Icelandic Lamb Means Christmas
Christmas traditions vary around the world, especially when it comes to food and Iceland is no different. Christmas Eve dinner is the feast of all festive feasts and everyone takes it very seriously. As a result, as families merge and grow, some Christmas food traditions from one branch of the family tree may be the […]
Most People Don’t Understand Sheep
An interview with Pálína Axelsdóttir Njarðvík of FarmlifeIceland “Sheep are fun animals and they are just as different from one another as we are. Some have big personalities, are leaders who always know what they want, while others are happy just following the crowd. Some are excitable, always looking for adventure, while others are just […]
Icelandic Lamb to attain elite PDO status
Icelandic lamb is joining the ranks of the few and the tasty–those select European agricultural products that can proudly boast the protected designation of origin (PDO) label. PDO is the highest level of geographical indication in Europe. Just as you can only call a sparkling wine, Champagne if it is produced in the Champagne region […]
Saltkjöt og baunir
Cooking time: 2 hours | 6 persons Salkjöt og baunir is a tradition of ours at Sprengidagur which literally means exploding or blast day. In the tradition of eating as much as one possibly can in preparation for fasting during the lenten season. Icelanders fill up on salted lamb meat and yellow pea soup. Most […]
How Iceland Does Mardi Gras
When you think Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday you think parades, music, dancing, drinking and any other and indulgences of all sorts but in Iceland, things are a little different. Instead of Mardi Gras we have Sprengidagur. The weather this time of year in Iceland doesn’t really allow for big parades but it’s perfect for […]
Don’t Call It a Comeback
It could be said that the use of Icelandic wool products had been in decline in recent years but as the detriments and pitfalls of fast fashion become clear, Icelandic wool is making a comeback. But can you really call it a comeback when the Icelandic sheep and its wool have provided nourishment and clothing […]
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 […]