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Fermentation Atlas

Meat from Faroe Islands

Ræst kjøtræst kjøt

semi-dried, pungent mutton. Made in 4 steps over 3 months – 9 months. The longest step, turrur (dry) stage, takes 3–9 months (Joensen et al. 2023). Staphylococcus and Micrococcus does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3–9 monthsReported[joensen2023][s1]Turrur (dry) stage
Temperature-5–13 °CReported[joensen2023]Hang joints in the hjallur
DocumentedMeat3 months – 9 monthsMore meatMore from Europe

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
mutton or lamb joints
no salt
Starter: spontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 months – 9 months

Start
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-5–13 °C

What changes: Starting material: unsalted mutton joints hung in the drying shed

Step 1 of 4
Hang joints in the hjallur
Time
drying starts in October
Reported
Temperature
-5–13 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Micrococcus surface
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

Variants

  • Skerpikjøtthe fully dried end stage, eaten raw sliced on bread.
  • Ræstur fiskurfish (often cod) hung in the hjallur until ræst; boiled and eaten with tallow.
  • Garnatálgfat from sheep intestines, rolled and aged in the hjallur until ræst; used as a sauce fat (process not documented this round).

Safety

No salt is used. Warm, wet weather early on causes rot and too strong a taste; cold weather nearly removes the smell. Ræst kjøt caused 9 botulism cases from 1988 to 2007, 2 of them fatal (Joensen et al. 2023).

Hazards the sources name: Clostridium botulinum (9 cases from 1988 to 2007, 2 fatal).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Ræst means fermented-matured. Wind-drying without salt is an adaptation to a treeless, salt-poor, windy climate.

  1. [s1] Wikipedia, Skerpikjøt, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skerpikj%C3%B8twiki
  2. [s2] Wikipedia, Faroese cuisine, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroese_cuisinewiki
  3. [s3] Joensen J.P., Færøsk madkultur: En oversigt (cited by Wikipedia; not read)wiki
  4. [joensen2023] Joensen et al. 2023, Fermented mutton in the Faroe Islands, J. Ethnic Foodspaper