This trip, we have been blessed with an incredible guide named Ólöf. With all of our visits and all of our bus rides to the different destinations, she has educated us on many different matters within the country of Iceland. Although everything she said was intriguing, what intrigued me the most was all of the different foods traditional to Iceland. I had the chance to personally try all of these while here, so further research seemed like a good use of my time.
The most interesting concept within our food journey was the treat that was tied in with Christmas. The layout for the dessert was a piece of thin bread, butter, and a piece of smoked lamb tossed on top of it. Along with this, it also concluded with a very sweet chocolate treat called Hraun.
Of this dish, an aspect with a rich history behind it is the smoked lamb portion of this treat. The official name for it is Hangikjöt which literally means “Hung Meat” because meat was preserved in the Viking Age by hanging it up. It began with the arrival of Norse settlers. They brought a lot of meat that needed to be preserved and one of the most common ways of doing this was smoking it. In order to survive during the Viking times, finding a way to preserve the meat was essential because of the harsh climate and scarcity of food.
When hanging and smoking to preserve the meat, it not only did its job of preserving it but also added a unique taste to it. Even though modern technologies have allowed for new ways of preserving meat, many Icelandic families have stuck to their tradition of preserving the meat. The reason for this is not just simply because they want to preserve their heritage and honor it, but because it also helps preserve the unique taste that is experienced from this method.
Swanson School of Engineering 