From Minke Whale Fillets To Rock Tripe, Here’s Investigating The Food Culture Of Longyearbyen, The Last Town Before The North Pole
I ’ve been invited to a barbecue at -5°C at the Arctic Circle—a popular ‘summer’ occupation amongst Longyearbyen’s residents. Standing in the balcony of my host’s home, guests marvel at the good weather, while my feet slowly go numb. It’s a relief when we go inside to eat. We’re all being treated to grilled sausages, thin strips of beef, and, most excitingly, a green salad. The latter doesn’t feature prominently on menus this far north, in the last inhabited town before the North Pole. Permafrost and four months of polar darkness a year make agriculture impossible. So what do people eat in a place where nothing grows?
Located on Spitsbergen, an island of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, Longyearbyen was established as a coal-mining settlement in 1906. It’s a popular destination for those looking for adventure in the Arctic wilderness. The town is not particularly picturesque: there’s an industrial dockyard on the outskirts, and the melting snow reveals the escarpments of dark scree encircling the settlement. But I find a stark beauty in these piebald slopes, dotted with the wrecks of mining apparatus. Squat reindeers amble through the town, searching clumps of frozen snow for food. Looking for the same, I stop at Kroa, a restaurant on the main street. I order the fish soup—a rich, creamy concoction flecked with fish and infused with the flavour of smoked salmon. The bowl is empty far too soon for my liking.
Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av National Geographic Traveller India.
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Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av National Geographic Traveller India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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