Beware the Yule Lads
It is tradition in Iceland for kids to leave an old shoe in their windows in the 13 days leading up to Christmas. Why? In the hopes that the troll Grýla’s sons will, one by one, leave them a gift. When the 13 Yule Lads come down from the highlands, they play little tricks on […]
Hangikjöt, An Icelandic Christmas Tradition
No traditional Icelandic Christmas season is complete without the centerpiece, hangikjöt. The name and curing method originate in Iceland’s Viking age settlement era when meat was preserved by hanging it in a smokehouse. Hangikjöt, which means “hung meat” in Icelandic, is savory smoked lamb. It can be served raw as an appetizer, either sliced or […]
Tastes Like Home
For every culture, there is a comfort food–a food whose aroma, texture and flavor immediately fills us with a sense of well-being and contentment. For many Icelanders, that food is kjötsúpa or meat soup, but it is so much more than that. It’s the warmth of a grandmother’s kitchen, a cozy space in the depths […]
Bringing in the Sheep
A chill in the air and northern lights filling the night skies once again means that autumn has come to Iceland and it’s time to round up the sheep in what is called réttir. But it’s no easy task gathering up sheep that have spent the summer running wild in the highlands. As the saying […]
Summer, Icelandic Style
Summertime in Iceland means 24 hour sun, frolicking lambs, and camping. Just as Icelandic lambs spend their summers roaming the highlands, many Icelanders spend their summer vacations camping all over the country. Spectacular natural beauty Iceland has the rare quality of having spectacular natural beauty that is easily accessible. You don’t have to venture far […]
Cute Season (Sæt Season)
It’s the Most Adorable Time of the Year Spring has fully sprung and in Iceland, that means the lambing season is upon us. All across the land, little lambs are being born; on wobbly legs, blinking and stepping into the sun. As is tradition, families flock to local farms to bear witness to their births […]
The Best Chefs Choose Local
Nature takes care of producing the best ingredients For more than a thousand years, Icelandic sheep have spent their summers roaming free. From the valleys and up into the highlands, they devour all the best grasses, herbs and berries Icelandic nature has to offer and it shows in every tasty morsel. The dependably unique and […]
Free Range, Icelandic Style
It has been said that Icelandic lamb has such a delicate taste because the lambs never know the sorrow of winter but only the joy of summer. And in a recent issue of FOUR magazine featuring the new Tides Restaurant at the Reykjavik Edition Hotel, and Chef Gunnar Karl Gislason. Icelandic lamb takes center stage […]
February Means Fresh Icelandic Lamb
Fresh Icelandic lamb in February? Yes, please. This February, Icelandic Lamb is bringing Icelanders something unheard of in winter–fresh lamb. During the month of February for what is being called ‘Fresh Days’ a limited amount of carefully selected fresh lamb is being provided by a small-scale abattoir in Brákarey. This special delicacy will be served […]
Farmers and Feasts
This year, the Icelandic holiday of Bondadagur (Bóndadagur) or Husband’s/Farmer’s Day, was on January 21 and marks the first day of the Thorri (Þorri), the fourth winter month in the old Icelandic calendar. Is there a better way to celebrate surviving the darkest days of winter and prepare for harshest days of winter to come […]