by JuicyPuffin

Created on: May 24, 2009

Thorramatur is the name for feasts that happen during the month of Thorri. Thorri starts on a Friday between the 19th and 25th of January, and ends on a Saturday between the 18th and 24th of February. The typical food eaten during these feasts are things some people might find only in their bad dreams - fermented shark, seared lamb heads, ram testicles, et cetera. However, Icelanders will assure you that most of these foods are perfectly acceptable, some of which have been defined below. The names for some of these more common or well-known foods have been altered because otherwise the formatting of Helium would erase the foreign letters.

Blothmor is blood pudding and lifrarpylsa is liver sausage, both sliced and served cold. Blothmor is a mixture of blood and rye boiled in sheep intestines, and lifrarpylsa is ground liver with rye, boiled in sheep intestines. [1] [2]

Bringukollur is fatty tissue meat from lamb, still on the bone, soaked in whey. [3]

Flatbrauth is flat bread, usually served with butter. [4]

Hakarl is putrefied shark, which is prepared by burying the shark for months and then air-drying it. It has a strong ammoniac flavor and is usually served in bite-sized pieces. [3]

Hangikjot is smoked lamb, served cold and sliced. [4]

Harthfiskur is dried fish that is then beaten until soft, and is usually served with butter. [3]

Hrutspungar is pressed ram's testicles that have been soaked in whey. [4]

Lundabaggar is internal organs from sheep that have been boiled and soaked in whey. [3]

Magall is pressed sheep stomach, usually smoked and cut into slices. [4]

Rugbrauth is rye bread, usually served with butter. [2]

Svnasulta is pork compressed in gelatin, and is also usually soaked in whey. [5]

Svith is singed, boiled lamb's head, and svithasulta is lamb's headcheese, which is the meat from svith preserved and compressed. [3]

Apart from these festival foods Iceland offers a variety of items you would see in any other Scandinavian country, or in most countries of the world. There are hot dogs, pizza, bananas, candy, and other common foods. The main difference between most items will simply be in price compared with your home country. Some foods are boasted as purely Icelandic, such as skyr which is similar to yogurt, but other popular foods are imported from abroad, such as Coca-Cola. Whether or not you wish to try these thorramatur dishes, you can be comforted in knowing that you can always return to something you are more familiar with.

Sources:

[1] http://artruch.wordpress.com/2007/01/26/happy-thorra blot/
[2] http://www.isholf.is/gullis/jo/feasts_and_celebratio ns.htm#thorri
[3] http://www.grapevine.is/Home/ReadArticle/%C3%9Eorram atur
[4] http://www.gestgjafinn.is/english/nr/352
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Eorramatur#Dishes

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