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Terri Mapes
Terri's Scandinavia Travel Blog

By Terri Mapes, About.com Guide to Scandinavia Travel

Thorrablot in Iceland

Thursday January 18, 2007
How brave are you? When Vikings sat down for their annual midwinter feast, it wasn't exactly with tea and cookies. Vikings celebrated February - the fourth month of the Scandinavian winter - with plenty of dancing and singing and hearty "Þorrablót" (Thorrablot): Viking-style meals. Slatur, for example, is sheep ingredients rolled in lard and sewn up in the stomach. The Vikings also consumed half-boiled lamb's heads called Svid, seal flippers, and... pickled ram's testicles. Nothing for weak stomachs...!

Don't worry, these things are NOT part of the normal everyday diet of Icelanders! Hoever, locals and (brave) visitors alike can eat like a Viking during many special Thorrablot dinner events between January 18 - February 16 in restaurants and community centers throughout Iceland.

Read more in Thorrablot: Iceland's Midwinter Feast
January in Scandinavia
February in Scandinavia
Destination Iceland

Comments

January 18, 2007 at 4:52 pm
(1) Courtney says:

Is fish a major part of Thorrablot meals? One of my favorite things about Scandinavian cuisine is the wonderful fish.

January 18, 2007 at 5:07 pm
(2) goscandinavia says:

Hi Courtney,

Yes, definitely – fish is always a part of the feast. Especially shark is a famous part of the meal and even though “rotten shark” may not sound too good, it can taste really delicious!

Terri

November 15, 2007 at 1:05 pm
(3) Valgard Jonsson says:

[Slatur:] It’s made of rye meal, bllod and cut up sheep intestinal fat and may as you say be cooked a portion of the stomack or in canvas bags or the intestines.

Valgard Jonsson

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