The Weirdest Food in Iceland

It's a fact that some dishes are more unusual than others - whether it's a live octopus in South Korea, Casu Marzu in Italy, or spam in the United States - there's plenty of weird food in the world. In this article we are going to discuss Iceland's weird foods - the traditional Icelandic dishes that came to be a thousand years ago. Iceland’s isolation from the rest of Europe and harsh living conditions in the past have led to some interesting food choices that helped the first settlers survive. And while Icelandic cuisine is now all about creative flair and classy dishes, you can still get your hands on traditional food.

A lot of it can be tried during the Þorrablót celebrations, a midwinter festival honoring Iceland’s Pagan roots and traditions that occurs every January, but at other times of the year, you can usually find Iceland’s strange foods if you really look for them.

Read on to discover the weird Icelandic foods that locals still eat to this day. And if all this talk of food makes you hungry, you'll also discover where you can try them on your campervan trip in Iceland.

1. Fermented Shark - Hákarl

The most famous of all strange Icelandic foods is hákarl, or fermented shark. The early Viking settlers of Iceland didn’t have a lot of options for food, so they had to get inventive. The Greenland Shark, of which there are many in the waters near Iceland, provided a large food source for the hardy Icelanders.

However, shark meat contains toxic chemicals that protect it from the freezing oceans—a few small bites are lethal for humans. Instead, Icelanders discovered they could ferment the shark in its own chemicals by burying it underground for six to twelve weeks.

Afterward, the shark meat was hung up to dry for several more months before finally being ready to eat. The smell of ammonia is almost overpowering, and the flavor is just as bad. Try it at your own peril.

We recommend swilling down some Brennivín, commonly called ‘The Black Death,’ to wash away the shark’s flavor. Head to Íslenski Barinn in downtown Reykjavik to sample the two together. Although some Icelanders really enjoy hákarl, the world-famous TV chef Anthony Bourdain once described it as "the most disgusting thing he had ever tasted."

2. Sheep’s Head – Svið

Sheep have long played an important part in Icelander’s survival; the wool keeps everyone warm in the wintertime with the traditional Icelandic Lopapeysa, and lamb meat plays a starring role on restaurant menus throughout the country year-round. There are even more sheep in Iceland than humans!

But once again, thanks to the tough living conditions in the early days of Iceland, the locals couldn’t waste anything, so they ate the sheep’s heads. The presentation of this dish usually puts travelers off trying it while in Iceland - it’s not every day that an entire sheep’s head stares up at you from your plate.

It’s still a popular dish today. The brain is removed before chefs boil the head for about an hour. The cheek is the meatiest piece and favorite of many an Icelander. You can pick one up at a local supermarket. If you want to try svið without looking at the actual sheep head, you can try sviðasulta - jellied meat from the sheep head. Many people find it a lot more palatable.

3. Sour Ram Testicles - Súrsaðir hrútspungar

This is no Icelandic meat soup; in fact, this has to be one of the weirdest foods in Iceland. Proving beyond a doubt that the early Icelanders had to use everything they could as a food source in the early days, ram testicles are now a delicacy in the country and one of the strangest foods to try on a visit to the country.

To prepare them, chefs thoroughly wash, boil, and then pickle them for several months in whey. After that, they are pressed together into a rectangular block, which is then sliced up and served alongside all the other weird and wonderful traditional Icelandic food. You can purchase them in supermarkets during the winter, although the main season for them is around February.

4. Dried Fish – Harðfiskur

Perhaps not as weird as the others on this list, harðfiskur can be bought year-round at supermarkets. It makes the perfect (albeit a little smelly) snack to take with you on your campervan journey. It's also a very good snack for hiking and other outdoor activities, as it weighs relatively little but contains a lot of protein and other nutrients.

You might have realized by now that Icelanders had to pickle, salt, dry, cure, and ferment a lot of their food so that they would survive the long, dark winters, and this is just another example.

While driving around Iceland in your campervan, you might often spy on wooden shacks on the outskirts of towns where they dry the fish, with it hanging up from hooks. A popular way to eat it is by smearing some butter on it while you eat. The two main types of harðfiskur are ýsa (Haddock) and steinbítur (Atlantic wolffish).

5. Blood Pudding and Icelandic Haggis – Slátur

Slátur is the Icelandic word for slaughter and refers to both blóðmör (blood sausage) and lifrarpylsa (liver sausage, or Icelandic haggis). Both are made from the blood, fat, innards and any other edible parts of sheep. Again, Iceland was a rough place to live in, and nothing went to waste in the early days.

The traditional way to serve both in Iceland is to boil them and plate them up next to some mashed potatoes, but you can just as easily fry them. Some people like to sprinkle fried slátur with sugar before enjoying it! Slátur is another thing that you can pick up year-round at the supermarkets – if you dare.

6. Whale Meat - Hvalkjöt

Another traditional dish in Iceland is whale meat, usually from the minke whale. This controversial food has slowly lost its popularity over the years; now, most of the whales caught in Iceland are exported to Japan.

If you're visiting Iceland, you can taste whale meat, but we don't recommend it. Instead, stick to hot dogs, Icelandic fish, or Icelandic lamb; whaling in Iceland is not a sustainable practice.

Conclusion

Iceland’s weird foods aren’t just about being unusual—they’re a window into how the early settlers managed to survive in a tough environment. These dishes, like hákarl and harðfiskur, show how Icelanders made the most of what they had, turning some pretty unexpected ingredients into meals that are still around today.

If you’re up for trying something different, diving into Icelandic cuisine can be a fun way to connect with the country’s history. Even if fermented shark isn’t your thing, just giving it a shot makes for a good story. So, when you’re in Iceland, why not try something new? You never know—you might surprise yourself!