Icelandic Cuisine

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Icelandic - Cooking and Food

Overview of Icelandic Cuisine History
Iceland is a haven of fishing grounds. Seventy percent of its export earnings come from its marine products. Marine products are abundant in Iceland so it’s no wonder that fish places prominently in Icelandic diets.

Second to fish consumption, meat, particularly lamb, is part of Icelandic diet. Sheep breeding has been a way of life in Iceland ever since the first Norwegian farmers from Scandinavia settled in Iceland.

Another food product that Iceland is abundant of is milk. Iceland’s dairy industry has a wide range of dairy products. Popular milk products are skyr (skimmed milk) and mysa (whey), Icelandic specialties that have been around for centuries. When cooking fish, Icelanders often use mysa as a substitute for white wine. Food preparation in Iceland is usually associated with the seasons, usually for meat preservation reasons.

For example, from January to March, Icelanders usually serve súrmatur (various whey-pickled foods), which is part of Þorramatur, the collective name for traditional Icelandic foods served and eaten during this period. In addition to súrmatur, svið (singed sheep heads), harðfiskur (dried fish), flatbrauð (rye pancakes) and shark make up Þorramatur.

On the other hand, salmon is abundant from May to September. Thus, poached, fried, smoked, grilled and pickled salmon are regular fares in Icelandic tables during these months.

In September and October, slátur (blood and liver puddings) is usually prepared. This is because these months are peak slaughtering seasons in Iceland. Blóðmör (blood pudding) is made from sheep’s blood, while lifrarpylsa (liver pudding) is made from minced lamb liver.

A traditional Icelandic Christmas food is hangikjöt, which is smoked lamb served with potatoes and green peas. On the other hand, harðfiskur, which is basically dried fish (haddock, cod or catfish), is a popular Icelandic snack. For lunch, svið (singed sheep heads) is the usual fare.

Cuisines of Iceland


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Icelandic Food Glossary
Finding the ingredients for a Icelandic Recipe is not so easy when you do not know the names of the ingredients. Take time to make a list of ingredients and the name they may be found under at the Local Markets.


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Special Equipment for Icelandic Cooking
Most Icelandic dishes don’t require you to purchase any special tools. However, having a coffee grinder helps with roasting and grinding spices and maximizes their volatile oils, which, in turn, provides your food with more flavor.

However, here are a few kitchen utensils you might want to use:

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