Last year on December 23rd I had a very interesting and memorable day. I succeeded at a culinary challenge and crowned my rumbling stomach as an Icelandic champ. It was my first attempt at eating putrefied skate!

It is tradition to eat local skate on the day before Christmas, which in Iceland is celebrated on the 24th. The reason for this peculiar custom is that that the 23rd is the last day of the Christmas fast and no one was supposed to eat meat.

In my mind, I had envisioned a pan-fried crispy skate like I had eaten in French restaurants. What I got instead was an ammonia-drenched putrefied aquatic animal.

The skate is actually pickled and putrefied because, like the infamous Greenlandic shark, it has enzymes that can be harmful when consumed fresh. It is served mostly with boiled potatoes.

Many locals have taken up the custom of eating this peculiar delicacy at a restaurant to avoid obliterating the lovely pine smell of the Christmas tree by the powerfully perfumed skate.

I tried my luck at Saegreifinn, a small fisherman’s haunt by the harbor where you can get some of the freshest fish in town. Once I swung open the door my nostrils were slapped with the dense ammonia.

I wavered on whether I should cowardly order a lip-smackingly delicious lobster soup but figured that since I was already inhaling second-hand ammonia, I might as well try the real deal.

To my surprise the first bites were oddly wonderful. The texture was buttery and the taste indescribable, but not bad at all. However, by the time I had eaten half of my plate the strong smell had permeated my eyes and they watered like when I dice onions.

Suddenly the pleasing taste just became too odd and the whiff was gut-wrenching. I began to mix the bland potatoes with each bite to help me end my meal. I succeeded unscathed but it was not an easy feat.

It makes sense that the skate is traditionally eaten only once a year because that is exactly the amount of time I will need to forget the harsh taste and have my forgetful palate desire the challenge again.

After my narrow triumph, I rewarded myself by behaving like every other Icelander and I headed towards the main shopping street, Laugavegur, to do some shopping. After all the 23rd is generally the biggest shopping day in Iceland as people run to the stores, that stay open until midnight, in a frenzy to get their last Christmas presents.

The downtown was bustling with action and the streets were overflowing with families and onlookers brimming with merriness.

Laugavegur was lined with people selling delectable hot chocolate every couple of blocks and musical notes swayed in the breeze from every which direction. There were Icelandic choirs singing traditional holiday songs, jazz trios, violin and piano players, operatic tenors bellowing over a balcony and even a punk band adding their tunes to the lapis hued sky.

Random people dressed up as Santa Clause while they did their last minute shopping and even children in their strollers had Santa hats on.

It was definitely the best 23rd of December I have had in my entire life where my five senses where overwhelmed with Christmas delights. 

AH – alexandrahertell@gmail.com