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Hákarl — Fermented Shark

Hákarl

Specialised

Greenland shark, whose flesh is TOXIC WHEN FRESH because of very high urea and trimethylamine oxide, buried or pressed for weeks so the compounds break down and drain, then hung to dry for months. The result is edible and is eaten in small cubes, mainly at Þorrablót. ⚠ RECORDED AS FOOD SCIENCE AND AS A NECESSARY PRESERVATION SOLUTION, NOT AS A DARE — and ⚠ THE UNPROCESSED FISH IS GENUINELY POISONOUS; this is a description of a traditional process, not an instruction to attempt it. The Greenland shark is also assessed as vulnerable and is slow-growing and extremely long-lived.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

Languages: Icelandic

What is recorded

  • Greenland shark flesh is toxic when fresh because of high urea and trimethylamine oxide content, and the traditional fermentation and drying process exists to break those compounds down. This is recorded as food science and as a description of a specialised traditional process; it is not a method. The species is assessed as vulnerable and is extremely long-lived and slow to reproduce. documented

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