Iceland's most disgusting foods

(in case your eating as you read this, we've spared you the worst! Go to Nanna Gunnarsdóttir's site to see more....)

Svið - Sheep's head

A favourite food (some would say delicacy) in Iceland is a sheep's head. You can get it pre-cooked in a small grocery store called Melabúðin in the west part of town, or frozen in pretty much any supermarket. The whole head is eaten, with the exception of the brain (which is considered a delicacy in France!). The cheek and tongue are the best part. Some people think the eyes are the best part. Seeing as it's lamb or mutton, it just tastes exactly like lamb or mutton. The presentation is mainly what throws people off.

At the "Fljótt og Gott" ("Fast and Good") caféteria at the BSI bus terminal in Reykjavik, it is available daily, and can be bought at the drive-through counter. You can also get sviðasulta (sheep head jam) - which is constructed by chopping up the meat from cooked sheep heads, pressing it into moulds, and then cooling it. That's eaten as a bread topping.

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Hot Spring Rye Bread

Let's move to something a bit more tasty. It's more unusual than disgusting.

The Icelandic rye bread is very popular in the country. It's a dark bread, that's got a very particular taste that's slightly sweet. Nonetheless, it's not a pastry and is mostly eaten on its own with butter, accompanying fish or hung and smoked lamb (hangikjöt). One option in cooking this bread is to put the dough into special wooden casks in the ground close to a hot spring and pick it up the next day. Absolutely delicious!

Read about the others!

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