Alternative names | Smalehovud, Skjelte |
---|---|
Course | Main course |
Place of origin | Norway |
Serving temperature | Hot |
Main ingredients | Lamb head |
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. [1] The name of the dish comes from the combination of the Norwegian words hove and smale. Hove is a dialectal form of hovud, meaning "head" (cf. Hǫfuð), and smale is a word for sheep, so smalahove literally means "sheep head". [2] [3] The skin and fleece of the head are torched, the brain removed, and the head is salted, sometimes smoked, and dried. The head is boiled or steamed for about three hours, and served with mashed swede/rutabaga and potatoes. It is also traditionally served with akevitt. [4] In some preparations, the brain is cooked inside the skull and then eaten with a spoon or fried. [5] Originally, smalahove was typically eaten by the poor. [6]
One serving usually consists of one half of a head. The ear and eye are normally eaten first, as they are the fattiest areas and are best eaten warm. [7] The head is often eaten from the front to the back, working around the bones of the skull.
Since 1998 and the mad cow epidemics, an EU directive forbids the production of smalahove from adult sheep, [8] due to fear of the possibility of transmission of scrapie, a deadly, degenerative prion disease of sheep and goats, though scrapie does not appear to be transmissible to humans. It is now allowed to be produced only from the heads of lambs. [4]
Smalahove is considered by most people to be unappealing or even repulsive. [7] It is enjoyed mostly by enthusiasts, and is often served to tourists. Because of its status as an "extreme" food, tourists often seek it out as a thrill. Voss, Norway, in particular has benefited from tourists wishing to try it, "not only as a nostalgic and authentic rural dish, but also as a challenging culinary trophy appealing to thrill-seeking consumers." [9]
Rutabaga or swede is a root vegetable, a form of Brassica napus. Other names include Swedish turnip, neep (Scots), and turnip. However, elsewhere, the name "turnip" usually refers to the related white turnip. The species Brassica napus originated as a hybrid between the cabbage and the turnip. Rutabaga roots are eaten as human food in various ways, and the leaves can be eaten as a leaf vegetable. The roots and tops are also used for livestock, fed directly in the winter or foraged in the field during the other seasons. Scotland, Northern and Western England, Wales, the Isle of Man, and Ireland had a tradition of carving the roots into Jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween.
Nynorsk is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (Landsmål), parallel to the Dano-Norwegian written standard known as Riksmål. The name Nynorsk was introduced in 1929. After a series of reforms, it is still the written standard closer to Landsmål, whereas Bokmål is closer to Riksmål and Danish.
Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep.
Sheep meat is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, Ovis aries, and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in their second, and mutton, from older sheep. Generally, "hogget" and "sheep meat" are not used by consumers outside Norway, New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland, and Australia. Hogget has become more common in England, particularly in the North often in association with rare breed and organic farming.
Offal, also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the internal organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, and these lists of organs vary with culture and region, but usually exclude skeletal muscle. Offal may also refer to the by-products of milled grains, such as corn or wheat.
Pinnekjøtt is a traditional Norwegian main course dinner dish based on lamb ribs. Pinnekjøtt is a festive dish typical to Western and Northern Norway, and is rapidly gaining popularity in other regions as well. This dish is largely associated with the celebration of Christmas and frequently paired with puréed rutabaga, sausages and potatoes, served with beer and akevitt.
South African cuisine reflects the diverse range of culinary traditions embodied by the various communities that inhabit the country. Among the indigenous peoples of South Africa, the Khoisan foraged over 300 species of edible food plants, such as the rooibos shrub legume, whose culinary value continues to exert a salient influence on South African cuisine. Subsequent encounters with Bantu pastoralists facilitated the emergence of cultivated crops and domestic cattle, which supplemented traditional Khoisan techniques of meat preservation. In addition, Bantu-speaking communities forged an extensive repertoire of culinary ingredients and dishes, many of which are still consumed today in traditional settlements and urban entrepôts alike.
A New England boiled dinner is a traditional New England meal, consisting of corned beef with cabbage and one or more root vegetables, such as potatoes, rutabagas, parsnips, carrots, turnips, or onions. The leftovers are traditionally diced and fried into "red flannel hash" for breakfast the next day. The dish resembles boiled beef from English cuisine, as well as a similar Newfoundland dish called a "Jiggs dinner".
Norwegian cuisine in its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in Norway. It differs in many respects from continental cuisine with a stronger focus on game and fish. Many of the traditional dishes are the result of using conserved materials because of the long winters.
Khash is a dish of boiled cow or sheep parts, which might include the head, feet, and stomach (tripe). It is a dish of Armenian origin.
The cuisine of Iceland has a long history. Important parts of Icelandic cuisine are lamb, dairy, and fish, the latter due to the fact that Iceland has traditionally been inhabited only near its coastline. Popular foods in Iceland include skyr, hangikjöt, kleinur, laufabrauð, and bollur. Þorramatur is a traditional buffet served at midwinter festivals called Þorrablót; it includes a selection of traditionally cured meat and fish products served with rúgbrauð and brennivín. The flavors of this traditional country food originate in its preservation methods: pickling in fermented whey or brine, drying, and smoking.
Lobscouse is a thick Scandinavian stew made of meat and potatoes.
Tvøst og spik is a typical dish of the Faroe Islands, a self-governing country of Denmark in the North Atlantic. Tvøst og spik consists of pilot whale meat, blubber and potatoes.
Kassler or Kasseler in German cuisine is a cured and slightly smoked cut of pork similar to gammon. It can be either hot or cold smoked. Pork necks and loins are the most often used cuts although ribs, shoulders and bellies can also be used. It is often served either with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes or with kale and roasted potatoes.
Important parts of Faroese cuisine are lamb and also fish owing to proximity to the sea. Traditional foods from the Faroe Islands include skerpikjøt, seafood, whale meat, blubber, garnatálg, Atlantic puffins, potatoes, and few fresh vegetables.
Northern Irish cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Northern Ireland. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but has also drawn heavily from Irish and British cuisines.
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef, pork, venison, rabbit, lamb, poultry, sausages, and seafood. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, stock is also common. A small amount of red wine or other alcohol is sometimes added for flavour. Seasonings and flavourings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature, allowing flavours to mingle.
Fenalår is a traditional Norwegian cured meat made from salted and dried leg of lamb. Fenalår is a very popular dish in Norway and is often served with other preserved food at a Christmas buffet or on Norwegian Constitution Day.