Kiviak
Kiviak or kiviaq is a traditional wintertime Inuit food from Greenland that is made of little auks (Alle alle) fermented in a seal skin.
| Alternative names | Kiviaq |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Greenland |
| Main ingredients | Little auk |
Up to 500 whole auks are packed into the seal skin, beaks and feathers included.[1] As much air as possible is removed from the seal skin before it is sewn up and sealed with seal fat, which repels flies. It is then hidden in a heap of stones, with a large rock placed on top to keep the air out.[2] Over the course of three months, the birds ferment,[2] and are then eaten during the arctic winter, particularly on birthdays and weddings.[3]
The process was featured in the third episode of BBC's Human Planet in 2011.[2]
In August 2013 several people died in Siorapaluk from eating kiviak that was made from eider rather than auk. Eider does not ferment as well as auk, and gave those who ate it botulism.[4]
See also
- Surströmming – A lightly-salted fermented Baltic Sea herring
- Hákarl – A national dish of Iceland consisting of fermented shark
- Igunaq – A method of preparing meat, particularly walrus and other marine mammals.
- List of delicacies – Food item that is considered highly desirable in certain cultures
References
- "Kivak Season in Greenland 2018". rove.me. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- "TV review: Human Planet". The Guardian. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- Freuchen, Dagmar (1960). Peter Freuchen's Adventures in the Arctic. New York: Messner. p. 81.
- "Greenland terducken from hell: the real bird-seal meal". The Fourth Continent. 7 August 2013. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
