Last night I made some new culinary experiences on my first Icelandic jólahlaðborð (translating as "Christmas loaded table", meaning "table(s) loaded with Christmas foods"). Those Christmas buffets are very common and popular in all the Nordic countries. In Denmark, one of the MUSTs on the Christmas buffet is a big bowl of the traditional risengrød (rice pudding) with one almond hidden in it. In Sweden you're eating through fish and meat pastries, cheese, pepparkakor (gingerbread) and lussebullar (Lucia cakes). Delicious, (more or less) civilized foods. And then you move to Iceland and it becomes different. Well, you still have every Scandinavian Christmas food on the table you can think of (apart from the lussebullar). Lots of them. And you eat A LOT. But then it gets weird when you have a look on the countless meat slices and ask: "Ah, what was this one again?" - "This? Oh, that's the digged lamb." - "The what?!" - "Oh no, THIS one! Sorry, that's the digged horse."
So it turned out that this is the tradition. Kill the lamb, the horse, the shark, the skate and dig them and let them rot in the soil for some time and when Christmas comes closer you dig them out and eat them (apart from the shark which has to wait until February)! Sounds crazy? Maybe it is. Maybe not because this is a Subpolar island and these traditions made people survive in earlier days. Eating rotten skate is a crazy thing, though, in my opinion. Very NOT tasty. However, a horse which has been lying in the soil for some time is tastes - believe it or not - quite good. I will forever think of this when I see an Icelandic horse. Hi horse. Maybe you will soon be lying under the soil and rot for a little while. And become a delicacy.
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| Hi horses. Now you're standing on the soil, but maybe they will dig you in it for Christmas? |
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