eat it

I have been informed that our readership cannot survive on the stale posts I leave up for days at a time, so here is something fresh on which to chew.

In the Faroe Islands I have access to basically all of the food stuffs that I could get in the United States. Often the variety is limited, but from tofu to taco spice, from eggplants to fresh dill, it can be had. For months this has falsely led me to believe that this similarity meant that Faroese eat the same way as Americans. After six weeks in the workplace taking breakfast and lunch with real live Faroese people, I realize it is not so.

Breakfast is often bread or crackers with margarine, jam and cheese. Fruit juice seldom makes an appearance, while strong tea and coffee are a must have. Heavy, hot breakfast items like omelettes, hash browns, pancakes, etc., are not part of the food culture, but the quality of the Faroese bread makes up for whatever cholesterol cravings I encounter. Most people buy their bread from the local bakery, which makes wonderful crusty, nutty breads and rolls. My favorite kind includes shredded carrot and sesame seeds in the mix.

There are two ways to go for the noon meal. Historically, at noon everyone went home for døgurði, the hot meal of the day, which would likely feature either fish or some sort of roasted lamb alongside boiled potatoes, which Faroese always peel before eating, and a sweet pickled cabbage condiment. The whole plate would get doused in liberal amounts of gravy, which is dyed a dark shade of brown using a special food coloring. More recently, you might also run in to pizza made with hamburger and a store-bought crust, a dish called bolar soupa which combines frozen vegetables, sausage balls and dough dumplings, or large baked fish nuggets.

However, the arrival of globalized business practices has made it impractical to take a long lunch break, so døgurði is now usually taken at night. The noontime meal, an open-faced sandwich extravaganza, is a curiosity to me. It consists of one or two pieces of dark heavy bread, cut either into halves or quarters, and loaded with an endless array of toppings. These might include a boiled egg and mayonnaise, margarine, cheese and bell pepper, cold pickled fish salad, potato salad and fish sausage, or rolled lamb sausage and red onion. Then, using a knife and fork the Faroese cut each piece of bread in to delicate bites, getting the impossibly loaded fork to their mouths without dripping potato salad on their lapel.

Lunch is again washed down with tea and coffee. Impossibly strong coffee. I would be skeptical that most Faroese drink their eight glasses of water a day.

The thing that characterizes Faroese food in my mind is meat. It is the focal point of every significant meal. Spicing tends to be relatively simple, and I am always putting off dinner guests with my zealous use of cumin, cilantro and curry. Although young people have a more adventurous palate, there is still a definite Faroese-ness to their preference for mild dishes.

The other element of Faroese eating that must be noted is drekkamunn, the evening coffee and dessert social time usually taken with friends. Store bought cookies, marzipan-filled treats, vanilla ice cream with nougat chunks or a warm fruit truffle are commonly served. Likely whatever you get will be accompanied by Romi, the Faroese produced brand of heavy whipping cream. It is rich, it is decadent, and the Faroese offer no apologies for eating it often and in plenty. It is the part of Faroese cuisine that I have embraced the most enthusiastically.

On occasion the traditional Faroese dishes will pop up. This includes roasted lamb made from mutton that has been left to hang outside for a few weeks, giving it a strong fetid flavor. I would deem it an acquired taste. I have also eaten whale meat and whale blubber, dried fish, and other varieties of air-dried mutton. To my relief I have not yet been confronted with sheep's head or blood sausage.

Another note on food culture is that it revolves almost completely around the home. In my five months here I have eaten out perhaps ten times, and with the exception of some take-out pizza and a trips to the bakery, they have all been on day trips to the capital of Tórshavn.

For all the differences, I have done very well here, as attested to by my trousers which fit a little more snuggly since I came. I think it has been all of the cream.

-a