Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.02.2006, Síða 31

Okay, how do you win best putrid shark in the world? To
start with, let’s check off some myths. As the Grapevine
learned last summer, Icelanders have, for ages, captured
shark and then used various techniques to age it—these
techniques do not include urinating on the shark. It turns
out, Greenlandic sharks smell like piss naturally. Good
stuff.
In Reykjavík, most traditionalists believe that the only
place to go to get great shark, which is typically eaten in
January and February for the ancient month of Þórri, is
Snæfellsnes. Snæfellsnes shark is good, but Fjörukráin, the
Viking-themed restaurant in Hafnarfjörður, has better, as
we found out in a accidental taste test.
The shark at Fjörukráin has a more yellow shade to it,
and the taste, while still throat-clearing in ammonia odour,
is more subtle than you’d expect. The texture is a mixture
of dried meat and a soft cheese.
Yes, putrid shark is an acquired taste, but if you’re
going to acquire it, we can say Fjörukráin has the best in
the world. As for how you can get some without going to
the restaurant, we can’t help you—we were refused access
to the shark processor, told only that he lives in Hafnar-
fjörður and that he is Fjörukráin’s best kept secret.
Fjörukráin, Strandgata 55, Hafnarfjörður, 220 Hafnar-
fjörður, Tel.: 565 1890.
By Bart Cameron
The Best Putrid Shark in the World!
Sadly overlooked by most visitors to Iceland, Bolludagur,
Sprengidagur and Öskudagur are set up back to back,
conveniently enough, on the last two days of February
and the first day of March. Taken together, they afford
you the opportunity to be a complete glutton, three days
in a row.
On Bolludagur you eat puffed, filo dough rolls
filled with jam and whipped cream and topped with
chocolate. Lots of them. Traditionally, children are al-
lowed to spank their parents with a stick while saying,
“Bolla! Bolla! Bolla!” and are given one such roll for every
“Bolla.” Due to recent concerns about obesity in children,
most kids are given only a few rolls at a time, but we
grown-ups can eat as many as we please.
On Sprengidagur, you eat salted meat and yellow
peas. Lots of them. As the name of the holiday suggests
(“bursting day”), overeating is not only expected; it’s
required. Dig in!
On Öskudagur, we arrive at the Icelandic version
of Halloween, without the pagan undertones. Children
dress in costumes and walk from store to store, seeking
candy. But rather than just being able to put their hands
out and be given the candy, the beauty of Öskudagur is
that children are expected to earn their candy by singing
a song. By the end of the day, though, the bloom is off
the rose and most kids will rush through a mumbled
version of whatever song they’ve already sung dozens of
times that day.
As these three holidays herald the month where
spring begins, it’s sort of like celebrating the end of win-
ter by pigging out. There are few better ways to celebrate
an end of the darkness. Bon appetit!
By Paul F. Nikolov
Bolludagur, Sprengidagur and Öskudagur
also BEZT Í HEIMI
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