Norður & co

We are so happy and excited to introduce you to Samways who will be our new partner in crime in the UK. 

Samways is a family business started by Ian Samways. They share our passion for fine food so they decided to add Norður Salt to their product range. The first shipment has already arrived! 

Keep calm and eat salt! 

Loving the look of this! Our friends at Base Cooking in Holland got this awesome addition to their website. 

We had a wonderful start to the day as we received this package in the mail. Rachel and Jody from Another Escape visited us earlier this year and this is what came out of their trip! A beautiful piece about Iceland and our little salt adventure here. We are so happy and honored that people find us interesting enough to come and visit. 

Keep visiting - we love it!

Team Norður & Co

A lot of you have been asking about where to buy our flavoured salt. So far it has just been a treat for those living in and visiting Iceland. 

We are very happy to announce that the wait is over! 

The Norður Flavoured Salts are online via our partner Islandica. 

You guys are so lucky that they ship internationally so now all your salty needs can be satisfied.

Enjoy! 

One of the great perks about doing what we do is when we get to go out in the field and meet all you wonderful folks. Whether it being in United States, Europe - or anywhere else the future might take us. 

Coming from a dark and cold island in the north, far away from everything, we get the most out of these opportunities to meet new people, share knowledge and experiences and catch up with old friends.

Then we of course also enjoy all the other fun moments, like going to a jazz club in Cologne!

… and winter is coming.

What happened to those long and bright summer nights?

Even though summer came and went way to quickly we look back with pride thinking of all the good times we’ve had and what we’ve accomplished; when we introduced four new flavours of Norður Salt; the fun hours at food festivals and North Side in Aarhus, Fredericia, London, etc; biking around Reykjavik with salt in the kiddy-seat; when we ate lots of ice cream with Norður Salt; expanding our reach to new places around Europe in both Sweden, Italy and more.

The days are hastily getting shorter and the streets are not as crowded with tourists anymore. We’ve already had the first nights of frost and the Northern Lights have had their spectacular premiere of the season.

One of the highlights of the summer was the rainbow street in downtown Reykjavík (easier for the tourists to pronounce than Skólavörðurstígur).

And you know what they say, there is gold… no wait, 

Norður Salt(?!) at the end of the rainbow.

And apparently also an old troll couple…

Over the summer, the main street was turned into a pedestrian street. But alas, now the cars are roaming the streets again and the bright colors are quickly fading away.

Of course, autumn isn’t just all bad, rainy, stormy, dark, cold, grey...... even though this list is getting scarily long.

Autumn also means crisp, misty mornings, hot chocolate, Halloween, incredible sunsets over Reykjavik and lots of beautiful fall colors. As in so many other places, each season in Iceland has its charm and the autumn is no exception.

Casual suburban landscape in Iceland. 

Just because winter is coming does not mean that we are slowing down. On the contrary we are approaching a very busy autumn to satisfy your ever-growing needs for more crunchy and sustainable salt flakes. We are focusing our eyes ahead for the adventures to come on both sides of the Atlantic!

You already met her on Facebook and instagram, but we thought you should be properly introduced as well. She has a pretty cool story to tell you know!

Meet Rhubarb Alda! Feisty and red on the outside but actually calm and mysterious with a colour that speak to your own inner Barbie.

Norður Rhubarb Salt is the ultimate combination of the Icelandic land and sea! 

Hand-harvested Norður Salt flakes from Breiðafjörður in the West Fjords

&

Handpicked Arctic Rhubarb that grows wild in the Icelandic nature. 

The result? A delicious sour-salty taste with a fresh smell of rhubarb, to spice up your salad, drink or meal. 

You might have noticed a new face popping up for time to time over the past months. Her name is Liv. She’s from Denmark and we are happy to announce that she is here to stay!

Formally introducing the great-grandchild of the all time favorite Icelandic communist Brynjólfur Bjarnason:

Hi!

I’m Liv.

You might not know me, but we have actually met before! It’s me who has been doing most of our social media stuff for some time now.

I’m 3/8 Icelandic born and raised in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. I have travelled regularly to Iceland and spent many summers in the beautiful Skagafjörður Bay as a child.

After finishing my bachelor from Copenhagen Business School I thought it was time to explore my Icelandic roots some more. You know. Eat lamb, horse, puffin and fermented shark. Breaking my tongue trying to pronounce hæstaréttarmálaflutningsmaður or byggingarverkfræðingur. Being scared to death in traffic – You thought the Italians were crazy drivers, forget it! Climb mountains and enjoy northern lights from a hot spring.

As it so often happens what should have been just 5 months turned into… well who knows. This week I’m starting my master degree at Reykjavik University AND in my new position as Executive Assistant here with Norður & Co. Yay me!

What I am going to do?

A lot of the same things I have been doing so far. Help out in the office. Marketing. Sales. Talk to you guys on social media. Discover new opportunities and possibilities. And make sure we all do our utmost to make the best sea salt in the world! So, a bit of everything (hence the Swiss reference).

When I’m not trying to avoid the 55 guys from Víkingasveitin (the only public authority with guns in Iceland) I like to do cross-country skiing, a bit of running (mostly towards the nearest cake store) and I’m trying to knit a lopapeysa, the famous Icelandic sweater – we’ll see if I have a nervous breakdown before I actually manage to finish it. And of course… eat lots and lots of Norður Salt ;-)

Peace out!

Crispbread, or hrökkbrauð as we say in Icelandic, are quite popular here in our office. This recipe is a bit of a personal favorite of mine and we thought the rest of you should have a chance to enjoy it as well. It is a super simple and quick recipe and then it tastes delicious! 

They are amazing just the way they are but are also really good with for example pesto or hummus.

Let us know if you have any questions or comments! And if you try it out give it a #nordursalt on Facebook or Instagram! We love to see what you guys use your Norður flakes for! 

Well, here we go: 

50 g / 1.8 oz oats

50 g / 1.8 oz sesame seeds

50 g / 1.8 oz pumpkin seeds

50 g / 1.8 oz linseeds

2 tsp baking powder

1½ tsp salt – we, of course, recommend Norður Salt ;)

200 g /7 oz flour – I usually use a mix of 50-50 wheat and whole wheat flour.

2 dl / 0.84 US cups of water

½ dl / 0.21 US cups of peanut oil or sesame oil 

You can pretty much add anything you want: coconut flour, chopped nuts, other types of seeds. Above are just what I usually use and have in my kitchen. 

1.   Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. The dough becomes quite soft, so you can also add water little by little and stop when you think it has had enough

2.   Split the dough in two and put each part on a piece of baking paper.

3.   Put another piece on top of it and roll the dough out between the two pieces of paper. The dough should be thin and the size of the baking sheet.

4.   Put the dough on the baking sheet.

5.   Remove the top layer of paper. Cut the dough with a knife 15-30 pieces based on personal preference. You don’t have to cut the dough all the way through, just enough that it will easily break after baking.

6.   Personally, I like to sprinkle the crackers with salt. The flakes look great on it, plus I like it salty.

7.   Bake the crackers at 180°C hot air for 15-18 minutes until they are golden.

8.   Let them cool a little and break the bread into pieces where the knife put its marks.

ENJOY! 

A big thanks to Helle for this wonderful snack!

You never know how long summer lasts here in Iceland, so we are enjoying as much of the sun as possible!

And in our (not so humble) opinion summer just got a lot better! Now, not only do you get to enjoy Norður Salt for first and second course... you can also get it for dessert! 

We really love the new Lúxus Caramel Icecream from Kjöris - with Norður Salt!

/ Team Norður & Co

It all its glory!

Ingibjörg, Anney and Liv says “YES!”

Anney & Alda are enjoying the salty caramel. 

Sun is shining outside, but we can’t see a thing! The new Norður Smoked Salt is here! 

Harvested in Karlsey, Breiðafjörður and smoked in Borganes with a traditional Danish method consisting of birch and oak. 

The salt gets a beautiful light brownish colour. It looks amazing and the smell is overwhelming. It leaves your mouth watering and your mind wandering to bbq nights with ketchup, lamb and grilled fish. 

This is truly a masterpiece to complete the Norður Flavoured Salt family! 

Here she is!

The new Norður Blueberry Sea Salt! 

Our flavoured salts are made in co-creation with the small family business, Urta Islandica. We are really thrilled about this collaboration and the salt that comes out of it. 

The color for this salt is stunning and with tiny pieces of blueberry in it! We are so excited for the summer salads or maybe a dessert spiced up with some purple salt. 

… as in dark as liquorice! 

We proudly introduce the newest member of our salty family: Norður Liqourice Sea Salt! 

The salt is ready. The design is ready. The first test-packaging was finished today. And we must say, we couldn’t be happier with the result!

Liqourice is only the first of FOUR in our new ‘line’ of flavoured salts. So stay tuned, as we will unveil the rest in a very-near future followed by tips and inspiration for recipes.

For now we can say: the smell is delicious, the taste even better. The first orders already ticked in weeks ago, so get ready for Norður Salt the dark way. 

Perhaps you have heard that sea salt is unprocessed and therefore contain more trace minerals than ordinary table salt. Perhaps you have wondered what trace minerals actually are. Perhaps you wondered what exactly Nordur Salt really is?

As you might know, Nordur Salt is produced with a Danish-Icelandic production method dating back to 1753. We start by pumping fresh sea water into our big, grey submarine, where the water is evaporated to increase the salinity (salt content). The brine is moved into open pans where the salt crystalizes on the surface, then drops to the bottom where it is finally hand harvested and dried. The whole process is CO2 neutral because all energy and heating comes from leftover geothermal water from our neighboring seaweed factory and from the nearby hot spring in Reykhólar.

In this process there is nothing added and nothing taken away except the water we evaporate. This means that all you get are pure, crunchy salt flakes filled with lots of minerals from the Arctic Sea. 

Nordur Salt contains both macro minerals and trace minerals. Macro minerals are minerals that you need large amounts of in your diet, large being more than 100mg/day. These are minerals such as sodium, chloride, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, and calcium. Trace minerals are needed in quantities below 100mg/day and include copper, chromium, fluoride, iodine, iron, molybdenum, manganese, selenium, and zinc. Macro minerals make up to 1% of your total body weight whereas trace minerals amount to less than 0.01%. Refined salt, such as table salt consists of approx. 40% sodium and 60% chloride by weight.

You need all of these minerals in order to survive!

As with everything else, too much or too little will have consequences for your body. 

That is also why general recommendations to sodium intake are set between 1500-2300 mg/day, which corresponds to 3.75 – 6g of salt per day.  

But fear not!

We have good news for those on sodium-restricted diets!

Because of the Nordur Salt flakes’ light, flaky crystalline structure and its low density, the salt is lower in sodium by volume than many other refined sea salts. According to our external lab analyst, this results in 260mg of sodium per serving (1/4 tsp) compared to 480-580mg found in most other brands of coarse sea salt. Additionally, Nordur Salt’s pH-level is quite alkaline (pH > 7) which is good news for those wishing to eat a less acidic diet.

A little goes a long way and we always advice that Nordur Salt should be used judiciously – except when you make popcorn and fries!

You may wonder how 35.60% of sodium and 56.95% of chloride = 90,5% Sodium Chloride (we sure did!). The reason is a bit technical, but we will try to explain to the best of our ability. Seawater has more chloride than sodium, consequently some of the chloride forms salts with other minerals such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium. So, all the chloride does not bind with the sodium and therefore the sum is less than its parts. Make sense?

That was all for today’s lesson on what makes up those beautiful salt flakes of ours. 

Yesterday we had a day off at Nordur Salt because it was the First Day of Summer, which is a public holiday here in Iceland. You might wonder and think that the cold has made us loose our minds. How can it be summer when the temperature is still around freezing (0˚C/32˚F) and you can go skiing in the mountains? 

The first summer day is a relic from when Icelanders used the Old Norse calendar where the year was structured based on solstices and equinoxes. The first Thursday after April 18th marks the beginning of summer and the month Harpa – also the name of the concert hall in Reykjavík.

Today, the day is celebrated with parades, music, sporting events, etc. Parents might give their children a “summer gift” such as jump-ropes or play balls. 

It was a busy day in downtown Reykajvík! It was the 100th anniversary of the Víðavangshlaup, a 5k run with 1171 participants. The fastest male and female runners made in the time of 15:35 and 17:10 respectively. The outdoor clothing company 66˚ North arranged a water fight and lent raincoats for the event. 

It was a beautiful day and one of the sunniest so far this year! With a bit of snow in the afternoon, of course, and topped off with an amazing sunset.

View from the tower of Hallgrimskirkjan of downtown Reykjavik. Out by the habor you can see a bunch of big white tanks. That’s where you can find Nordur Salt!

Reykjavík and the mountain Esja in the background. We can recommend walking up to the top as a super nice daytour. 

Yesterday we dropped off our first batch of salt at the smoke house! We are currently testing out various possibilities and techniques. 

If only pictures could emit scents (hey! Why haven’t anyone invented that yet?). The salt has an amazing and mouthwatering smoked smell to it that just makes you want to light the barbecue or put a lamb in the oven. The smoke gives the salt a really beautiful wooden color and taste. We are really thrilled about the results!

Everyone gave a hand and got the salt back to the office and we all smelled like bonfires afterwards.

The first glimpse of the newest member of our team; Liv!

Creative chef and product developer Styrmir tying those knots!