The green paste presented alongside raw fish at many Japanese restaurants is actually oftentimes horseradish with food coloring. Real wasabi has a more refined, distinctive flavor and is a difficult plant to grow. Historically it comes exclusively from Japan, but now Jurt Hydroponics in Reykjavík has figured out how to grow wasabi sustainably in Icelandic greenhouses—and it’s delicious. Nordic Wasabi, as they call it, is …
Winter hiking pants—often too warm or not warm enough—are difficult to get right. But Icelandic label 66°North’s Laki pants are a perfect expression of the brand’s technical knowhow and design capabilities. Polartec Alpha insulation services the large muscle groups and Polartec Power Shield Pro supports venting and movement where you need it. Though perfect for a winter hike, they’re stylish enough to hold up on …
Icelandic indie four-piece Valborg Ólafs returns with “Holiday,” a bright and melodic track, driven by the thoughtful vocals of Valborg Ólafsdóttir and underscored by majestic harmonies. The upbeat, beautiful ode to vacations will appear on their forthcoming album, Silhouette, which they self-produced inside a church under the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on the southern coast of Iceland.
