Lögberg-Heimskringla - 19.10.1990, Qupperneq 7

Lögberg - Heimskringla • Föstudagur 19. október 1990 • 7
From NYC fast to North Atlantic fresh
Or, moving into the lcelandic
culinary scene
By Hope Millington
The fírst morning I strolled down
the streets of Reykjavík I could
smell the tantalizing fragrance of
breads and pastries being baked
inside shops in city center. And as
I sat down for my fírst breakfast in
Iceland, it became readily apparent
that I was in for something differ-
ent.
I suppose I had become accus-
tomed to a warm British breakfast
of bacon and eggs with orange juice
and toast on the side. I had no
forewarning of the pleasant sur-
prise that awaited me when I was
greeted with home-baked breads,
Icelandic cheeses and an assort-
ment of patés and finely cut meats.
There was no evidence of cereal
boxes, freeze-dried coffee or
doughnuts that had been warmed
in a microwave oven.
I didn’t know that Icelanders
churned their own butter, nor did I
ever imagine that there was so
much fresh food. In my hometown
of New York City, although there
is a wide variety of restaurants to
choose from, the food is most cer-
tainly not grown, caught or bred on
the island.
At lunch I was pleasantly sur-
prised, not with hamburgers or the
ritualistic salads so common in the
United States, but with a meal of
succulent Icelandic lamb and cara-
mel potatoes. This was my fírst
taste of lamb that had not been fed
a regulated diet consisting of grains
and hormones. I was later to learn
that there is a great variety of
dishes made from Icelandic lamb,
even raw lamb cured in dill and
eaten as an appetizer.
One of the most unusual dishes
that I ever tried was something
called blóðmör (lamb’s-blood sau-
sage). There is so much iron in this
food that it is commonly recom-
mended by doctors for pregnant
women with iron deficiencies. An-
other Icelandic culinary delicacy is
hangikjöt, smoked and salted lamb.
This dish is served around Christ-
mas with potatoes in a cream sauce.
Whereas I am used to American
desserts of cakes, pies, ice creams
and fruit salads, I was pleasantly
surprised with an Icelandic dessert
called skyr. It has the consistency
of yoghurt and tastes somewhat
similar, but mixed with cream and
berries picked from the country-
side there is nothing quite like it. I
was to learn that during the month
of August families spend the sum-
mer days gathering blueberries,
Youngest ever national champion
Héðinn Steingrímsson is Ice-
land’s newly-crowned national
chess champion. At 15,
Steingrímsson is the youngest
ever winner of the tournament, in
which he participated for the fírst
time.
Winning eight out of eleven
matches, the young champion said
he had rather expected to end up in
the lower ranks after the tourna-
ment’s conclusion. “All the matches
were difficult, especially near the
end of the tournament. It was a
mixture of luck and circumstances,
and the grandmasters were very
unlucky,” he said.
The title gives Steingrímsson his
first norm of three required for the
grandmaster rating, and guaran-
tees him a seat on Iceland’s Olympic
squad scheduled to pit wits at the
Chess Olympics in Yugoslavia this
November.
Courte8y ofNews From Iceland.
. . . the giíí* fhaí lasfs all yeap
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krækiberries and ribsberries. In
addition to eating them with skyr,
or with sugar and cream, the ber-
ries are also made into preserves.
I need say very little regarding
my delight at seeing smoked salmon
as an appetizer at dinner. World-
wide, salmon is considered a deli-
cacy; however, in Iceland I have
become spoiled by its abundance
and amazed by the variations with
which it can be cooked. The entré
at dinner was Icelandic ptarmigan,
particularly popular at Christmas.
Dessert, which I was almost too
full to appreciate, was a mouth-
watering plate of waffles topped
with whipped cream and preserves
made from wild berries. Topping
off the meal we were served
Brennivín, an Icelandic sesame-
flavored schnapps, better known
as “Black Death” for its potency.
Perhaps the major difference
that I observed in Icelandic food as
compared with American food is
the freshness. Icelandic físh, caught
in cold, North Atlantic waters, is
some of the fínest in the world. The
tenderness and taste of mountain
lamb - raised on mountain grasses
and herbs - is incomparable. Bak-
ing breads, cakes and pastries
within the home is still very much
a part of the culture, particularly
in the countryside. And raising
vegetables, although difficult be-
cause of the short growing season,
is a very popular past-time for
many.
Of course in New York there is
an amazing variety of foods from
all over the world, and I once par-
took in a true culinary experience
at an Icelandic Þorrablót celebra-
tion in New York City, in mid
January. Well, not every meal is as
diverse as the Þorrablót’s, and I
must say that nowhere else in NYC
have I encountered dishes like
cured shark meat, whale blubber,
sheep’s head and sour ram-testi-
cles . . . one of the more memorable
meals that I have had in the “Big
Apple.”
Courtesy of Modern Iceland
News from lcelandic Canadian Clubs
Icelandic
Canadiarí
Frón
te
is interested in representing the
Icelandic Canadian Frón at this
event, please contact Iola Nicklas
at 284-8781.
Toronto
The Icelandic National
League is coming to
town:
On November 2, 1990, the Ice-
landic Canadian Frón will host a
gathering for the INL. This will
be a fun-filled evening of Icelan-
dic music and food. Chapter
Presidents from across Canada
will be meeting at the
Scandinavian Centre. All are
invited to attend. Please make
our guests feel welcome by at-
tending the evening with the INL.
Manitoba Multicultural
Resources Centre:
As a member of the Manitoba
Multicultural Resources Centre,
the Icelandic Canadian Frón re-
ceives special invitations to at-
tend workshops and field trips
organized by this group. The next
program is a “Let’s Get Acquainted
Evening” hosted by the Manitoba
Metis Federation. It is to be held
on November 18, 1990. If anyone
- ■ 1 .................
On October
■ 16, members of
the Icelandic Ca-
W' nadian Club of
raSS Toronto gathered
to watch a video
W JH movie entitled
¥ r ™ “Love and War”.
■ ““ The movie is a
documentary, and
focuses on the
lives of fíve Ice-
landic women who
married U.S.
servicemen dur-
ing W.W. II. It outlines the initial
British and subsequent American
occupation of Iceland.
The movie examines concerns
which the Icelandic families had
about Americans and the changes
in the lives of those involved. It
also looks at the war brides’ feel-
ings, impressions and adjustments
which took place in their new
homes. Each values their heritage
in a different way and some try
unsuccessfully to return home.