Cuisine

Background Information

The people of Iceland tend to use a lot of fresh fish, meats, and vegetables in their cuisine. They usually hot-smoke the food to ensure they get the maximum flavor. There are not many dishes specific to Iceland because they borrow recipies from many different countries, and alter them slightly to give them an Icelandic flair. Because of the climate and because there is not a lot of farm land, the people of Iceland have to be resourceful and make theiir cuisine from whatever would grow there. They do, however, enjoy fishing because they are surrounded by the Ocean and fresh seafood is abundant. Because of this, seafood is plentiful and typical of the types of meals served in Iceland. Interestingly, vegetable consumption has increased over the years because Iceland is moving toward more European type cuisine. As such, they are using more vegetables than fish in their cusine. Most vegetables need to be shipped into the country, becuase not all vegetables can grow in the Iceland climate. In addition, they enjoy many different types of cheeses - over 80 different kinds are made yearly! Garlic is used as a common and key ingredient in almost all dishes. Also, lamb is popular and is the preffered meat, usually served with mustard sauce. There are a lot of traditional Icelandic dishes that are highly unusual and exotic, such as Ram meat with urine "sauce" used for dipping. The Icelandic people also eat whale, which is not a food commonly served in the United States.

Symbolic Person in Icelandic Cuisine-Volundur Volundarson

Volundur Volundarson is a famous Icelandic chef who has his own show on television called Chef Volli's  Cooking Show. Volundur Volundarson means Chef Warly, or warlike chef. His homeland is in Iceland, but he cooks primarily in the Bahamas. He moves up the ranks of restaurant owners year after year due largely to his popular and highly acclaimed seafood dishes. His favorite ingredient is dried Icelandic seaweed, because of its distinct flavor. He takes many common European and American dishes and adds some classic Icelandic ingredients to make it more distinctive to Iceland - and then he re-names the dish. He always uses fresh ingredients and loves preparing seafood and vegetable dishes.

Symbolic Place in Icelandic Cuisine-The Seafood Cellar

The Seafood Cellar restaurant is located in Reykjavik, Iceland. The Seafood Cellar is one of the finest restaurants in all of Iceland. It won the Conde Nast Traveler award in 2004, which is an award that is sought after by restaurants all over the world. Its head chef is the innovative Larus Gunnar Jonasson. It obviously is known for its Seafood and extra fresh, unusual and tasty ingredients. Although it is known to be expensive, it is completely worth the money because it serves both traditional Icelandic dishes, and new and creative ones that the chefs invent themselves. They are also well-known for a type of fish called Vid Tjornina, which are found in the lake nearby the restaurant. Once customers finish their meal, they are given bread crumbs to take to a nearby lake where they then feed the ducks. The atmosphere in the restaurant is very romantic and it is known to provide its customers with a delightful dining experience. Located in Iceland's oldest cellar, it is considered to be the most innovative restaurant in Iceland, and it is also relatively new. In addition to seafood, they also offer vegetarian options for the vegetarians and vegans in Iceland, although this is not terribly common. There are many types of food considered to be delicasies in Iceland that would be unusual and unappealing to most Americans. The Seafood Cellar serves traditional Icelandic cuisine making it a very symbolic restaurant.

Symbolic Object in Icelandic Cuisine-A Spear

The Icelandic people use a spear when they go whaling.  Icelanders have been whaling since the 12th century and did so up until the 19th century.  Whaling was prohibited in the 20th century, but was then legalized seven years later.  Spears are still used today to kill whales and also used as a utensil to cut into and eat the whales.  Although it seems cruel to Americans, the Icelandic people have reasons for their whaling. First, it is part of their culture. Second, they do not waste any part of the whale. Rather, they use the entire whale, whether it's for eating or for clothing. It is similar to the way  Native American Indians used to kill buffaloes to feed and clothe their families. They even used parts of the buffalo to make tools for hunting. 
Now that whaling is legal again in Iceland, the government has issued a quota for whaling. Icelanders can only catch 100 minke whales, and 150 fin whales per year for the next 5 years to help preserve the population. If, however, the Icelanders waste any part of the whale,  whaling will become illegal yet again. The use of whales in Icelandic cuisine is decreasing, possibly out of a fear of exceeding the national quota. Although a spear may seem like a violent way of killing whales, they are nonetheless a highly symbolic object in Icelandic history.