Svið (Icelandic pronunciation:[ˈsvɪːθ]; transliterated as svid or svith) is a traditional Icelandic dish consisting of a sheep's head cut in half, singed to remove the fur, and boiled with the brain removed,[1] sometimes cured in lactic acid.
Svið served with mashed potatoes and swede at the BSÍ in Reykjavík.
Svið originally arose at a time when people could not afford to let any part of a slaughtered animal go to waste. It is part of þorramatur, a selection of various traditional Icelandic food that is served as a buffet, particularly at the Þorrablót mid-winter festival. It is used as the basis for sviðasulta (head cheese or brawn, made from bits of svið pressed into gelatinous loaves pickled in whey).[2] Similar dishes can also be found in other Western Nordic countries, such as smalahove in Norway and seyðarhøvd on the Faroe Islands.
When eating svið, the ears are sometimes considered taboo due to the superstitious belief that when they (bearing the mark of the animal's owner) are removed, the eater will be accused of theft. It is sometimes held that if the little bone underneath the tongue is not broken, a child that cannot yet speak will remain silent forever.[3] Many Icelanders consider the eye to be the best part of the head.[4]
Lara Weber, writing in the Chicago Tribune, described her experience of eating svið in a 1995 article on Icelandic cuisine:
Never did I expect to taste such a barbaric dish as a sheep's head. But a decade later there it was on my plate, looking up at me with a sorrowful glaze in its eyes. I pulled the jaw apart and stabbed a clump of meat with my fork. When in Iceland... And it wasn't bad. Really. The cheek, where most of the meat is found, was tender and rather tasty. Dipped in a little rhubarb jelly, it was even better. Just beware of the eyes. Those baby blues are considered a delicacy. Well, really, it's the entire eye socket that some Icelanders find so appetizing, with or without the actual eyeball included. So plop that hunk of meat into your mouth and try to think about something else. Anything else.[5]
Svið is prepared by first burning off the hair, then cleaning the head under running cold water while paying special attention to the eyes and ears. The head must then be sawn in half lengthwise and the brain removed; if it is frozen first, this is less messy. The brains can be cooked with the skin. When it is ready for cooking, it is put into a cooking pot, sprinkled with coarse salt and partly covered with water. When the water boils, the scum is skimmed off. The head can then be cooked covered for 60 to 90 minutes, until the flesh is cooked through but before it has begun to separate from the bone. It can then be served immediately, hot, or can be left to cool down so that it can be served cold.[1]
svið, icelandic, pronunciation, ˈsvɪːθ, transliterated, svid, svith, traditional, icelandic, dish, consisting, sheep, head, half, singed, remove, boiled, with, brain, removed, sometimes, cured, lactic, acid, served, with, mashed, potatoes, swede, bsÍ, reykjaví. Svid Icelandic pronunciation ˈsvɪː8 transliterated as svid or svith is a traditional Icelandic dish consisting of a sheep s head cut in half singed to remove the fur and boiled with the brain removed 1 sometimes cured in lactic acid Svid served with mashed potatoes and swede at the BSI in Reykjavik Svid originally arose at a time when people could not afford to let any part of a slaughtered animal go to waste It is part of thorramatur a selection of various traditional Icelandic food that is served as a buffet particularly at the THorrablot mid winter festival It is used as the basis for svidasulta head cheese or brawn made from bits of svid pressed into gelatinous loaves pickled in whey 2 Similar dishes can also be found in other Western Nordic countries such as smalahove in Norway and seydarhovd on the Faroe Islands When eating svid the ears are sometimes considered taboo due to the superstitious belief that when they bearing the mark of the animal s owner are removed the eater will be accused of theft It is sometimes held that if the little bone underneath the tongue is not broken a child that cannot yet speak will remain silent forever 3 Many Icelanders consider the eye to be the best part of the head 4 Lara Weber writing in the Chicago Tribune described her experience of eating svid in a 1995 article on Icelandic cuisine Never did I expect to taste such a barbaric dish as a sheep s head But a decade later there it was on my plate looking up at me with a sorrowful glaze in its eyes I pulled the jaw apart and stabbed a clump of meat with my fork When in Iceland And it wasn t bad Really The cheek where most of the meat is found was tender and rather tasty Dipped in a little rhubarb jelly it was even better Just beware of the eyes Those baby blues are considered a delicacy Well really it s the entire eye socket that some Icelanders find so appetizing with or without the actual eyeball included So plop that hunk of meat into your mouth and try to think about something else Anything else 5 Contents 1 Preparation 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksPreparation editSvid is prepared by first burning off the hair then cleaning the head under running cold water while paying special attention to the eyes and ears The head must then be sawn in half lengthwise and the brain removed if it is frozen first this is less messy The brains can be cooked with the skin When it is ready for cooking it is put into a cooking pot sprinkled with coarse salt and partly covered with water When the water boils the scum is skimmed off The head can then be cooked covered for 60 to 90 minutes until the flesh is cooked through but before it has begun to separate from the bone It can then be served immediately hot or can be left to cool down so that it can be served cold 1 See also edit nbsp Food portalBeshbarmak Kale Pache Smalahove Powsowdie List of lamb dishesReferences edit a b Kulseth P M 2010 Redeemed Xlibris p 39 ISBN 978 1 4535 5918 5 Parnell Fran Presser Brandon 2010 Lonely Planet Iceland Lonely Planet p 50 ISBN 978 1 74104 455 3 Maike Hanneck 2004 Island Kochbuch turi p 45 ISBN 978 9979 9641 0 0 Andrea Water 2005 Probier mal MERIAN in German Jahreszeiten Verlag 2005 6 ISBN 978 3 7742 7006 0 ISSN 0026 0029 Weber Lara 14 May 1995 A guide to colorful traditional Icelandic dishes Chicago Tribune External links editPreparation and consumption of svid video One man s account of his first time eating Svid from the Reykjavik Grapevine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Svid amp oldid 1193329916, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
