Ræst
Fermented Traditional Restaurant E X P L O R E T H E U N I Q U E F O O D C U LT U R E O F T H E F A R O E I S L A N D S
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Content 04
INTRODUCTION
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RÆST AND THE FAROESE FOOD CULTURE
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THE HISTORY OF FERMENTING MEAT
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Dear culinary adventurer! If you, like us, enjoy exploring new taste combinations, ancient gastronomic traditions, and unique food products, we invite you to turn this page and discover the extraordinary culinary culture of the Faroe Islands. Just like the archipelago itself, the culinary culture and history of the Faroe Islands are full of adventures and one-of-a-kind experiences. One of them is ræst, the distinct fermented meat and fish loved by all Faroese, but still unknown to most non-natives. At Ræst, we have not only named our restaurant after this unique food product we have also dedicated our work to exploring and promoting fermented meat and fish in the modern-day Faroese cuisine. We do so in the cosy settings of our old quaint restaurant in the centre of Tórshavn. In this e-book you can learn how best to prepare and enjoy ræst, explore its long and extraordinary history, and discover what awaits you underneath the grass roof of Ræst. We hope you will enjoy exploring - here and in real life. Vinaliga Sigmundur Nielsen Head chef Ræst – Fermented Traditional Restaurant
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Ræst Fermented Traditional
Email: raest@raest.fo
website: www.raest.fo
Beinta á Torkilsheyggi
Gongin 8
Phone: +298 411430
F: raestrestaurant
FO-100 Tórshavn
I: raestrestaurant
Faroe Islands
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Ræst A Faroese food adventure Located in a 400-year-old house in the heart of Tórshavn, you will find Ræst, the capital’s only restaurant exclusively focused on traditional Faroese food. Head chef Sigmundur Nielsen shares the secret to cooking and enjoying ræst, the archipelago’s much-loved fermented meat and fish.
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n a slightly tilted wooden building covered by a lush green grass roof, Head chef Sigmundur Nielsen spends most of his days working and experimenting with authentic Faroese ingredients. On a quiet day, he might be the only one working in the cosy restaurant, which with 26 seats, blue walls, and wooden tables presents a homey and authentic dinner setting. The results of Sigmundur’s experiments are dishes that combine the best of the food culture of the Faroese Islands with a respectful touch of international flavours and ideas. “I prepare the Faroese ingredients in a way that allows me to transform traditional dishes into restaurant experiences; it won’t be like the ræst meals you, as a Faroese, get at your grandma’s house,” explains Sigmundur. “For example, I get a lot of inspiration from the Asian kitchen. They have been fermenting for many years too, and while the Faroese and the Asian types of
fermenting are very different, they complement each other well.” While Ræst’s menu changes depending on what is in season, organic and local produce always takes centre stage. Most likely, dishes such as pilot whale and dried fish, fermented lamb soup, wind-dried lamb and cheese, and a traditional dessert will be on the menu.
Faroese food culture The Faroe Islands have a long history of fermenting meat and fish (to read more about the Faroese history of fermenting, turn to page six). But though it is of historic origin, the tradition is still explicitly alive in modern Faroese society; in other words, what you get in Sigmundur’s restaurant is not a historic experience, but a taste of a much-loved food product unique to the Faroe Islands. R æ s t – F e r m e n t e d Tr a d it io n a l R e s t a u r a n t | 7
Ræst offers its guests an intimate, traditional, and homey dinner experience.
“Some restaurants will have a few dishes, or on occasion make a complete menu of ræst, but we are the only ones who do it every day,” stresses Sigmundur. One of the characteristics of Ræst is its inherent strong flavours which makes it easy to turn into savour-bursting dishes. However, when it comes to pairing the dishes with drinks, things get a bit more complicated. “To be honest, you don’t have to do a lot to Ræst as it is already very potent in flavour, but that’s also sometimes its drawback – the challenge is how to find something to complement something that powerful,” the chef says before revealing his solution. “What we have done is to make a menu of Faroese beer, sherry, and port, all fermented products that match the strong flavours of ræst well. We do also use some regular French wines, but prefer the nature wines as they tend to have bit more bite to them.”
An old tradition new to most visitors Produced in villages all over the Faroe Islands, ræst is enjoyed in most local homes. Indeed, growing up, Sigmundur had ræst at least a couple of times a month. However, for visitors, the strong taste and smell of the fermented meat and fish will, for the vast majority, be entirely new, and perhaps even a bit intimidating. But, as reviews reveal, even if some might be a bit hesitant to begin with, the majority react overwhelmingly positively to the experience. “Of course, there might be occasions when someone will not be prepared for the very distinct taste experience, but, generally, the feedback has been very positive,” says Sigmundur. “I’m under the impression that people who come here are very openminded about what they are about to try. But they are always surprised and happy with the experience. They do like it.” In short, just like the rest of the Faroe Islands, Ræst is highly likely to surprise and thrill those open to exploring and experiencing new sights, tastes, and smells.
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Turning salty winds into tasty meats Salty winds, intergenerational knowledge, and the Faroese Islands’ unique fauna - for thousands of years, the people of the small archipelago nation have been combining those three irreplicable ingredients to create ræst, traditional fermented meat and fish.
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oday, top chefs all over the world love fermented products for their unique taste and texture. But on the Faroe Islands, the technique for fermenting developed out of sheer necessity thousands of years ago. Located halfway between Scotland and
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Iceland and without access to supplies from the outside world, the Faroese used the natural fermentation method to preserve meat and fish slaughtered and caught in the autumn through winter and spring. Requiring nothing but the fresh sea air and a shed with
open airflow, it provided an alternative to mainland procuring methods which required large amounts of salt, a scarcity on the islands. But apart from being practical and necessary, the fermentation process also created a very distinct taste, a taste which, though difficult to describe, has become one of the main trademarks of the Faroese cuisine. “The closest I can get to describing it is that it’s like cured meat but with a sort of cheesy and earthy flavours stemming from the aging process as well,” Ræst’s head chef Sigmundur Nielsen explains. “But the taste will also vary depending on from where in the Faroe Islands the products are from, some places are more windy, some more humid.” Describing ræst becomes the more difficult with the fact that it comes in all sorts of variations; lamb pilot whale, birds, and cod, each with distinct flavours and textures. However, food reviewers often describe the taste as a strong, often slightly acid, umami-taste.
Sniffing out the secret of Ræst Everyone who has been to the Faroe Islands and been close to a so-called “hjallur”, a shed in which meat and R æ s t – F e r m e n t e d Tr a d it io n a l R e s t a u r a n t | 11
Ræst is produced through a natural fermentation process taking place in traditional “hjallurs”, sheds in which the meat is ripened by the archipelago’s naturally salty wind. Ræst comes in many variations, fish, poultry, and, as seen here, lamb. Traditionally, it is often prepared as a savoury stew.
fish are fermented, will remember the smell. A smell which is released because ræst is not, as it is sometimes described, simply the result of a drying process; its distinct strong taste is produced by fermentation. In the process, the meat is covered by a thin white layer of mould of the kind that also grows in some cheeses. However, unlike the wet fermenting process for, e.g. yogurt, the archipelago’s fresh salty air creates an airdried fermentation process. This process is done in the beforementioned “hjallurs” which can be sniffed out all over the archipelago. “When the farmers slaughter their lamb in October, it takes five to six weeks for it to be ready as ræst, maybe longer; it depends on the weather,” explains Sigmundur. “In reality, there’s not much to it; nature takes care of the process. When you cure meat, you use a lot of salt to dry out the meat, whereas in the fermentation
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process they might use a little salt, but in general it’s just the air, it’s very salty.”
generations of the same family will have carried on the process on different parts of the islands.
Ræst (or “ræstur” as it is known as in the Faroe Islands) is the product of the second stage in this process. The first stage results in the less pungent visnadur, a product which is not widely consumed but by those less fond of the stronger taste generated in the two later stages. After Ræst, the meat turns into skjerpikjøt, a product similar to cured meat and a highly favoured topping on the Faroese open sandwich. Unlike ræst, skjerpikjøt can be eaten as it is and does not need to be cooked.
“On the Faroe Islands, ræst is served in almost every home, often in a soup or traditional stew,” says Sigmundur. “Sometimes at special occasions, sometimes just for a nice Sunday meal.”
From past to present ‒ the love is still as strong as the taste The dependence on nature also means that, just like wine, the flavours of ræst and skjerpikjøt will tell the story of the specific product’s origin and history; often
But while ræst and skjerpikjøt have been an essential part of the Faroese culture and home cuisine for thousands of years, it is only in recent years, that an interest in promoting and exploring the potential of its unique flavours has started to develop among food professionals. This also means that ræst is now being presented and prepared in different and innovative combinations to explore and refine its flavours. One of the kitchens doing just that is Ræst.
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