Greenland

Because Greenland, the largest island in the world, is heavily ice capped, the cuisine relies greatly on fish, seafood and meats. Fresh fruit and vegetables play a minimal role, although gardens and greenhouses temper the natural availability of these foods.

Traditional fare includes unique components one might think of when imagining Greenlandic food as well as surprisingly light and approachable dishes. Suaasat, the national dish, comprises seal meat boiled with rice and onions; mattak is whale skin with a thin layer of fat, eaten in raw squares. Other local offerings are walrus, caribou and arctic fox. Although these foods are widely enjoyed by the local population and by adventurous visitors, more agreeable choices may include fresh cod cooked on an open fire in the summer months and eaten from a flat stone, as well as mussels, salmon and wild blueberries.—Leska Tomash