The Icelandic Pantry, fantastic produce from the Arctic
I'm fascinated by different food cultures and traditions and am always keen for culinary adventures, so when I read that a number of Icelandic small scale food producers would be turning a tiny corner of Borough Market into the Icelandic Pantry in early October, I just had to make time to visit. Iceland seems such an exotic destination, a cold and formidable island yet mysterious and magical, a land of fire and ice. It's a place I fully intend to visit some day soon. I went not knowing that much about Icelandic food apart from the horror stories I'm sure we've all heard about rotten shark and eating puffins. I knew that as a big fishing nation, there would be some great quality fish products and hoped to learn more about this northern nation. This was their first collaboration with Borough Market and hopefully not their last as there was some fantastic produce to sample and buy. Amongst the many stalls the following were my particular highlights.
Ósnes Marinated Herring
Marinated herring, oh how I love you...perhaps it's in my genes, as I seem to have real trouble convincing the English half of my family. How can you not like the silky sweet pieces of fish straight from the tub or on a slice of rye bread? I fail to understand why others do not see the appeal. Ósnes are a small family company making this traditional product, the original with onions, based on an old family recipe and a number of newer flavours including mustard and curry. I tried them all and opted for the curry flavour. It's made with fresh herring caught off East Iceland and you know this is good quality stuff at first bite. I followed the advice of Elís Grétarsson and his wife Sóley Birgisdóttir, who make it, and ate the curry flavoured herring with a sliced apple. It was gorgeous....did I mention I ate the whole tub?
iCan Icelandic Smoked Cod Liver - Arctic foie gras
No way....yes, I can hear some of you turning green at the thought of this, perhaps remembering a large spoonful of greasy liquid being forced upon you as a child. I know I have a penchant for anything fishy but seriously, even those of you who don't share my strange addiction will be pleasantly surprised by this delicacy. I have eaten this before, in Norway, but it pretty difficult to get in the UK. It's very good for you, is a great use of a 'waste product' from fishing but most importantly is totally delicious. It's not 'fishy' at all and really does have a similar taste and texture to foie gras without any of the ethics to consider. This would make such an elegant starter but I have a feeling I will eat this in secret before M complains.
Saltverk - hand-harvested sustainable sea salt
Saltverk are the first artisanal geothermal saltworks in Iceland, established only 4 years ago. They hand harvest the salt using methods dating back from the 17th century updated with the use of geothermal energy from Iceland's volcanic springs. As well as their pure flaky sea salt harvested from the clean seawater of the Westfjords, they offer a number of flavoured varieties also; Arctic thyme; Birch smoked; Lava (sinisterly black from activated charcoal and leaves a tingle on your tongue); and finally, the exciting Licorice Salt. This is just wonderful, sweet, salty with a kind of herbal tang you just can't put your finger on. I also tried some of this in chocolate, so seriously good. It would be very hard to not lick your finger and dip it in, like an adult sherbet dip. I have plans for the pot I bought so watch this space. I'm sure that salt tasting is probably quite bad for you and I have to say that I was pretty ready for a pint of cool lager after trialling all the varieties on offer!
Skyr - fresh Icelandic cheese
A fresh tasting strained cheese, unique to Iceland, eaten with fresh berries. The production of which leaves whey as by-product, leading to...
Íslandus - a whey drink made with handpicked Icelandic berries and herbs
After my salt tasting this was very welcome. Whey is a very nutritious by-product from cheese making with similar bioactive properties to yoghurt. Here, the producers combine the whey with crowberries, bilberries and blueberries, all native to Iceland, along with Iceland Moss, Arctic Thyme, Birch and Irish Moss to produce a healthy thirst quenching drink.
Seglbúḋir - Icelandic lamb, cured mutton and smoked and dried meats
This family run farm opened Iceland's first certified artisanal farm slaughterhouse a year ago. I was really impressed with their dedication to supporting animal welfare (setting up their own slaughterhouse allows their sheep to avoid long and stressful journeys). Their sweet and tender lamb was a delight but by far the best was the cured mutton, tasting almost like ham with a deep savouriness that left you wanting more.
There were so many good things to try so it's no disrespect to the others that I only mention those above, it's just they struck a particular chord with me. I learnt a lot, the use of Angelica as a savoury vegetable and flavouring for meat, so different to my knowledge of it here, as a rather out-of-use candied decoration for sweet dishes. A very unusual rhubarb brittle and rhubarb jam from Rabarbía, flat bread made with Iceland Moss and smoked line-caught fish were other delights on offer too. Iceland has definitely moved into the top five for my next travel plans because of this and the only reservation I have now is, where can I buy more of the fantastic produce? Thank you Iceland and well done Borough Market for a eye opening and delicious exploration through food.
Ósnes Marinated Herring
Marinated herring, oh how I love you...perhaps it's in my genes, as I seem to have real trouble convincing the English half of my family. How can you not like the silky sweet pieces of fish straight from the tub or on a slice of rye bread? I fail to understand why others do not see the appeal. Ósnes are a small family company making this traditional product, the original with onions, based on an old family recipe and a number of newer flavours including mustard and curry. I tried them all and opted for the curry flavour. It's made with fresh herring caught off East Iceland and you know this is good quality stuff at first bite. I followed the advice of Elís Grétarsson and his wife Sóley Birgisdóttir, who make it, and ate the curry flavoured herring with a sliced apple. It was gorgeous....did I mention I ate the whole tub?
iCan Icelandic Smoked Cod Liver - Arctic foie gras
No way....yes, I can hear some of you turning green at the thought of this, perhaps remembering a large spoonful of greasy liquid being forced upon you as a child. I know I have a penchant for anything fishy but seriously, even those of you who don't share my strange addiction will be pleasantly surprised by this delicacy. I have eaten this before, in Norway, but it pretty difficult to get in the UK. It's very good for you, is a great use of a 'waste product' from fishing but most importantly is totally delicious. It's not 'fishy' at all and really does have a similar taste and texture to foie gras without any of the ethics to consider. This would make such an elegant starter but I have a feeling I will eat this in secret before M complains.
Saltverk - hand-harvested sustainable sea salt
Saltverk are the first artisanal geothermal saltworks in Iceland, established only 4 years ago. They hand harvest the salt using methods dating back from the 17th century updated with the use of geothermal energy from Iceland's volcanic springs. As well as their pure flaky sea salt harvested from the clean seawater of the Westfjords, they offer a number of flavoured varieties also; Arctic thyme; Birch smoked; Lava (sinisterly black from activated charcoal and leaves a tingle on your tongue); and finally, the exciting Licorice Salt. This is just wonderful, sweet, salty with a kind of herbal tang you just can't put your finger on. I also tried some of this in chocolate, so seriously good. It would be very hard to not lick your finger and dip it in, like an adult sherbet dip. I have plans for the pot I bought so watch this space. I'm sure that salt tasting is probably quite bad for you and I have to say that I was pretty ready for a pint of cool lager after trialling all the varieties on offer!
Skyr - fresh Icelandic cheese
A fresh tasting strained cheese, unique to Iceland, eaten with fresh berries. The production of which leaves whey as by-product, leading to...
Íslandus - a whey drink made with handpicked Icelandic berries and herbs
After my salt tasting this was very welcome. Whey is a very nutritious by-product from cheese making with similar bioactive properties to yoghurt. Here, the producers combine the whey with crowberries, bilberries and blueberries, all native to Iceland, along with Iceland Moss, Arctic Thyme, Birch and Irish Moss to produce a healthy thirst quenching drink.
Seglbúḋir - Icelandic lamb, cured mutton and smoked and dried meats
This family run farm opened Iceland's first certified artisanal farm slaughterhouse a year ago. I was really impressed with their dedication to supporting animal welfare (setting up their own slaughterhouse allows their sheep to avoid long and stressful journeys). Their sweet and tender lamb was a delight but by far the best was the cured mutton, tasting almost like ham with a deep savouriness that left you wanting more.
There were so many good things to try so it's no disrespect to the others that I only mention those above, it's just they struck a particular chord with me. I learnt a lot, the use of Angelica as a savoury vegetable and flavouring for meat, so different to my knowledge of it here, as a rather out-of-use candied decoration for sweet dishes. A very unusual rhubarb brittle and rhubarb jam from Rabarbía, flat bread made with Iceland Moss and smoked line-caught fish were other delights on offer too. Iceland has definitely moved into the top five for my next travel plans because of this and the only reservation I have now is, where can I buy more of the fantastic produce? Thank you Iceland and well done Borough Market for a eye opening and delicious exploration through food.
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