Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday—bright with blue skies and snow everywhere—here in Iceland, so we decided to go to downtown Reykjavik and check out the Icelandic food market in our great concert hall by the sea, Harpa. Being a great connoisseur of food I was excited to see what awaited us, and I was not disappointed. This was not the first time I went to the artisan market, organized by the wonderfully cheesy Búrið, but I knew that there would always be something new awaiting.
Harpa was, of course, packed with people, who, like me, wanted to sample on all the delicacies on offer, most you can’t buy anywhere else. There were over forty producers of various backgrounds with their fresh, innovative, produce, so there was something for everyone.
I tried to taste most of the Icelandic food available. I doubt that I succeeded, but to name just a few things I tasted: rhubarb brittle (rhubarb can be found in most gardens here in Iceland and most children enjoy it with sugar, so of course it works great as a caramel); all kinds of spicy mustards and condiments; healthy drinks and teas made from Icelandic herbs, flowers fruits and vegetables; mojito(!) preserves; fruity hard candy; all kinds of fish jerky (harðfiskur), made in many different ways from cod, haddock or wolfish; and salts, a lot of salts with fantastic flavor blends (my favorite being licorice).
When we got back home, I cooked up some great bacon and pork schnitzelI bought from vendor called Krás, and in desert, I ate a whole bag of what can best be described as fish jerky chips. Thin and crunchy wafers of salty fish jerky goodness, from Depla—my new favorite snack.
