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þorramatur
Þorramatur (; transliterated as thorramatur; ) is a selection of traditional Icelandic food, consisting mainly of meat and fish products cured in a traditional manner, cut into slices or pieces and served with rúgbrauð (dense and dark rye bread), butter and brennivÃn (an Icelandic akvavit). Þorramatur is consumed during the Nordic month of ''Þorri'' (Thorri), in January and February, particularly at the mid-winter feast of Þorrablót (Thorrablot) as a tribute to old culture. Being thus connected with the tradition of Þorrablót festivals, Þorramatur is most often served as a buffet. History Þorramatur is an example of an invented tradition that first emerged with the midwinter festivals of regional associations of migrants who had moved from the Icelandic countryside to ReykjavÃk during the urbanisation boom of the post-World War II era. These festivals were very popular in the 1950s and 1960s and some of them are still held every year, although their impact on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelandic Cuisine
The cuisine of Iceland has a long history. Important parts of Iceland, Icelandic cuisine are lamb, dairy, and Fish as food, fish, the latter because Iceland has traditionally been inhabited only near its coastline. Popular foods in Iceland include skyr, hangikjöt (smoked lamb), kleina, kleinur, laufabrauð, and bolla (food), bollur. Þorramatur is a traditional buffet served at midwinter festivals called Þorrablót; it includes a selection of traditionally cured meat and fish products served with ''rúgbrauð'' (dense dark and sweet rye bread) and brennivÃn (an Icelandic akvavit). The flavors of this traditional country food originate in its food preservation, preservation methods: pickling in fermented whey or brine, drying, and smoking. Modern Icelandic chefs usually emphasise the quality of available ingredients rather than age-old cooking traditions and methods. Numerous restaurants in Iceland specialise in seafood. At the annual Food and Fun chef's competition (held sinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Svið
Svið (; transliterated as svid or svith) is a traditional Icelandic dish consisting of a sheep's head cut in half, singed to remove the fur, and boiled with the brain removed, sometimes cured in lactic acid. Svið originally arose at a time when people could not afford to let any part of a slaughtered animal go to waste. It is part of þorramatur, a selection of various traditional Icelandic food that is served as a buffet, particularly at the Þorrablót mid-winter festival. It is used as the basis for sviðasulta (head cheese or brawn, made from bits of svið pressed into gelatinous loaves pickled in whey). Similar dishes can also be found in other Western Nordic countries, such as smalahove in Norway and seyðarhøvd on the Faroe Islands. When eating svið, the ears are sometimes considered taboo due to the superstitious belief that when they (bearing the mark of the animal's owner) are removed, the eater will be accused of theft. It is sometimes held that if the littl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ReykjavÃk
ReykjavÃk is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. ReykjavÃk has a population of around 139,000 as of 2025. The surrounding Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region has a population of around 249,000, constituting around 64% of the country's population. ReykjavÃk is believed to be the location of the first permanent settlement in Iceland, which, according to , was established by Ingólfr Arnarson, Ingólfur Arnarson in 874 Anno Domini, AD. Until the 18th century, there was no urban development in the city location. The city was officially founded in 1786 as a trading town and grew steadily over the following decades, as it transformed into a regional and later Country, national centre of commerce, population, and governmental activities. Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Head Cheese
Head cheese () or brawn is a meat jelly or terrine made of meat. Somewhat similar to a jellied meatloaf, it is made with flesh from the head of a calf or pig (less commonly a sheep or cow), typically set in aspic. It is usually eaten cold, at room temperature, or in a sandwich. Despite its name, the dish is not a cheese and contains no dairy products. The parts of the head used vary, and may include the tongue but do not commonly include the brain, eyes or ears. Trimmings from more commonly eaten cuts of pork and veal are often used, and sometimes the feet and heart, with gelatin added as a binder. Variations of head cheese exist throughout Europe and elsewhere, with differences in preparation and ingredients. A version pickled with vinegar is known as ''souse''. Historically, meat jellies were made of the head of an animal, less its organs, which would be simmered to produce a naturally gelatinous stock that would congeal as the dish cooled. Meat jellies made this way we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenland Shark
The Greenland shark (''Somniosus microcephalus''), also known as the gurry shark or grey shark, is a large shark of the family Somniosidae ("sleeper sharks"), closely related to the Pacific and southern sleeper sharks. Inhabiting the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, they are notable for their exceptional longevity, although they are poorly studied due to the depth and remoteness of their natural habitat. Greenland sharks have the longest lifespan of any known vertebrate, estimated to be between 250 and 500 years. They are among the largest extant shark species, reaching a maximum confirmed length of long and weighing over . They reach sexual maturity at about 150 years of age, and their pups are born alive after an estimated gestation period of 8 to 18 years. The shark is a generalist feeder, consuming a variety of available foods, including carrion. Greenland shark meat is toxic to mammals due to its high levels of trimethylamine ''N''-oxide, although a treated form of i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breiðafjörður
Breiðafjörður (, ''wide fjord'') is a large shallow bay, about wide and long, to the west of Iceland. It separates the region of the Westfjords (Vestfirðir) from the Snæfellsnes peninsula to the south. Breiðafjörður is encircled by mountains, including Kirkjufell and the glacier Snæfellsjökull on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, and the Látrabjarg bird cliffs at the tip of the Westfjords. Numerous smaller fjords extend inland from Breiðafjörður, the largest being Hvammsfjörður at its southeastern corner. An interesting feature of the bay is that the land to the north was formed about 15 million years ago, whereas the land to the south was formed less than half that time ago.. Breiðafjörður therefore was formed by tectonic movements and all the islands and skerries were made by volcanic eruptions to form ridges and craters that mostly line up in an east-west position. Nature Breiðafjörður has a land and seascape consisting of shallow seas, small fjords and ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinniped
Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely range (biology), distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant taxon, extant families Odobenidae (whose only living member is the walrus), Otariidae (the eared seals: sea lions and fur seals), and Phocidae (the earless seals, or true seals), with 34 extant species and more than 50 extinct species described from fossils. While seals were historically thought to have descended from two ancestral lines, molecular phylogenetics, molecular evidence supports them as a monophyletic group (descended from one ancestor). Pinnipeds belong to the suborder Caniformia of the order Carnivora; their closest living relatives are musteloids (Mustelidae, weasels, Procyonidae, raccoons, skunks and red pandas), having diverged about 50 million years ago. Seals range in size from the and Baikal seal to the and southern elephant seal. Several species exhibit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hákarl
(short for ), referred to as fermented shark in English, is a national dish of Iceland consisting of Greenland shark or other sleeper shark that has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for four to five months. It has a strong ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste, making an acquired taste. Fermented shark is readily available in Icelandic stores and may be eaten year-round, but is most often served as part of a , a selection of traditional Icelandic food served at the midwinter festival . The consumption, hunting, and bycatch of Greenlandic sharks has been criticized, as the species takes 150 years to reach sexual maturity, with some individuals living up to 400 years. Consumption Fermented shark contains a large amount of ammonia and has a strong smell, similar to that of many cleaning products. It is often served in tiny cubes on toothpicks. Those new to it may gag involuntarily at the first attempt to eat it because of the high ammonia con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Sheep
Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ''ewe'' ( ), an intact male as a ''ram'', occasionally a ''tup'', a castrated male as a ''wether'', and a young sheep as a ''lamb''. Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat ( lamb, hogget or mutton), and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Testicle
A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is Homology (biology), homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of Androgen, androgens, primarily testosterone. The release of testosterone is regulated by luteinizing hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary gland. Sperm production is controlled by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) from the anterior pituitary gland and by testosterone produced within the gonads. Structure Appearance Males have two testicles of similar size contained within the scrotum, which is an extension of the abdominal wall. Scrotal asymmetry, in which one testicle extends farther down into the scrotum than the other, is common. This is because of the differences in the vasculature's anatomy. For 85% of men, the right testis hangs lower than the left one. Measurement and volume The volume of the testicle can be estimated by palpating it and compari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheep
Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ''ewe'' ( ), an intact male as a ''ram'', occasionally a ''tup'', a castrated male as a ''wether'', and a young sheep as a ''lamb''. Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat ( lamb, hogget or mutton), and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
