Thorrablot

Thorri is the name of an old midwinter month running from late January to late February, and thorrablot is the feast held during it. The version people eat now was put together in the last century rather than handed down from the sagas, but the food itself is genuinely old, being what a farm could keep without refrigeration: singed sheep heads, soured ram's testicles pressed into blocks, blood and liver sausage kept in whey, wind-dried fish, rye bread, butter and a shot of caraway spirit. It arrives on a wooden tray, is eaten in a community hall, and is followed by speeches, singing and dancing. The gathering in the darkest weeks matters as much as the menu.

History

The feast takes its name from Þorri, the month of the old Icelandic calendar that runs from about mid-January to mid-February; blót means sacrifice. The medieval Flateyjarbók tells of a yearly midwinter sacrifice to Þorri, but the festival as it is held today took shape in the later 1800s, in the years of Romantic nationalism - the first known celebration was reportedly organised by Icelandic students in Copenhagen in 1873. Today it ranges from family dinners to big organised gatherings with speeches, poetry and dancing (Wikipedia, Þorrablót).

Highlights

• The tray - the fixed set of cured, soured and singed items served together.
• Svid - singed and boiled sheep head, eaten cheek and all.
• The whey curing - meat kept in soured whey, which is where the sharp taste comes from.
• The evening itself - speeches, singing and a dance in the community hall.

When to go

Late January to late February only. Most events are put on by a village, a workplace or a club and are effectively private, so getting to one usually means knowing somebody. Restaurants and supermarkets carry the tray through the season, which is the reliable fallback. Anything public is booked well ahead, since the dates are few.

Things to know

Much of the food is genuinely difficult for outsiders: the sour taste is strong and the sheep head arrives looking back at you. Large parts of the tray get pushed around plates and left. Public versions in the city are priced for visitors and miss the point of the thing, which is a hall full of people who already know each other.

Nearby

The same foods turn up at the weekend market in Reykjavik and in supermarkets through the season.