Atlantica - 01.06.2001, Page 79

A T L A N T I C A 77
industry, as every generation below
them adds new flavours and ideas to
the Icelandic cookbook.
Unnur Júlía Sigursteinsdóttir, who is
sixty-eight years old and lives in
Selfoss (west Iceland), recalls that only
salted fish was available in inland
towns such as Selfoss and that meat
was never fresh. She says that when
cars began to appear in Iceland, a deliv-
ery of fresh fish would arrive once a
year to her town, when a car came with
a load from a nearby seaside town.
Unnur also says that the most common
foods were fish, lamb and horse meat,
which were mainly salted, along with
haggis, sheep heads and other old tra-
ditional products made from the sheep.
Halla Gudmundsdóttir, 48, has a diplo-
ma in Hotel and Catering Management
and teaches home economics. She
believes that these types of food are
slowly disappearing from the day-to-
day lives of the Icelandic people, but
further adds that other dishes which
were also very common during this
time, such as bjúga (Icelandic sausage),
rice pudding, meatballs, meat soup,
boiled, fried or dried fish and many oth-
ers, are still as popular today as they
were then. Icelanders also pride them-
selves on their wild lamb, especially
when smoked, which is sure to hit the
spot.
Unnur and Halla both remember that
potatoes were served with every meal
and that milk and water were the only
drinks available. Bread was baked at
home and simple cakes, pancakes,
kleinur (Icelandic donuts), flatkökur
(round, flat bread cooked on top of the
stove), ástarpungar ('loveballs'), hjóna-
bandssæla ('marriage happiness'), waf-
fles and Christmas cookies were also a
favourite. These delicacies are still very
popular today. Some are available in
bakeries and shops, while others are
only to be found at grandma's house.
HOW TO EAT LIKE A MODERN
ICELANDER
To eat like an Icelander today, you have
to mix together a combination of old
tradition and new inspiration.
So where can one find traditional home
cooking?
There are many options available for
the traveller when it comes to finding
good traditional food. Thrír Frakkar, for
example, serves old-style plokkfiskur
(fish stew) and fried or raw shark meat.
Boiled fish, which has always been a
popular choice, is also available upon
request. Alternatively, you can try the
romantic Lækjarbrekka, which usually
has traditional dishes on its menu and
even serves skyr for dessert. This spe-
cial yoghurt-like product is a must for
everyone visiting Iceland, and can be
found in every refrigerator, lunch box
and shop in town.
For a less expensive meal, try
Múlakaffi, which has a long-standing
reputation for serving truckers large
servings of real food, though it is fre-
quented by all types of Icelanders. This
self-service cafeteria is probably the
only place in Iceland where you will
find a large range of old traditional
meals and normal Icelandic people
wanting a good home cooked meal. So
if you want to try something very
Icelandic, for good value this is the
place. Múlakaffi also caters for group
activities organised through tourist
agencies, and have even prepared tra-
ditional food for special feasts on top
of glaciers.
You can also try the food buffet in the
supermarkets, such as Nýkaup, which
often have warm, simple and satisfy-
ing meals. Alternatively, you can find
surprisingly good microwaveable
meals (such as meatballs in brown
sauce and bjúga sausage) by the
Icelandic company 1944. The compa-
ny's name refers to the year that
Iceland became independent, which
makes it an even better choice. You
can also buy all sorts of Icelandic prod-
ucts, such as hardfiskur, salted fish,
lamb, herring, flatkökur and hot dogs,
on www.islenskt.is, from anywhere in
the world.
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