Important parts of Faroese cuisine are lamb and also fish owing to proximity to the sea. Traditional foods from the Faroe Islands include skerpikjøt (a type of dried mutton), seafood, whale meat, blubber, garnatálg, Atlantic puffins, potatoes, and few fresh vegetables.

Much of the taste of this traditional country food is determined by the food preservation methods used; brine, drying, and the maturing of meat and fish, called ræstkjøt and ræstur fiskur.

Animal products dominate Faroese cuisine. Popular taste has developed, however, to become closer to the European norm, and consumption of vegetables has greatly increased in recent decades while consumption of fish has diminished. Fresh and ræst lamb meat remains very popular while traditional meat products, such as various types of sausages, have lost much of their appeal with younger generations.

Fish dishes in the Faroe Islands are caught in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Fresh fish is eaten year-round. Islanders eat mostly haddock, plaice, halibut, herring, and shrimp.

Traditionally the main source of meat was the domestic sheep, the most common farm animal in the Faroe Islands. Sheep were also used for their wool. The most popular treat is skerpikjøt, well-aged, wind-dried mutton. 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 ræst kjøt (semi-dried mutton) and ræstur fiskur, matured fish.

Small game in the Faroe Islands consists mostly of seabirds.

Another Faroese specialty is tvøst og spik, pilot whale meat, and blubber. The meat and the blubber can be preserved and prepared in different ways. Often it is cut into long thin slices, which are called likkja (grindalikkja) in singular form, and likkjur (grindalikkjur) in plural, both hung up to dry. These are often served as part of the so-called kalt borð (cold table), a platter (similar to a Greek meze or antipasti in Italy) served with a variety of cold Faroese and various foreign-influenced foods. The Faroese dishes can consist of pilot whale meat and blubber, dried fish, and dried lamb meat (skerpikjøt). The kalda borðið (another term for ‘cold table’) is used for festive occasions. Pilot whale meat can also be boiled or, less traditionally, fried or served as steaks. There are also two ways of salting the whale meat, with dry salt or in salted briny water (saltlakað grind). Boiled potatoes are normally eaten together with the whale meat and the blubber, but this tradition is rather recent, as potatoes were not common in the Faroe Islands before sometime in the early to mid-19th century.

For several decades, the pilot whale population of the North Atlantic Ocean have accumulated toxins in their tissues due to pollution, with both Faroese and foreign scientists researching the levels of heavy metals, among other elements, in the whales and their potential effect on human health. The Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, with Dr. Pál Weihe and international scientists like (P. Grandjean), has conducted research for several years on the effect of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl contamination of the pilot whales. Research, since 1977 in the Faroe Islands, has led to recommendations of abstaining from the consumption of pilot whale and blubber. Some years ago his advice was that Faroese people should not eat whale meat more than once a month at the most. He later changed his recommendations and, together with Høgni Debes Joensen, chief medical officer of the Faroes, said that he would not recommend whale meat or blubber for human consumption at all. However, the Faroese government has not forbidden the whale drives. The Heilsufrøðiliga Starvsstovan or "Faroese Food and Veterinary Agency" consulted foreign scientists and issued a new recommendation in 2011. They say that people can eat whale meat and blubber once a month at the most. At the same time they reported that the kidneys and the liver of the whale are so contaminated with mercury, PCB, and dioxin that they are not recommended for human consumption at all. They also recommend that women who wish to become pregnant should refrain from eating blubber, and that women who are pregnant or about to become pregnant should not eat whale meat either.