Icelandic cuisine

Icelandic cuisine, the cuisine of Iceland, has a long history. Important parts of Icelandic cuisine are lamb, dairy, and fish, the latter due to Iceland's being surrounded by ocean. Popular foods in Iceland include skyr, hangikjöt (smoked lamb), kleinur, laufabrauð and bollur. Þorramatur is a traditional buffet served at midwinter festivals called Þorrablót; it includes a selection of traditionally cured meat and fish products served with rúgbrauð (dense dark and sweet rye bread) and brennivín (an Icelandic akvavit). The flavors of this traditional country food originates in its preservation methods; pickling in fermented whey or brine, drying, and smoking.

Modern Icelandic chefs usually emphasise the quality of available ingredients rather than age-old cooking traditions and methods. Numerous restaurants in Iceland specialise in seafood. At the annual Food and Fun chef's competition (held since 2004), competitors create innovative dishes with fresh ingredients produced in Iceland. Points of pride are the quality of the lamb meat, seafood, and (more recently) skyr. Other local ingredients include seabirds and waterfowl (including their eggs), salmon and trout, crowberry, blueberry, rhubarb, Iceland moss, wild mushrooms, wild thyme, lovage, angelica, and dried seaweed, as well as a wide array of dairy products.

Because of the history of settlement in a harsh climate, animal products dominate Icelandic cuisine. Popular taste has been developing, however, to become closer to the European norm. As an example, consumption of vegetables has greatly increased in recent decades while consumption of fish has diminished.

The roots of Icelandic cuisine are to be found in the traditions of Scandinavian cuisine, as Icelandic culture, from its settlement in the 9th century onwards, is a distinctly Nordic culture with a traditional economy based on subsistence farming. Several events in the history of Iceland were of special significance for its cuisine. With Christianisation in 1000 came the tradition of fasting and a ban on horse meat consumption. More significantly in terms of farming and food supply was the onset of the Little Ice Age in the 14th century. Farmers were not able to grow barley anymore and had to rely on imports for any kind of cereal grains. The cooling of the climate also led to important changes in housing and heating: the longhouse of the early settlers, with its spacious hall, was replaced by the Icelandic turf houses with many smaller rooms, including a proper kitchen. This type of dwelling was used well into the 20th century.

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