A perfect treat
The Icelandic kleina Icelanders often like to think that their all-time favorite traditional foods are purely Icelandic, but unfortunately that can’t be said about the famous Icelandic kleina (plural: kleinur). Many countries in northern Europe have their version of this delicious fried pastry known as klenät, klena, klejne or fattigmann to name a few. So how come we’ve never heard of them? Photos: Gunnlaugur Rögnvaldsson
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ost likely the original kleina is of a German origin seeing as the name for this mouthwatering treat is of Low German origin. “Klein” of course means “small” or “little” in German and in Swedish “klen” means “slender.” The Norwegian name, fattigmann (poor man) is actually not a nod to the pastry’s humble origins but rather a joke on how expensive they were to make; it would leave you poor. JUST LIKE GRANDMA USED TO MAKE
There is written evidence of kleinur going as far back as the 14th century in Denmark, and they also appear in Danish and Icelandic cookbooks in the 18th and 19th century. Traditionally, a kleina is made by mixing flour, egg yolks, sugar and butter or margarine. The dough is then rolled out and cut into strips. In Iceland, we have special cutting wheel especially for this job known as kleinujárn (kleina iron) which gives a good indication of how common kleina making was, and still is, on the island. Each strip is then cut into smaller diamond shaped squares and a little slit is cut in the middle. Once a corner of the diamond square is pulled through the slit, the kleina is ready for deep frying (traditionally in sheep tallow but today we use oil). A good housewife would make a big batch of dough, producing enough kleinur for the coming weeks. Most Icelanders over 35 probably remember their grandmother or possibly their mother kneading and
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WOW Power to the people
frying up a batch of kleinur. Since then households have grown smaller and deep-frying has sort of gone out of style (not to mention the general hassle of deep-frying in one’s home) so most people now rely more on bakeries and grocery stores for their kleina-needs.
be the reason why we claim credit to their fame and call them a traditional Icelandic treat.
If you’d like to try an Icelandic kleina, we recommend them all. We don’t recall ever getting a bad kleina anywhere in Iceland. Buy 10 or 12 small ones together in a bag at the nearest grocery store or go to almost any bakery or coffee selling establishTHE EVERYDAY KLEINA ment (even a gas station) and get a single big one. Perhaps the biggest difference between the Icelandic Some are even big enough for two to share. kleina and its Scandinavian or northern European A kleina is great for dipping into hot chocolate or sisters is the fact that in Iceland kleinur aren’t seen enjoy with cold milk (plain or the chocolate kind). It as treats for special occasions. While our cousins on is the perfect on-the-road picnic; grown-ups and the mainland would traditionally sprinkle them with children love them, and they travel really well. Try sugar and serve around the Yuletide, Icelanders see one every chance you get while visiting Iceland and them as a common everyday pastry, which may also bring a bag home for your friends.
