Food & Drink

Icelandic cuisine is influenced by Scandinavian and European cuisines, and based heavily on fish and lamb. Salmon served in many forms, most popularly as gravlax. Specialities include hangikjot (smoked lamb) and hardfiskur (dried fish).

Types of Food

Iceland offers a fine variety of all kinds of foods produced locally. The quality is excellent, in part because of a very clean environment.

Fish

Fish dishes in Iceland include Icelandic fish, caught in the waters of the North Atlantic, which have established a reputation for its superb quality and delicious taste world-wide. Fresh fish can be had all the year round, as can unsalted stockfish. Icelanders eat mostly haddock, plaice, halibut, herring and shrimp.

Meat

Perhaps the best is lamb, mostly because the sheep range freely in the mountains. Iceland has strict regulations relating to meat production and the use of hormones is strictly forbidden. Poultry farming is considerable in Iceland. The most common types of bird reared are chicken, duck and turkey. Certain species of wild birds are hunted, including geese.

Dairy Products

A wide range of cheeses and other dairy products are made in Iceland. There are over 80 types of cheese made, some of which have won international awards. Skyr (which is something between yogurt and the German "Quark") and mysa (whey) are specialities that have been made in farms through the centuries in Iceland.

Fruits and Vegetables

Even though Iceland is situated near the polar circle, many garden vegetables are grown outside, including cabbage and potatoes. Some other vegetables, fruits and flowers are grown in geothermally heated greenhouses.

Thorramatur

Iceland has a range of traditional foods, known as thorramatur, which are enjoyed seasonally from January to March. These traditional foods include smoked and salted lamb, singed sheep heads (svid), dried fish, smoked and pickled salmon, cured shark and various other delicacies. Breads include laufabraud (deep-fried paper-thin bread), kleinur (similar to doughnuts) and rye pancakes.