Month: January 2013

posted by Josh Evans In November I traveled to the Faroe Islands, a remote archipelago north of Scotland, west of Norway, and south-east of Iceland. It has a tumultuous history, occupied, subordinated; and, though now part of the Danish kingdom, this place is a world apart from Denmark. These islands seem desolate, barren – a cluster of rocks sticking up out of the sea. But they hold a richness, and a Faroese will tell you so. The islands are wet. Waterfalls spring from nowhere along every ridge. All roads defer to these older, shifting veins. The mountains are abrupt and ribbed, covered in grass and moss and water underfoot and scree in some of the higher valleys. It is a heath that baptises every step. The waters around the islands hold some of the best fish and seafood in the world. The langoustines are renowned. My host’s father runs a … Read more

  by Josh Evans. Mark’s masters thesis, entitled ‘Creating Terroir – an Anthropological Perspective on New Nordic Cuisine as an Expression of Nordic Identity’, was accepted for publication to the journal Anthropology of Food as part of a special issue on ‘Nordic Food Culture’. In addition to Mark’s thesis, AoFood requested a shorter piece on Nordic Food Lab, exploring our ethos, methodology, and research interests. We had Josh write this piece as an overview of where we’ve come these past few years and where we hope to go. Check out both and the rest of the issue at Anthropology of Food online.

posted by Julius Schneider Once our cold smoker was ready we started putting in all sorts of meat to smoke. We started with some wild pigeons and wild ducks that we had around the lab. The pigeon breasts were cured for two days in vacuum bags, with a range of different aromatics: black garlic skin, malt extract, freeze-dried blueberries, yoghurt, salted walnut paste – though birch sirup and a spice mix made out of juniper and coriander seeds turned out to be most flavorful. The breasts were smoked for two days in the cold smoker and rested afterwards for one day in a 6°C fridge. Here are the recipes for the two best outcomes: – 15g juniper/coriander mix + 12g salt – 20g birch sirup + 10 g salt Rub each breast on the bone with the mix, and vacuum-pack. Cure for two days then put in the smoker for … Read more

posted by Julius Schneider Smoking meat is one of the oldest methods of preserving meat, but besides this it produces delicious, complex flavours in meat and other foods. What could be better than building your own smoker and having endless possibilities to play with. To build one is not too complicated when you have the right tools. Here’s how you can do it: First thing you need is an accessible box made out of wood or metal, but wood is easier to work with and safe to use as well since it’s going to be a cold smoker and temperatures should never exceed 25°C. I found an old wardrobe in a used furniture store. It was a perfect fit since it already had a rack to hang things on and shelves to place smaller things as well. Once you found the perfect size for your homemade smoker you’ll need a … Read more