Some time ago I promised a truely grotesque experience, it was around the time many were eulogizing their Thanksgiving feasts.
This is the week of Torrablot in Iceland, a presumably Pagan festival with a dark and mysterious history, well research references to explain this extraordinary behaviour will be appreciated.
The following extract is taken from the web site of the Icelandic Tourist Board - they sure know how to give a visitor a good time!
"When Vikings sat down for their annual midwinter feast, it wasn't exactly tea and crumpets time. Vikings celebrated February - the fourth month of winter - with plenty of dancing and singing and hearty Viking-sized meals of Slatur - sheep's blood pudding rolled in lard and sewn up in the stomach. They consumed half-boiled lamb's heads called Svid, seal flippers, rotten shark, and scarfed our personal favorite, pickled ram's testicles. While these delicacies are not part of the normal everyday diet of Icelanders, visitors and locals alike can eat like a Viking during special events in February in restaurants, homes, and community centers throughout Iceland. Visit Iceland in February; it is well worth experiencing."
I actually took part in a Torrablot held in a London hotel in 1991. They were banned from ever returning. The stench of rotting shark still lingers in the darker recess of my brain. It is buried on the beach for anything upto 13 years then dug up and eaten. it is similar to gargling with ammonia jelly. The only saving grace of the whole festival is Black Death, reputed to be pure alcohol it is drunk from thimble glasses ice cold and chased down with beer.
Nothing would make me go back to a Torrablot - for the food, though the Icelandic people themselves are astonishinly kind and generous.
Actually the lamb's head wasn't too bad, especially if it had been well smoked. Rams testicles leave a cloying taste on the pallate.
Hope no ones having dinner.
Will's
This is the week of Torrablot in Iceland, a presumably Pagan festival with a dark and mysterious history, well research references to explain this extraordinary behaviour will be appreciated.
The following extract is taken from the web site of the Icelandic Tourist Board - they sure know how to give a visitor a good time!
"When Vikings sat down for their annual midwinter feast, it wasn't exactly tea and crumpets time. Vikings celebrated February - the fourth month of winter - with plenty of dancing and singing and hearty Viking-sized meals of Slatur - sheep's blood pudding rolled in lard and sewn up in the stomach. They consumed half-boiled lamb's heads called Svid, seal flippers, rotten shark, and scarfed our personal favorite, pickled ram's testicles. While these delicacies are not part of the normal everyday diet of Icelanders, visitors and locals alike can eat like a Viking during special events in February in restaurants, homes, and community centers throughout Iceland. Visit Iceland in February; it is well worth experiencing."
I actually took part in a Torrablot held in a London hotel in 1991. They were banned from ever returning. The stench of rotting shark still lingers in the darker recess of my brain. It is buried on the beach for anything upto 13 years then dug up and eaten. it is similar to gargling with ammonia jelly. The only saving grace of the whole festival is Black Death, reputed to be pure alcohol it is drunk from thimble glasses ice cold and chased down with beer.
Nothing would make me go back to a Torrablot - for the food, though the Icelandic people themselves are astonishinly kind and generous.
Actually the lamb's head wasn't too bad, especially if it had been well smoked. Rams testicles leave a cloying taste on the pallate.
Hope no ones having dinner.
Will's
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