The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Faroese Foods. If you manage to be in an Faroese restaurant or you are visiting Faroe Islands, I recommend the following:
1. Heimablídni
It is a tradition in the Faroe Islands where guests pay to eat traditional food in the homes of local residents. The name itself connotes a warm hospitality that refers to an authentic and intimate dining experience. As part of the festivities, guests can sample local delicacies such as skærpikjøt (dried sheep), dried (roasted) cod, whale broth, whale fillets and vegetables such as carrots, kohlrabi, broccoli, rhubarb and potatoes. If you’re lucky, you can even try the local schnapps served in a sheep horn!
2. Skerpikjøt
In this case, lamb meat that has been dried for about a year is used. The result is a raw sausage that is very similar in shape to our Iberian ham. The meat is dried in hjallur, which are sheds built to allow air to pass through to facilitate the drying of the meat. Before the lamb becomes Skerpikjøt, it goes through two further stages, visnaður and ræstur, which characterise the rate of preservation and fermentation and are important in determining its final taste.
3. Ræst Kjøt
The Faroe Islands take advantage of their abundant resource, the cold North Atlantic wind. This dry fermented lamb is a good example of this traditional curing technique. It is made by hanging raw meat in an open-air shed, usually from October onwards, for five to nine months in salty air. During the canning process, a layer of blue-green mould forms on the carcass, which gives the meat its strong fermented smell and taste.
4. Föroya Bjór
Föroya Bjór Premium Stout (Black Sheep) is a delicious premium beer brewed by Föroya Bjór (name of the brewery), a family brewery in the Faroe Islands founded in 1888. Föroya Bjór Black Sheep is the best quality beer. The islanders may have a fishing economy, but the beer on the Faroe Islands is second to none.
5. Tvøst Og Spik
It is pilot whale meat and blubber. The meat and blubber can be preserved and prepared in different ways. It is often cut into long thin slices, which are called likkja (grindalikkja) in the singular and likkjur (grindalikkjur) in the plural, and hung to dry.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional European Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.