“It’s more than a financial loss, it’s also like they are depending on me. Paring duck with orange is a classic combination, with very good reason – it’s absolutely delicious. All around us were hundreds of small piles of crushed mussel shells, the remnants of the eiders’ feasting, ground up by their powerful gizzards. “She’s a gentle family dog,” Alexíus said, “but when she meets the mink she goes apeshit. Transfer the duck breasts to a baking tray and place in the oven for 5 - 7 minutes to finish. I later asked his friend and neighbour, a long-time eider farmer, who really kills the foxes in the fjord. Iceland is a bit of a bare desert, the cold [...] We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. On the turf slopes of the roof, we could see ducks; and a duck sat on the door-scraper … A windmill was infested; and so were all the outhouses, mounds, rocks and crevices. Eider farmers spoke of him in hushed tones, revering him for his dedication to fox extermination. Place skin side up on a baking tray near the middle of a pre-heated oven fan 180/ Gas 6 for 5 - 7 minutes (for best results do not overcook). She sits on her eggs for some 28 days, during which she may lose a third of her body weight; some mothers starve to death. Add to trolley. Children’s toys lay scattered around on the floor and a layer of dust covered the work surfaces. The hotel bar is located by the reception with a magnificent view of Eyjafjallajökull. It's great. These duck breasts are lean nd with minimal fat cooked well and were tender . “We were trapped here for 36 hours with no electricity, no phone,” he said. All rights reserved. This is the perfect place to sit down, relax and enjoy a good drink while sharing stories of your Iceland trip so far. All this said, part of me still preferred Maxwell’s version, his image of Icelanders with “green fingers”. Please do not rely solely on the information provided on this website. “It’s nice for them to be free,” Alexíus said, before we heard a high-pitched wail. Sign in now to see the latest offers & book a delivery slot. In Iceland, the harvesting of these precious feathers has created a peculiar bond between human and duck. After placing a duck-size clump of down in her hands, I asked her what she felt. Iceland leaner food for … Other. Please turn it on so that you can experience the full capabilities of this site. Stripped of the fox, perhaps eiderdown harvesting might be a mundane activity, a form of rent collection. He began to read about it and even travelled to Iceland on a research trip. After all, he said, the down was only some brauð, a slice of his daily bread. The Common Eider Duck (the source of eiderdown) is the same duck, with the same down, whether it is nesting in Iceland … Faced with rising costs and falling profits, the brothers stopped sheep-farming in 1990. Shop online at ASDA Groceries Home Shopping. We have done everything we can to ensure that the information we provide about all the products listed on this website is accurate and up-to-date. Such a windfall offered opportunities, but also potential for great conflict. Repeat until the rice is tender. When I returned to the UK, I made a habit of checking in department stores to see if they had eiderdown quilts or pillows. The harlequin duck is a particular delight, with its bold pattern of white on black and blotches of red on either side of the breast. Rendered rubbery by rainfall, their fragments were proof of what the pastor had said; he always allowed the ducklings to hatch before collecting their bedding. Finding them in a shop window, I always felt reassured that the traffic in down continued, that this tradition still had a place in our own century of synthetics and factory farming. The mythical act was known as vulning, a Christ-like act of self-sacrifice. Valdimar lived in Dýrafjörður, the fjord beyond the pastor. Shop in store or online. The sixth of seven generations who have lived on Æðey, he gathers down together with his two brothers, Jonás and Magnús. Mix the salt, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and five spice powder in a small bowl and massage into the duck. Iceland The Butchers Market Lean pork Steak Mince, 5%. The Icelanders, he believed, had some sort of special ability to understand ducks that verged on the mystical. But then we were met by Tása, the family dog, whose job it was to catch any mink that swim over from the mainland. Every season, the ducks came, and their down was harvested and shipped off to the middlemen for a stable price, much as has been done for centuries. Although eagle numbers have now recovered, their torrid history speaks of what Andri Snær Magnason, himself an eiderdown farmer, calls the “dark side” of the eiderdown trade: however virtuous harvesters may be, they have a strong incentive to kill any species that threatens the prized bird. Yet it was impossible to conceive of any conflict over their down, to conjure a scene in which they ran towards the nests, turning their rifles on each other or making missiles of eider eggs. Kjötsúpa – Icelandic Lamb Soup Kjötsúpa – Icelandic Lamb Soup . He concocted plans to feed the ducks with mussels and – apparently – even to entertain them with music. Finish with jus, fleur de sell and micro thyme. “The priest has never shot a single fox.”. In the shadow of a steep glacial wall, his family home and church overlook a floodplain that leads to the shoreline. Delivery 7 days a week. Cured duck breast Cured duck breast . Kjötsúpa – Icelandic Lamb Soup Kjötsúpa – Icelandic Lamb Soup . Duck Identification Guide: All the Types of Ducks With Pictures. “I was quite lucky in that I got interested in guns when I was just a little over 20,” he said. Maxwell is best known for his memoir Ring of Bright Water, which recounts his domestic life with several otters, but he also adored eiders. In the middle ages, pelicans were thought to pierce their own breast to draw blood to feed their young. “I sometimes think that we are like the coca farmers in Colombia,” he said. The world is getting smaller.” But I did feel sad, thinking that this tradition might disappear. Cooking. The Vikings apparently filled their bedding with it, while medieval tax collectors accepted it as a means of payment. He appeared bemused by their attention, just as he was by mine. The 'Yorkshire pot' is a legendary roast, traditionally containing five de-boned birds in one enormous roasting joint. https://www.iceland.co.uk/p/iceland-luxury-2-duck-breasts-280g/63340.html, Croissants, Pain au Chocolat & Belgian Buns. Around us life exploded from the water, the skies and the crevices in the rocks. Like many Lutheran parishes, the pastor’s land is among the most prized in the Westfjords. This exposes her body warmth to the eggs while nesting. From the pick-up point, I stepped on to a small boat belonging to Alexíus Jónasson, one of Æðey’s owners. Welcome to the Iceland Foods Facebook community. I wondered whether I had not experienced a sanitised version of down harvesting, one primed for the Japanese market. During incubation female eiders pluck down from their breasts and use it to insulate the nest. Iceland beef Roasting joint, Easy Carve, Boneless, frozen. Dressed in an old Polish military uniform, he headed off across the flat plain towards the beach, hunting for any nests that he had missed. Fry for 5 minutes, basting the breasts in the butter, then turn and cook for a further 2 minutes. Handling the boat with expert care, Alexíus guided us across the narrow stretch of water, scattering the seabirds on its surface. When settlers arrived with domestic animals, it was inevitable that they would clash with the Arctic fox. Since his boyhood, he has gathered eiderdown from his land and pursued the foxes that wish to dine on his ducks. It is difficult to describe the weight of eiderdown in a language in which the epitome of lightness is a feather. How did this strange tradition come about? https://www.gressinghamduck.co.uk/recipes/duck-oyster-sauce-stir-fry Our Whole Otter Valley Free Range Ducks are richly flavoured - dark, plump and seriously succulent - with a flavour second to … Get quality Duck at Tesco. Hearty duck breast cured in salt, garlic and spices, smoked over applewood and sliced for a hearty, natural meat . He wedged his stick under the down, easing it gently from the grass, and picked it up. In the early 1960s, it recorded more than 6,000 ducks, but gradually the figure began to decline. As I held a clump of eiderdown in my hand, however, one Icelander told me something that seemed to offer an alternative to this unsettling relationship between humans and birds. And yet something didn’t feel quite right. Iceland Chicken Breast Fillets 1.38kg (63 customer reviews) £5.00. In a cafe in Ísafjörður, the pastor explained how he harvests eiderdown. Such techniques may have saved the lives of countless ducks, but they have historically proved highly destructive to the island’s ecosystem. Like many animals that have made Iceland their home, the first three are not of Icelandic origin. Lovely lean and well seasoned Duck, we love them, great served with new potatoes and greens. Defrost thoroughly in … And, some of them are more unusual than your usual cheese or pepperoni. Like the birch trees that once covered Iceland, the foxes were a reminder of what this island was like before the arrival of human settlers. Back in Ísafjörður, the pastor told me about a Japanese film crew who had made a documentary about him. In many remote communities, cut off from urban centres by the harsh contours of landscape, stretches of water or walls of rock, encountering the global market has been a source of trauma, leading to a collapse in the old ways of living and seeing. Earn Clubcard points when you shop. £3.25 £14.44 per kg. It was hard to conceive of a more peaceful spot for a family, yet there was an air of abandonment to the pastor’s home. Every June, he said, about 500 ducks arrive from the sea and waddle to his farm. Covered in moss, grass and broken eggs, it looked like a furry grey omelette or pancake. For well done cook longer in the oven. Cooked Gressingham Duck® Breasts in an Orange Sauce. He now rarely spends any time in the house. “It’s like a family thing,” Alexíus said. Curing. In the summer months, thousands upon thousands of eiders besiege the island, coating its grassland in brown and white hues, the sound of cooing drakes almost deafening the visitor. “We get the occasional argument.”. Worse, the disappearance of Iceland’s white-tailed eagle, which almost went extinct in the 1960s, has been attributed partly to the activities of eiderdown farmers. You can also snuggle up by the fireplace during cold winter nights. “Birds and chicks running around. ...Place the duck breasts skin side up on a baking tray in the middle of the preheated oven. The Icelandic eider duck is a local species that lives along the country’s coast. Despite the military uniform, glasses and talk of guns, he never actually described killing a fox. Sign in to see your favourites, complete your order or manage your account. Cooking. Laden with seaweed, twigs and dirt, it reminded me of the contents of a vacuum cleaner, half fluff, half debris. Rjómabollur – Icelandic Profiteroles. Curing. At night, I would listen to their high-pitched calls from my tent, my dreams populated with images of small children at play. On the pastor’s land, the eider, too, makes herself vulnerable for her offspring, although it is down, not blood, that she draws from her breast. “Everybody helps out.”, While the Icelanders manage the eiders, drawing them to their dwellings with the promise of protection, the ducks had also bound the farmers to these remote corners. Add to trolley. Served with mash and tender stem broccoli. Skin on, boneless duck breast fillets seasoned with a sea salt and pepper rub. Iceland leaner food for … The sagas piled on Valdimar’s shelf, those bloody tales of Iceland’s settlement period, recount how huge disputes would erupt between settlers over driftage rights, particularly over beached whales. The ducks were everywhere.”. From this down she builds a nest for her eggs; her own bare skin, freshly revealed, covers them with warmth. Description. You can almost step on them,” he said. All cooking appliances vary. This dish is very simple and quick to prepare. Skin on, boneless duck breast fillets seasoned with a sea salt and pepper rub. It’s quite messy when she gets it. Hello! Keep frozen at -18 ºC or colder. Sleeve, Tray & Film. Unlike a feather’s ordered barbs arranged around a solid shaft, under a microscope, eiderdown offers a portrait of chaos: hundreds of soft threads branch out from a single point, twisting around one another. She starts one end and breaks every bone.”, The recent history of the Westfjords is really the story of rural depopulation, of a vanishing culture next to the Arctic Circle. It took me some five hours by car to reach the pick-up point to Æðey. Rjómabollur – Icelandic Profiteroles ... Laufabrauð is a story of necessity. Since most of the worlds Eiderdown comes from Iceland, many people assume that Icelandic Eiderdown is "the best". Fri 19 Jul 2019 06.00 BST Once opened, cook within 24 hours and do not exceed use by date. Fed up with their descriptions of “scenes of thrilling horror, of majestic grandeur, and of heavenly beauty”, the explorer Richard Burton wrote of a condition called “Iceland on the brain”. When we think of ducks, we mostly picture the mallard ducks or those that are found in local ponds. However, food products in particular are constantly being improved so their ingredients and the other information we publish here, including details of their nutritional content and allergy advice, is liable to change. As we approached the island, I could hear the cries of his children playing in the water under the gaze of his mother. Manufacturers Address. But I felt no quake on Æðey or indeed on any of the other eider farms I visited. Duck is often bought as a special treat, which is a pity as a Duck makes a regular and affordable mouth-watering alternative weekly Roast. Roasted, pan-fried, grilled or cured, duck breast is always a treat. The long read: In Iceland, the harvesting of these precious feathers has created a peculiar bond between human and duck. “Some men,” he wrote, “seem to have ‘green fingers’ with Eiders.”. “Take it as a gift,” he said. Yet there was another presence, one that silently haunted the harvesters’ imaginations, fed by novels or television: the men and women of ambition who wore the jackets or slept under the duvets. Upon each thread are countless small hooks, which allow the down to cling to itself, trapping pockets of air and warmth. Many eiderdown farms, said Jón Sveinsson, another harvester, are merely summer houses, places of recreation for city dwellers. • This article was amended on 22 July 2019 to ensure names were correctly cited according to Icelandic naming conventions. Wandering through its volcanic landscape, admiring the frames of its miniature horses and its colossal populations of eiders, or listening to the Icelandic tongue, they described Iceland in magical terms. Visit the Icelandic coast and you will see hundreds bobbing gregariously in the sea. All one had to do was to observe it, wait patiently and gather eiderdown. Cooked Gressingham Duck® Breasts in an Orange Sauce. The meat was so tender and so tasty. The ducks nest anywhere: in tyres, doorways and even houses. Unlike the eiders, the foxes made heroes of farmers, turning them into protectors. The long read: In Iceland, the harvesting of these precious feathers has created a peculiar bond between human and duck. This is a guide only. Score the skin of the breast in a diamond pattern. The fox had masked the competitive logic of the harvest, uniting the farmers in common cause, their quest to avert a duck massacre. These guidelines are for rare to medium. They came from Europe and America. Followed the instructions to the 'T' and it was beautiful, lovely and pink and soooooooo tender! “I do,” he said with a smile. “[It is] so strong,” recorded one Belgian eider enthusiast, “that an egg touched with it is refused and even discarded by the hungriest dog.”, The scene described by the pastor has been a common sight in Iceland for centuries. Such was the fear of the foxes among Icelanders that a myth emerged that they had been sent by the king of Norway to punish settlers for their abandonment of their motherland. Iceland luxury roast topside beef slices, 4 pack frozen. From our British farms. When I returned from Iceland, I asked my wife to close her eyes and put her hands out. “The new owners are not interested in the pittance a few kilograms of eiderdown give. Rjómabollur – Icelandic Profiteroles Rjómabollur – Icelandic Profiteroles . To contact us please call: 0800 328 0800. Cook for 13-16 minutes, depending on how you like your duck cooked. Jomfruin, Reykjavik: See 247 unbiased reviews of Jomfruin, rated 4.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #107 of 480 restaurants in Reykjavik. I feared that I was falling into a similar trap, failing to write about another character in the drama. £4 86.6p per 100g. “We don’t hate them [the foxes],” he said. Much smaller than its red cousin, the Arctic fox has miniature soft paws that are entirely covered in fur (hence its species name, which means “rabbit foot” in Latin). Highly recommend. The Icelandic eider duck is a local species that lives along the country’s coast. At the island’s tip we sat down on a rock, admiring the spouts of several humpbacks, there to feed in Iceland’s rich waters after journeying from their breeding grounds in the Gulf of Mexico. I asked around in the Westfjords, searching for the name of an effective fox killer. You can pick out classics like duck breast orange or wander into the hinterlands of langoustine tempura and enoki over charcoal flatbread. Could eiderdown harvesting teach us about our relationship with other species? Origin of Duck: U.K.Produced and Packed in the U.K. for Iceland Foods Ltd., U.K., CH5 2NW. “The eider is an unsung hero, far braver than any bird of prey, which it is known to attack to protect its offspring,” one local told me. So I don’t want to let them down. 2 duck breasts in a zesty orange sauce. Unlike Icelandic wool sweaters, yoghurt or finance, eiderdown has, for much of its history, been an international commodity, first traded by the Danes, then – after Iceland’s independence – bought by middlemen in Europe and Japan. Add some steamed greens or a mixed salad and this is a wonderful lunch dish or easy midweek supper. It crackled as if electrified, emitting a mild smell that reminded me of burned hair. Because they are incredibly camouflaged, these ducks. After all, they have come to the countryside to have a beer on the porch, fire up the grill and relax on the weekend, not to run around harvesting foul-smelling, flea-ridden eiderdown.”. Learn more about our range of Duck, Venison & Game Cured duck breast. Last modified on Wed 10 Jun 2020 08.26 BST, In Ísafjörður, the capital of Iceland’s remote Westfjords region, a Lutheran pastor compared eiderdown to cocaine. Meanwhile, prepare the gravy. “The government is always making it harder for people,” Magnús said. Other. When the duck is cooked to your liking, rest the meat in a warm place for 5-10 minutes before serving. Disappointing the level of salt which made them difficult to eat, I cooked these in the oven, they turned out perfect. While he took copious notes on Icelandic techniques in an attempt to understand their success, he allowed that there was “a certain mystique” about the practice. Walking through the Hornstrandir reserve, the most remote area of the Westfjords, I would often see Arctic foxes patrolling the banks of rivers or the coastline, looking for birds and eggs. £6 £20.00 per kg. Easy Peking Duck: Recipe Instructions First, marinate the duck. LIFE 6d + Gressingham Duck Breast Fillets 300g 300g. Other. The following week I visited him at his home, a sparsely furnished farmhouse that overlooked the fjord. Cured duck breast . For this reason, we strongly recommend that you always read the actual product label carefully before using or consuming any product. Unlike previous travel writers who described eiderdown, he dreamed of recreating the success of the Icelanders. Once cooked, remove the breasts from the oven - leaving the oven on - and leave to rest until ready to serve. This product is currently out of stock. His Danish wife, Edda, welcomed me in, the sound of choir music blending with the roar of an eiderdown dryer in a barn outside. “It was before I started studying theology.” If he were to fall asleep, a fox would have a feast of sitting ducks. Use within one month. Iceland is a bit of a bare desert, the cold [...] We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Fearful of the threat to livestock, farmers clubbed, trapped and later poisoned and shot them. Product Details Reviews. A retired maths teacher, Valdimar has lived in the fjord for seven decades. Origin of Duck: U.K.Produced and Packed in the U.K. for Iceland Foods Ltd., U.K., CH5 2NW. The practice of poisoning or sedating eiders’ predators was once widespread in Iceland, carried out by farmers and government officials alike. (Today in Northumberland, the eider is sometimes called St Cuthbert’s or Cuddy duck.) Iceland beef Roasting joint, Easy Carve, Boneless, frozen. As part of his parish duties, he runs a small farm, a throwback to earlier times when pastors in remote areas would survive off the land. Less fortunate birds may have their plumage ripped out while they are still alive, a practice known as live-plucking. When I visited the pastor, I was infused with Maxwell’s own vision of down, a contrast to stories of degradation and exploitation. Like the sheep farmers, the eiderdown harvesters were getting fed up with the harsh weather and isolation. The properties of eiderdown – extreme lightness and insulation – make sense when you consider the life of its owner. Delivery 7 days a week. “Sixty-five years, 50 nights every spring,” he said, as if considering a mathematical problem. Storage information. Iceland The Butchers Market chicken Breast Fillets, 500g/900g/2kg pack, chilled. James Mackenzie's five-bird roast recipe can be made at home, cutting the meat into strips and rolling in air-dried ham.Better still, it can be prepared the day before cooking. Driving along them, you seem to brush your destination, only to fold back on yourself, and repeat the process. S land is among the most prized in the Westfjords might look like in 50 years or so, old!, with very good reason – it ’ s land is among most... Brought out his notebook of seven generations who have lived on Æðey iceland duck breast indeed on of!, to put it quite simply, is erroneous breast skin on, boneless duck breast children in! Much of early Icelandic law deals specifically with harvesting rights for these scarce resources order... Freezing, freeze as soon after purchase as possible and within the use date! Eider farmers spoke of him in hushed tones, revering him for his dedication to extermination! Level of salt which made them difficult to eat, I asked around the. 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