Icelandic Spring Lamb

Around 870 A.D. Raven-Floki, a Norwegian Viking, set sail with his family, their possessions, and their livestock to settle in Iceland. Little did he know that the sheep he landed with would be the same breed of sheep now being introduced at Dorothy Lane Market!

Have you heard about Icelandic Spring Lamb? You’ve never tasted anything like it! Icelandic lambs are free-range, pasture-fed on mountain grasses, moss, sedge, berries, thrift, and willow found on the high mountains of Iceland. They are raised - quite literally - on top of the world!

“Sustainable” is the key word here! Although the Vikings are remembered by history as marauders (and for their appearances in Capitol One Commercials) they saw themselves primarily as farmers, bringing with them their livestock and farming practices. Once the land had been stripped of trees and the grasslands cleared and browsed off, they discovered that the soil in this land of fire and ice was much too fragile for their ancient farming practices. The volcanic ash soil was now exposed to wind erosion, and the whole Icelandic culture teetered on the brink of disaster. When the settlers finally realized what was happening they took corrective action. They stopped cutting down trees and clearing land, and they abandoned much of the highlands. Groups of neighboring farms cooperated in making decisions critical for preventing further erosion. Such decisions included when the grass growth in the late spring warranted taking the sheep up to the communally owned high altitude mountain pastures for the summer, and when to bring the sheep back down in the fall. It seems that they have been raising food for centuries in a way that preserves the land for future generations and incorporates aspects of social responsibility!

When you serve your family some of this natural Icelandic Spring Lamb for dinner, you can be assured that it came from one of the purest places from which to eat. Try the delicious and distinctive taste of spring lamb for your Easter or Passover dinner.