August 1, 2016

2673 DENMARK (Faroe Islands) - Traditional food

2673 Faroese specialities. From ther left: hares, whale meat strips,
guillemots, intestines, cod's heads, dried fish, and dried sheep meat.
In the front: beets, sheep stomach and tallow, and potatoes. 

Traditional Faroese food is mainly based on meat, seafood and potatoes and uses few fresh vegetables. Mutton is the basis of many meals, and one of the most popular treats is skerpikjøt, well aged, wind-dried mutton, which is quite chewy. The drying shed, known as a hjallur, is a standard feature in many Faroese homes, particularly in the small towns and villages. Other traditional foods are ræstkjøt (semi-dried mutton) and ræstur fiskur, matured fish. Fresh fish also features strongly in the traditional local diet, as do seabirds, such as Faroese puffins, and their eggs

Another Faroese specialty is Grind og spik, pilot whale meat, and blubber. (A parallel meat/fat dish made with offal is garnatálg.) Much of the taste of this traditional country food is determined by the preservation methods used; brine, drying and the maturing of meat and fish, called ræstkjøt and ræstur fiskur. Boiled potatoes are normally eaten together with the whale meat and the blubber, but this tradition is not very old, since potatoes were not common in the Faroe Islands before sometime in the early or mid-19th century.

About the stamps
The two stamps are part of the serie Old Fire Trucks, about which I wrote here.

About the postmark
The postcard was bought from the Faroe Islands' stand from the World Stamp Show NY2016, which held between May 28 and June 4 2016 in Javits Center, then was sent from Tórshavn (Faroe Islands). Therefore it has a special postmark, made by Faroe Islands Posta for this event.

References
Faroese cuisine - Wikipedia

Sender: Holger
Sent from Tórshavn (Faroe Islands / Denmark), on 27.06.2016

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