Svið (;

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

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 The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special ...

removed, sometimes cured in

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as natur ...

. 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 Head cheese (Dutch language, Dutch: ''hoofdkaas'') or brawn is a cold cut terrine (food), terrine or meat jelly that originated in Europe. It is made with flesh from the head of a Calf (animal), calf or pig (less commonly a sheep or cow), typi ...

or brawn, made from bits of svið pressed into gelatinous loaves pickled in

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...

). Similar dishes can also be found in other Western Nordic countries, such as

smalahove ''Smalahove'' (also called ''smalehovud'', ''sau(d)ehau(d)'' or ''skjelte'') is a Western Norwegian traditional dish made from a sheep's head, originally eaten before Christmas. The name of the dish comes from the combination of the Norwegian wor ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and seyðarhøvd on the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...

. 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. Many Icelanders consider the eye to be the best part of the head. Lara Weber, writing in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'', described her experience of eating svið in a 1995 article on Icelandic cuisine:

Preparation

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.

References

External links

Preparation and consumption of svið
(video)
One man's account of his first time eating Svið
(from the Reykjavík Grapevine) {{DEFAULTSORT:Svid Offal Lamb dishes Icelandic cuisine

Preparation

See also

References

External links