Are you what you eat?

A report by the Little Blue Duck.

Here in Iceland, the time has come yet again for rotten shark and sheep heads to be served up on platters across the country. Once upon a time these tasty delicacies were eaten year-round on the island, but now consumption is mostly limited to one month out of the year – þorri on the old Icelandic calendar – beginning in mid-January and lasting all the way into February. During this month, þorrablót celebrations are held in communities from Akureyri to Seyðisfjörður and everywhere in between. It is unclear to Blue Duck what exactly is being celebrated here but everyone seems to enjoy them anyway. There is music and dancing, and people of all ages come together to party the night away. But the one thing that no self-respecting þorrablót could ever be without is this: þorramatur (= icky food).

So, in the spirit of þorri, Little Blue has made up a list of some traditional Icelandic þorramatur for those curious to find out just how icky it really is.

WARNING: FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. DO NOT TRY ANY OF THIS AT HOME.

Súrmatur, literally "sour food", is really just miscellaneous bits of sheep and puffin (and sometimes whale) pickled in whey. This was done to preserve meat so that it could be stored for long periods over winter. There is a reason that súrmatur vanished with the arrival of the refridgerator. It's because it tastes absolutely disgusting. Blue Duck was once cruelly tricked into drinking whey - talk about yuck!

Hákarl. The name means shark, but don't be fooled: this shark is rotten to the core. Instead of being pickled in whey, the shark is first buried in the ground for a couple of months, then hung up a while to dry before being cut up into little cubes and fed to tourists. It's supposed to be good for the digestion. Blue Duck, who seems to have a talent for landing herself in bad situations, has "eaten" this four times. Take it from an expert: it's like swallowing your own puke.

Harðfiskur. Dried fish. Not icky at all. In fact, it probably shouldn't be on the list, except to prove that not everything that Icelanders used to eat could send you to the hospital. It does give you really bad breath though.

Svið is the kind of food that you stare at and it stares right back at you: it's sheep's head, served whole. Iceland was once an extremely poor country, and so every part of an animal was eaten - right down to the feet. Svið is actually pretty yummy all things considering, and it's still sold in some grocery stores. Still, the Duck has difficulties with the whole head-on-a-plate thing.