65° - 01.09.1967, Blaðsíða 17

and 88% used electricity for cooking. These
figures have improved since, and now some 97%
of the population have access to electricity.
The 18th century can be defined as a period
of semi-starvation and even real starvation in the
last years, and food was of low quality at all
times. Laws have been preserved showing the
minimum quantities and qualities of food to be
given to dependent people and workers. A further
problem was the need to preserve foods for long
periods. Then and now, the main slaughtering
period is in the early winter, so that from October
onwards only preserved food (except for fish at
some places) were and are available. Even fresh
milk products were not always obtainable, as
cows milked badly during the winter months. In
the south of Iceland the normal morning meal
until late into the 19th century consisted of a
bowl of warm milk to which a spoonful of sour
skyr (curd cheese) was added. Ewes were milked
as well as cows until the beginning of this century,
in some parts of the country. The evening meal
consisted of some kind of porridge. In coastal
places fish was eaten at all meals. At midday, in
the interior, air-dried fish was eaten with butter
along with some flat bread cakes. Sometimes the
meal consisted of meat and soup. Bread was a
luxury. Most of the imported flour (Iceland does
not grow cereals now and nearly none before)
was used in some porridge types.
The scarcity of bread is shown in the House-
hold Laws which stated that children should be
given some bread at Christmas. Bread was un-
leavened, baked or boiled in the shape of flat
cakes. In times of shortage all kinds of unusual
ingredients such as fish roes, grains of various
grasses, mosses and seaweeds, were added to
bread and porridge. Vegetables were grown in a
few places in the 18th century and potatos were
introduced then, but even today these have to be
imported part of the year.
Nowadays, Icelanders belong to the select group
of well-fed nations. In 1965 Icelanders spent
$372 per person for food. We have to remember,
though, as food tends to be expensive, that the
expense by itself does not give a complete picture.
The quality of food is now very high and the
protein intake one of the highest in the world.
Fish is still an important part of the diet, and in
1965, Icelanders used more than 63 kg. of fresh
fish per person and 6 kg. of salt fish. Meat has
become available to everyone now, though it is
not eaten daily, and about 50 kg. per person were
consumed in 1965.
Milk and milk products play a very large role
in the Icelandic diet. In 1965, Icelanders drank
about 311 liters of fresh milk each, used 5.7 kg.
of butter (and well double that quantity of other
fats), ate nearly 10 kg. of skyr and other cheeses
a year, and some 120 eggs per year. Bread left
the luxury definition a long time ago. Luxuries
in the bread line are now cakes and biscuits, and
$32 were spent on these alone per person.
Today’s luxuries cover a long list and only a
few will be mentioned here. Sugar and coffee are
consumed in great quantities and so are the sugar
derivatives, jams, chocolate and sweets of many
kinds. Fruits and vegetables are now generally
available and $55 per head were spent on these
in 1965. Alcoholic drinks have always been im-
portant, and $49 per person were spent on these,
and just over $20 for carbonated and similar
drinks. The tobacco expenditure was the equival-
ent of 65 packs of cigarettes per person.
Clothing has improved very much and very
quickly in the last years, each Icelander spending
about $187 in 1965 for clothing, footwear and
clothing materials. In real terms this means that a
coat, a dress or suit, two pairs of shoes and some
underwear could have been purchased.
The greatest changes, however, have been in
transportation. Iceland has no railways, and un-
til this century all transport was by foot, on
horseback or by boat from port to port. The
introduction of motor transport represented a
real revolution. The number of motor vehicles
was only 2000 in 1939, but on January 1, 1967,
a total of 39 687 was registered. Of these, 32 515
were passenger cars, or one car for just over six
persons. Air travel is also popular. In 1966,
19 646 Icelanders, i.e. about 10% of the people
flew abroad. Even in the most difficult times in
her history, Icelanders have gone abroad to study
or work. Today many go for pleasure, and in
1965 Icelanders spent an average $43 for personal
trips or study abroad.
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