Origins and Diffusion of Food in Greenland

Many of Greenland’s most common food items are traditional and have been eaten by the

native populations for many generations. Other countries and cultures often refer to original

Greenlandic cuisine as odd, as it includes items like seal and whale, as well as caribou. However,

other foods include most sea life including fish (of many varieties), deer, marine mammals, ox,

duck, as well as other birds and many more meats. There is a strong connection between

Greenland with seafood due to religion, and many of the Greenlandic stories of mythology

involving the creation and amalgamations of sealife. These meats are frequently cooked through

boiling, eaten frozen, or by drying (dehydration) (Living of the Land… n.d). Of course, this isn’t

to say that Greenlanders don’t also cook in methods others might find conventional such as

baking, frying, or seering. Aside from sources of protein, Greenland is also capable of harvesting

other foods such as cabbage, potatoes, iceberg lettuce, and strawberries (Kubny n.d). These

products are all harvested within Greenland itself.

Other aspects of Greenlandic cuisine include items that are imported from Europe due to

cultural diffusion. Greenland’s main food importation partners include Denmark, Germany, the

Netherlands, and Sweden (Greenland Food Product Imports by Country n.d). This, of course, is

not surprising, particularly so due to the Danish colonization of the island. These foods include

items such as rice, and many plant based products, including bread and mushrooms.
 Resources

Kubny, H. (n.d.). Agriculture in Greenland. Polarjournal. Retrieved November 27, 2022, from

https://polarjournal.ch/en/2021/03/05/agriculture-in-greenland/

Living off the land: The evolution of greenlandic food culture. Greenland tours, Greenland tour,

Tours in Greenland from Iceland. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2022, from

https://www.greenland.is/blog/living-off-the-land-the-evolution-of-greenlandic-food-cult

ure/

Greenland food products imports by country. Greenland Food Products Imports by country 2018

| WITS Data. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2022, from

https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/GRL/Year/LTST/TradeFlow/Impor

t/Partner/by-country/Product/16-24_FoodProd