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Drink · Iceland
Brennivín
A grain spirit flavored with caraway, served very cold in small measures. Launched in 1935 when Iceland again allowed distilled spirits, it became the drink of Þorrablót.
Flavors · Iceland
Þorramatur
Selection of meats and fish preserved in the old-fashioned way, served at Þorrablót, the festival of the month of Þorri in midwinter. It is accompanied by rye bread, butter and brennivín.
Traditional dish from Iceland
Also known as: Thorramatur
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Þorramatur — Iceland
Þorramatur, “food of Þorri,” is the meal of Þorrablót, the celebration held in the month of Þorri of the old Icelandic calendar, from mid-January to mid-February. Families, associations and villages gather to eat, sing and talk, and the banquet brings together foods prepared with traditional preservation techniques.
On the table you will find hákarl, shark fermented and dried for months; svið, a charred and boiled sheep’s head; hangikjöt, smoked lamb; pickled herring; and meats kept in whey, including cured sheep testicles.
These foods recall a time when preservation was how people got through winter without refrigerators. Hákarl, for example, is fermented because shark meat is toxic when fresh, according to Reykjavík tourism.
Þorramatur is served with rúgbrauð and butter, and is usually accompanied by a small shot of chilled brennivín. Svið may be served with rutabaga or potato purée.
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Where it comes from
Iceland
Midwinter banquet celebrated across the country in the month of Þorri.
Ingredients
Hákarl (fermented shark), svið (sheep’s head), hangikjöt (smoked lamb), pickled herring, meats cured in whey; rúgbrauð and butter. Svið may be served with rutabaga or potato purée.
How it is eaten
On a platter or buffet, a little of each item, with rye bread and butter; hákarl cut into small cubes.
When it is eaten
Þorrablót, in the month of Þorri, from mid-January to mid-February.
Your questions
Questions about Þorramatur
What is þorramatur?
A selection of meats and fish preserved in the old-fashioned way, served at Þorrablót, the midwinter festival.
When does Þorrablót take place?
In the month of Þorri of the old Icelandic calendar, from mid-January to mid-February.
What is included on a þorramatur plate?
Among others: hákarl (fermented shark), svið (sheep’s head), smoked lamb, herring and meats cured in whey, served with rye bread and butter.
Flavors of Iceland
Discover other flavors of Iceland
Dish · Iceland
Kjötsúpa
Lamb soup cooked with potato, carrot, rutabaga or turnip and herbs in a thick broth. It’s the winter dish most closely associated with Icelandic homes, with a different recipe in every family.
Dish · Iceland
Plokkfiskur
White cooked fish, usually cod or haddock, flaked and mixed with potato, onion, and white sauce. A classic Icelandic home dish, served with rye bread and butter.
Dish · Iceland
Rúgbrauð
Dark, dense, slightly sweet rye bread, baked for many hours at low, humid heat. In geothermal areas, it is baked buried in the hot ground and is called hverabrauð.
Dish · Fiordes do Oeste
Kæst skata
Skata fermented for several weeks, cooked and served with potato, rutabaga, melted lamb tallow and rye bread. It is the dish of December 23, a custom that started in the Westfjords and spread across Iceland.
Dish · Nordeste
Laufabrauð
Very thin wheat dough discs, cut with leaf designs and fried until crisp. It is the Icelandic Christmas bread, a tradition that remained especially in the north of the country before spreading.