Iceland review - 2016, Page 53

50 ICELAND REVIEW ICELAND REVIEW 51
HISTORY
Rye and barley were used for making the traditional flatbread
baked over open fire, which dated back to the settlement.
Foreign visitors commented on the lack of grain in their
travelogues—stating, for example, that farmers were willing
to trade nights with their daughters in exchange for bread.
“That’s an exaggeration. Some grain was consumed daily,” says
Nanna. However, to make the most of it, grain was rather used
for porridge than bread. Both were often supplemented with
Iceland moss, a vitamin-rich wild lichen, which Nanna believes
may have contributed to the survival of the Icelandic nation.
Other wild herbs, such as angelica, were also a valuable food
source. Notably, despite the fact that a large proportion of the
Icelandic settlers were of Celtic origin, forced to the country
as slaves by their Norse masters, the only evidence of Celtic
cuisine in Icelandic food traditions is the use of dulse, picked
from seashores. Dulse is mentioned in Egils Saga, when Egill’s
daughter Þorgerður tricks him into eating it, preventing him
from starving himself to death.
THE BIRTH OF A FISHING NATION
Drying meat may not have been an option, but dried fish soon
became a vital part of the diet. It was simply hung out to dry;
neither fuel nor salt was required. Eaten buttered, dried fish
was given to farmhands instead of a daily portion of bread, and
fish in some form was typical everyday food. “The schoolboys
at Skálholt [bishopric] were sometimes served fish three times
a day,” reveals Nanna. Fish was also fermented or preserved by
other means. Freshwater fish and other land resources were
exploited, including wild birds and eggs.
In the early 15th century, the so-called English Century,
when foreigners started making huge profits from Iceland’s
abundant marine resources, natives, too, came to realize their
value. Fish and shark were caught for export, in open rowboats
under hazardous circumstances. Foreign fishermen brought
with them desired goods, such as biscuits and honey, which
they traded for fresh meat and woolen products. Imports of
food gradually increased, and commodities, including coffee,
sugar and rice, were incorporated into Icelandic food culture.
SWEET NOVELTIES
In the latter half of the 19th century, experiments were made
with growing various foods in Iceland. Potatoes, yellow tur-
nips (swedes) and rhubarb—originally imported as a medic-
inal plant—proved a hit. However, Icelanders didn’t take an
immediate liking to all novelties. “There are examples of
people refusing to work as farmhands in places where kale was
served,” says Nanna, laughing. Around 1920, the first green-
houses for growing tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables
were built, making use of the country’s geothermal heat, but it
would take Icelanders a long time still to warm up to greens.
They were quick to develop a sweet tooth, though. “Sugar
consumption took off in the mid-19th century and then quad-
rupled,” states Nanna, explaining that sugar was used, for
example, to sweeten skyr. “The biggest change to Icelandic
cuisine occurred in the early 20th century when the stove
arrived,” she adds. True to Icelandic hospitality, housewives
offered guests the best food available, and plates heaped with
fatty smoked and soured meat were traded for mounds of
cakes and pastries. New recipes for both sweet and savory
dishes mostly came from Denmark, Iceland’s colonial power
until 1944. “Culinary traditions change and evolve,” remarks
Nanna. Eventually, what she describes as a “cuisine of wants”
became a cuisine of plenty. *
Whey, a by-product of skyr production, was consumed
as a nutritious beverage.