Kiviak is a traditional Christmas dish from Greenland. I have to say I did not find much info about it. It seems to consists of whole small auks birds which are put in a greasy seal skin and buried in the permafrost, under a flat stone, for seven months, then dug up around Christmas. Then they bite the heads off and squeeze out the tart guts, which are slightly toxic. It does not seem to smell worst than a matured Stilton cheese. Otherwise it tastes like a matured cheese and very pungent.
There is nothing disgusting in this dish. Throughout food history, foods have been stored that way. The Romans and Greeks were used to produce a concentrated flavour liqueur called Garum or Liquamen, from fish innards and other parts that would not be used otherwise by salting them and letting this mixture fermenting in the sun for several month until the flesh had fallen apart. Then the liquid was strained.
Nowadays Asian fish sauce such as shottsuru (Japan), Budu (Indonesia) or Nam-plaa (Thailand), are still made in a similar way. Obviously, using more controlled fermentation process.
There is nothing disgusting in this dish. Throughout food history, foods have been stored that way. The Romans and Greeks were used to produce a concentrated flavour liqueur called Garum or Liquamen, from fish innards and other parts that would not be used otherwise by salting them and letting this mixture fermenting in the sun for several month until the flesh had fallen apart. Then the liquid was strained.
Nowadays Asian fish sauce such as shottsuru (Japan), Budu (Indonesia) or Nam-plaa (Thailand), are still made in a similar way. Obviously, using more controlled fermentation process.
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