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Iceland

Iceland: Cooked Herring with Lemon Sauce and Potato Ring (Soðinn Silungur...)

(Icelandic name: Soðinn Silungur með Sitrónusósu og Kartöfluhring)

Iceland: Sveskjuterta (Prune Torte)

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02
 
      Title: Sveskjuterta (Prune Torte)
 Categories: Icelandic, Fruits, Dairy
      Yield: 8 servings
 
MMMMM---------------------------PASTRY--------------------------------
      2 c  Flour
  1 1/4 c  Butter or margarine
      1 tb Vinegar
    1/2 c  Water

MMMMM-----------------------CREAM FILLING----------------------------
      1 c  Milk
    1/2 ts Vanilla
      1    Egg yolk
      1 tb Sugar
      2 tb Flour
    1/2 lb Prunes
      1 c  Whipping cream (up to 2 c)
           Confectioner's sugar

Iceland: Skyr

If you ask somebody from Iceland what food from home they miss most when they're away for prolonged periods, an answer you're really likely to hear is "Skyr!" (It rhymes with "hear", by the way.)

This is one of the older continuously-eaten foods in the world, dating straight back to the Viking days -- a reminder of the times when those Scandinavian peoples known for going out viking* were still depending on cattle for milk and meat. (Later they went in more for sheep.) Skyr is sometimes incorrectly translated as "Icelandic curds", giving people the erroneous idea that it's something like cottage cheese. Others refer to it as a yogurt, but it's not that, either: the organism used to culture the milk is different, and the setting agent is rennet -- another indicator that this product goes back to the days when the people who devised it were working with cows rather than sheep, as rennet used to be made from calves' stomachs. (These days it's produced artificially from vegetable sources.) Because a setting agent is used in making it, skyr is officially a kind of cheese.

But why get all hung up on the definitions? Skyr is tasty -- its refreshing, slightly tart flavor is similar to créme fraiche, though its sourness is a little more delicate. (This makes it particularly good with fresh fruit.) It's low-fat, easy to digest, and amenable to being flavored in all kinds of ways... so it's no surprise that skyr is one of the most popular foods in Iceland. There are many national brands (and most of them have websites: you can see a typical one here, or look at Skyr.net's informational site for links to others).

Skyr is offered to the Icelanders in all kinds of forms -- drinkable skyr, fruit skyr, savory skyr, creamed skyr, you name it. (One of the most surprising: skyr with aloe vera.)

If you're more interested in buying skyr than making it, and you're in the US or the UK, check out this link to see if it's being offered by a store or chain near you.

Otherwise, you can always click "read more" for a recipe for making skyr at home.

*"Viking" is also a verb, meaning to go out raiding.

Iceland: Kartöfluflatbrauð (Potato Flatbread)

Kartöfluflatbrauð

Yield: 6 breads

  • 1 lb Cooked potatoes

  • 1/2 lb Rye flour

Peel and mash potatoes. When cool, knead rye flour into them. How much rye flour you have to add depends on how soft the potatoes are, but knead until the dough does not stick to your hands.

With your hands make round balls, about the size of a tennis ball, flatten with a rolling pin until fairly thin, and prick with a fork. Bake on both sides on a hot cast-iron pan, using low flame. Pile up and cover with a damp cloth to keep soft.

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