Kiviak
Seabirds fermented inside a seal
Think of it as: Like the world's most extreme stinky cheese, but it's birds
Birds in a seal, aged for months. Brace yourself.
What does it taste like?
Extremely pungent, with a strong, ripe, cheese-like funk.
SweetSpicySourSaltyFunkSmellTextureGooey
What is it?
A preserved food of Greenland's Inuit: hundreds of seabirds (little auks), feathers and all, are packed into a sealskin and fermented under rocks for months. Famous for its overpowering smell.Source: Wikipedia
How locals eat it
Opened outdoors on special winter occasions like birthdays and weddings and shared. The smell is too strong to eat it indoors.
Watch it
EnglishTap to play (YouTube)Where is it from?
🇬🇱Greenland
CapitalNuuk
Populationabout 56,000estimate (unverified)
IndustriesFishing (shrimp, halibut), Tourism, Mining
Not an independent country, but a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Famous peopleKnud RasmussenGreenland-born explorer of the Arctic
HelloAluu (Greenlandic)
CurrencyDanish krone
And JapanOne of the sources of the sweet shrimp (northern prawns) sold in Japan.
Fun factThe world's largest island, about 80% covered in ice.
The flag🇬🇱 The red and white circle stands for the sun setting over the ice.
From Tokyoabout 8,870 kmstraight line, Tokyo to Nuuk
Getting thereabout 20 hours from Tokyo (with transfers)rough guide
✈ Check cheap flights Best timeJune to August, under the midnight sun when it's easy to get around, is best. Also trySuaasatMattak
✈ Check cheap flights Best timeJune to August, under the midnight sun when it's easy to get around, is best. Also trySuaasatMattak
🇬🇱 Sounds & life in Greenland
AluuHello（Aluu (Greenlandic)）
Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
Right now…
Anthem"You, Our Ancient Land" (Nunarput utoqqarsuanngoravit)
MusicDrum dance (Inuit drum songs) A traditional art of singing and dancing while beating a drum
Listen on YouTube SportSoccer World HeritageIlulissat Icefjord and more National animalPolar bear National flowerFireweed FestivalNational Day (June 21, the summer solstice)
MusicDrum dance (Inuit drum songs) A traditional art of singing and dancing while beating a drum
Listen on YouTube SportSoccer World HeritageIlulissat Icefjord and more National animalPolar bear National flowerFireweed FestivalNational Day (June 21, the summer solstice)
Ingredients
- Seal, 1 (skin and blubber only)
- Little auks 300-500
How to make it (one way)
- Remove the seal's meat and organs, leaving a bag of skin and thick blubber
- Pack the caught seabirds into the bag, feathers and bones intact
- Press out the air, sew it shut and seal the opening with blubber
- Leave under rocks over the summer to ferment for about 2-18 months
- Dig it up in winter, pluck the feathers and eat the insides
⚠️ Done wrong, it can cause deadly food poisoning (including botulism). Only experienced people should ever make it.