Welcome to my new A-Z …World Cuisines…where I will be looking at the countries of the world, their food and national dish or their most popular dish around the world…by this I mean some dishes are eaten in many countries as their fame has spread around the world…

Today I am looking at the cuisine of The Faroe Islands…

The Faroe Islands or “sheep islands” are 18 islands in the North East Atlantic. The beautiful green islands are a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

The archipelago is situated approximately 400 km (250 mi) north-northwest of the coast of Scotland (United Kingdom) and about 460 km (285 mi) east-southeast of Iceland…as you would expect from these beautiful remote islands fishing is their major industry…Tourism is second…

Because of the location and the North Atlantic winds the weather in the islands changes so quickly and frequently that a well-known Faroese saying is ‘If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.

Faroese cuisine is based around fish and sheep…simples…Traditional foods from the Faroe Islands include skerpikjøt (a type of dried mutton), seafood, whale meat, blubber, garnatálg,..is a speciality prepared with cured sheep intestines and sheep tallow. The combination is shaped into large, oval pieces which are then air-dried. This local product is usually cut into slices, pan-fried until melted and served over ræstur fiskur—air-dried and fermented fish. potatoes, and a few fresh vegetables.

Faroese Puffins…

Faroese historical folklore states…Puffins on the Faroe Islands are most often filled with a sort of cake batter mixed with raisins, sewn shut and braised, or just braised without the cake. The batter can also be wrapped in little pouches of aluminium foil and braised together with the birds rather than inside them. Leave the plucked, gutted and cleaned puffins to soak in cold water overnight before cooking them. They have a peculiar but tasty, fresh-ocean flavour to them, which can grow very strong and a bit heady for my taste if they are not handled well.

Just reading and researching about the Faroe Islands takes me to a place that is magical and filled with folklore where food is an extension of the land and surrounding seas they are also one of the only places in the world that don’t have a Mcdonald’s…Yeah! Long may that last!

But there is a 2-star Michelin Restaurant…How cool is that what beautiful surroundings all the food is so fresh and although street food is my love I do appreciate local fresh food lovingly prepared and beautifully presented…

The past and tradition are very strong here in the Faroes…alcohol as it was in many communities was prohibited and that is when “sheebeens” were set up…

The Faroese still drink in sheebeens, known as key clubs –That were set up in secret when alcohol was banned on the islands. These dens were so popular they stayed open when prohibition ended. There is an Irish pub called, imaginatively, ‘Irish Pub’. It is said to serve the best beer on the islands…

But of course, it’s not all fine dining and sheebeens…with its wild untamed natural beauty there are no trees just wind and ocean and more sheep than people…sheep can be found even grazing on the roofs of houses that are often covered in grass so of course, there is oodles of traditional Faroese food like fermented lamb and fish, rye bread, blood sausage, and stewed rhubarb …hearty warming dishes that can be found in cafes and restaurants dotted about the islands…in the main towns and larger villages, there are many lovely eating establishments to try traditional food…or many homes open up so that tourists can dine with the family and sample traditional foods…However, if traditional food isn’t for you… there are burger vans…

The most popular meat is räst…fermented mutton…the meat is hung outside to dry for a few months and then eaten sliced as it is or added to soups…it is also further fermented when it becomes a dish called skerpikjøtt…it can be eaten with a spoon, its strong tasting and if its anything like the fermented meat and fish here…I give it a wide berth too strong tasting for me and muddy in taste…however like many countries old traditions are still upheld which is nice…

Because the weather is so rough only a few hardy vegetables grow here, potatoes, turnips, rhubarb and wild herbs but it’s interesting to see how creative cooks can be …less is more as most chefs say…

I hope you have enjoyed this little virtual tour of the Faroe Islands as always I look forward to your comments and if unlike me you have visited the Faroe Islands please share…x