing. A small number are killed by hunters each autumn. Their meat is sold in stores and prepared in restaurants most of the year. Reindeer meat is considered a special delicacy and is usually very expensive.
Limits on meat imports
Importing raw meat to Iceland is strictly regulated and dependent on specific licenses issued to importers. The government has feared contamination. Due to Iceland's isolation, most of the stocks of domestic animals raised in Iceland have no resistance to some diseases common in neighboring countries. For this reason, tourists are banned from bringing in even cured ham or sausage with them; these are confiscated by customs officers.
Dairy products
Dairy products are very important to Icelanders. The average Icelander consumes about 400 litres (100 US gallons) of dairy products in one year.
Fruits and vegetables
Vegetable production and consumption is steadily growing, with production going from around 8,000 tonnes in 1977 to almost 30,000 tonnes in 2007.
Bread and pastry
Modern Icelandic bakeries offer a wide variety of breads and pastry. The first professional bakers in Iceland were Danish and this is still reflected in the professional traditions of Icelandic bakers. Long-time local favorites include snúður, a type of cinnamon roll, usually topped with glaze or melted chocolate, and skúffukaka, a single-layer chocolate cake baked in a roasting pan, covered with chocolate glaze and sprinkled with ground coconut.
A variety of
Traditional breads, still popular in Iceland, include rúgbrauð, a dense, dark and moist rye bread, traditionally baked in pots or special boxes used for baking in holes dug near hot springs, and flatkaka, a soft brown rye flatbread. A common way of serving hangikjöt is in thin slices on flatkaka. Other breads include skonsur which are soft breads, and Westfjord Wheatcakes (Vestfirskar hveitikökur).
Traditional pastries include
Feasts
Christmas dishes
In Iceland the
called jólagrautur ("Yule pudding").On December 23 (mass of Saint Thorlak) there is a tradition (originally from the Westfjords) to serve fermented skate with melted tallow and boiled potatoes. Boiling the Christmas hangikjöt the day after serving the skate is said to dispel the strong smell which otherwise tends to linger around the house for days.
In the weeks before Christmas many households bake a variety of
Þorramatur
The concept of Þorramatur was invented by a restaurant in Reykjavík in 1958 when they started advertising a platter with a selection of traditional country food linking it to the tradition of Þorrablót popular since the late 19th century. The idea became very popular and for older generations the taste of the food will have brought back fond memories of growing up or spending summers in the countryside before World War II and the urbanisation boom. In recent years, however, þorramatur has come to represent the supposed strangeness and peculiarity of traditional Icelandic food, overlooking the fact that many commonplace foods are also traditional though not generally thought of as part of the þorramatur category.
Birthdays, weddings, baptisms and confirmations
These are the various occasions for inviting the
See also
References
- ^ Tillaga til þingsályktunar um aðgerðir til að bæta heilbrigði Íslendinga með hollara mataræði og aukinni hreyfingu. [Whitepaper on "ways of improving the health of Icelanders through better nourishment and exercise"], Acts of the 131st Legislature of Iceland, 2004-05, case 806 ([1])
- ^ Hallgerður Gísladóttir (2000), Eldamennska í íslensku torfbæjunum [Cooking in the Icelandic turf houses], Byggðasafn Skagfirðinga, pp. 23.
- ^ "Heyfengur og uppskera grænmetis, korns og garðávaxta 1977-2007", Hagstofa Íslands, 2008 ([2]).
- ^ Ólöf Margrét Snorradóttir (2002). "Lagterta". Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum. Archived from the original on July 22, 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
- ^ Kleina is mentioned in one of the first cookbooks printed in Icelandic, Einfaldt Matreidslu Vasa-Qver fyrir heldri manna Húss-freyjur by Marta María Stephensen from 1800
- ^ Adam Gopnik. "The Coffee of Civilization in Iceland". The New Yorker. No. April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
By the mid-nineteenth century, coffee was central to Iceland's sense of itself.
External links
- Icelandic cooking, recipes and food culture. (in English)
- Matarsetur, an Icelandic association dedicated to the history of Reykjavík cuisine. (in Icelandic)
- The Shopper´s Guide to Icelandic food, an informative summary provided by the Farmers Association of Iceland. (in English)
- A Little Food History by Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir. (in English)
- What did they eat? An article on Icelandic food in the Middle Ages (in English)