Desing.- Edward Fuglo

Printer.-  Cartor Security Printing. France.

All over the world the provision and preparation of food have always been an important part of national culture, with countless variations being shaped by the possibilities to hand.

Climate has been crucial in terms of the type of food it was possible to produce. Living in tropical countries and having to survive in the polar regions will always be different, of course.

The original food on the Faroes came for the most part from the animal population on the island, mainly sheep in the upland pastures, birds on the bird cliffs and fish in the sea. The climate is not the best for cultivating cereals, vegetables, etc., so they were not of great importance.
Potatoes did not become a regular ingredient in the daily diet until the late 19th century, although people had long been familiar with them. Instead they used to boil Faroese swedes (Brassica) for dinner, for example.

The seasons set their stamp on eating habits. Fish was more or less available all year round, but mostly in the spring, when it provided roe in addition to liver. The opportunity to eat other fresh food arrived at the same time as spring fishing (March – April). Cows usually calved in spring, so there was most milk in summer. Birding and egg collecting (nest plundering on the bird cliffs) were also part of the summer, while the chances of catching pilot whales are greatest in August, when people could also go out into the potato fields and pick new potatoes. In autumn the men went up into the mountains to bring the sheep in for slaughtering. Nearly every bit of a slaughtered sheep was put to good use. As well as the meat, people used the head, trotters, liver, lungs, heart, stomach and blood (the collective Faroese word for which is avroð).

Since ancient times the only way to keep most foodstuffs was to salt or dry them. Salt was in short supply for a long time, so drying was the commonest method for preserving food. There were two salting methods, pickling in brine and dry-curing, with barrels being used for both.

Meat, whale, fowl and fish were all dried. Once gutted, sheep were hung up to dry in the wind in a single piece. Before birds were hung up, they were split along the back and tied together in pairs. Fish too were hung up to dry in pairs, while whale meat was cut into loops before hanging.

The autumn weather had a major impact on whether what had been hung up to dry tasted right. The drying process itself can be divided into three stages: visnað (lightly dried), ræst (semi-dried/seasoned) and dried. These terms refer to flavour, appearance and smell. What we can call “lightly dried” is achieved in just a few days and is much faster for fish than for whale meat. The word visnað is not generally used about meat.

The change to ræst is slow, but if the air suddenly turns cold, whatever has been hung up to dry can jump this stage and never gets the real semi-dried/seasoned flavour. If, on the other hand, the air is too warm, the dried meat can become too ræst and so end up with a harsh or rank flavour. Meat is normally dried until Christmas.

Mutton, fish, fowl and whale meat are eaten at all three stages of the process (and fresh too, of course). Visnað and ræst have to be cooked. Dried meat is eaten as it is. For food to have the best possible flavour, it has to be treated correctly, of course. In particular you have to make sure that flies are kept away, especially in mild autumn weather, or there is a risk of the food being spoiled by maggots.

Mealtimes vary from country to country. In days gone by there were three main mealtimes on the Faroe Islands: morgunmatur (lunch) at around 9 – 10 am, døgurði (dinner) at around 2 – 3 pm and nátturði (supper) at 9 pm or later. Normally there were also two smaller mealtimes: ábit (breakfast), which people ate when they got up early in the morning, and millummáli (tea), which came between dinner and supper.

For lunch people used to eat drýlur (cylindrical, unleavened bread, originally baked in the embers of the fire). Later, rye bread made from rye and wheat flour became more common. An accompaniment would be served with the unleavened bread. These days it is sliced meats and the like, but back then it was most likely to be a piece of mutton.

Dinner usually consisted of boiled fish, whale meat and blubber or fowl. In the late 19th century it became common for people to eat potatoes for dinner. On Sundays and festivals those who could (i.e. farmers) would have ræst meat and súpan – soup, specifically meat soup (made from preserved meat with flour or grains, etc., added). Cooked fish was also considered to be a good Sunday meal.

Supper nearly always took the form of spoon food, i.e. milk products of various sorts in summer and soup in winter. When the cow had calved there would be ketilost, a cold dish of heat-thickened colostrum served with cinnamon and sugar. Drýlur and bread were not eaten with supper, but it was common to eat wind-dried fish before the soup. People generally drank water, milk, milk mixed with water, tea or coffee.

No one started the day’s work on an empty stomach. Breakfast was therefore a slice of drýlur and a drink of milk, a little soup or leftovers from the previous day’s supper.

For tea people drank milk, tea or coffee accompanied by a slice of bread or, occasionally, pancakes. White bread or cake has gradually become more common.

Food was generally boiled. Every household had at least two pots: one for oily or greasy food such as blubber, liver, etc., and one for everything else. There were three types of food bowl: a meat bowl, a fish bowl and a snyktrog (for greasy or oily food). As well as their pots, people also kept large ladles (sleiv), slotted spoons (soðspón) and various “sticks” for stirring porridge (greytarsneis) and whipping milk or cream (a milk beater or tyril) in their one-roomed hut, which served as kitchen, workshop, living room and bedroom.

Times have changed, with the result that we now eat a lot of food bought in shopping centres – most of it foreign. The Faroe islanders have acquired an international cuisine, with vegetables, fruit and spices being a normal part of everyday life. But old Faroese food is still eaten with great relish and is regarded as a real delicacy.