Typical Icelandic Food & drinks
In Iceland the local cuisine consists mainly of fish and mutton. (Photo by: Ingunn H Nielsen)
Food:
Some typical dishes:
- Harðfiskur is dried fish and a favourite Icelandic snack. It is eaten with salted butter and often served while watching a movie.
- Hákarl or fermented shark. Since sharks have no kidneys, the shark meat is full of urine. This makes it virtually impossible to eat fresh shark. It takes about two months to prepare the shark meat for consumption. The meat has a strong ammonia taste.
- Slátur is a kind of sausage made from the intestines of sheep. There are two types of slátur: blóðmör (blood sausage) and lifrarpylsa (liverwurst).
- Svið is a dish in which a sheep’s head is cut in two. The fleece is burned. Then the head is cooked and the brains get removed.
- Brennivín is a clear schnapps, made from fermented grain or potatoes and flavoured with cumin. It contains 37.5% to 40% alcohol. It is also known as Black Death.
Alcohol:
If you want to buy alcoholic beverages, it is a good idea to do this upon arrival in the duty-free shop at the airport. In Iceland you can buy some spirits in the ÁTVR stores. The minimum age for buying alcohol is 20 years.