Hakarl

Hakarl is one of the most infamous foods in the world: Greenland shark, whose flesh is toxic when fresh, cured by fermenting and drying for months until it is safe and intensely pungent, with a powerful ammonia smell. A traditional Icelandic delicacy, above all at the midwinter Thorrablot feast, it is eaten in small cubes and chased with a shot of the caraway spirit brennivin.

What you actually see

• The fermented cubes - the small pale cubes of cured shark.
• The ammonia smell - the powerful aroma that precedes the taste.
• Brennivin - the caraway schnapps chaser that traditionally follows.
• Thorrablot - the midwinter feast where it belongs.

When to go

Year-round for a tasting at a market or restaurant; it is most traditional at the midwinter Thorrablot feast in late winter. It is a small dare more than a meal.

Honest expectations

The smell and taste are genuinely intense and off-putting to most first-timers, so this is a dare and a tradition rather than a delicacy for visitors. A tiny cube with the schnapps chaser is the way to try it. It is safe, thanks to the long curing, despite the fresh shark being toxic.

Nearby

The Kolaportid flea market in Reykjavik and some restaurants offer it; it belongs to the winter feast.