Þorramatur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Þorramatur (Thorramatur, food of the þorri) is a traditional Icelandic food. Today þorramatur is chiefly consumed during the ancient Nordic month of þorri (Thorri), in January and February, particularly at the mid-winter feast of Þorrablót (Thorrablot) as a tribute to old culture.
[edit] Dishes
Þorramatur consists of many different dishes, including:
- Kæstur hákarl, Greenland shark
- Súrsaðir hrútspungar, the cured scrota of rams, including testicles
- Svið, singed sheep heads
- Sviðasulta, head cheese made from svið
- Lifrarpylsa (liver sausage; also known as slátur, meaning slaughter), a sausage made from the offal of sheep
- Blóðmör (blood-fat; also known as slátur, meaning slaughter), a type of blood pudding, which is prepared like lifrarpylsa, except blood is added to the mix.
- Harðfiskur, dried fish (often cod, haddock or seawolf), served with butter
- Rúgbrauð (rye bread), traditional Icelandic rye bread
- Hangikjot, (hung meat), usually smoked lamb
- Lundabaggi, sheep’s fat
- Selshreifar, seal's flippers (occasionally: only if the seals were hunted by the servers themselves)
During the month of þorri, þorri buffets are quite popular in Iceland where many restaurants in Reykjavík and elsewhere serve þorramatur which is almost always served on wooden platters, called trog (trough). At these gatherings, Icelandic Brennivín is often consumed in copious amounts.
[edit] References
- Þorramatur [1] from the Reykjavík Grapevine, Iceland's main English-language newspaper. Fetched 28 November 2006.
- Þorrablot Menu
- Icelandic feasts
[edit] Further reading
- Björnsson, Árni. 1986. Þorrablót á Íslandi. Reykjavík: Bókaklúbbur Arnar og Örlygs.
- Björnsson, Árni. 2007. Everyday Life in Traditional Iceland: Marking the seasons. Paper presented at the Beck Lectures on Icelandic Literature, University of Victoria, September 26. Electronic document, http://gateway.uvic.ca/beck/wo_audio.html (around 1:14:00 - 1:16:45).
- Hastrup, Kirsten. 1998. A place apart: an anthropological study of the Icelandic world. Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press. (see pages 96-107)
- Lacy, Terry G. 1998. Ring of seasons: Iceland, its culture and history. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. (see pages 58+)
- Simpson, Jacqueline. 1987. Review of Þorrablót á Íslandi by Árni Björnsson. Folklore 98(2):243-244.
- Torres, Jessica. 2008. Thorrablot: Consuming Icelandic Identity
