Greenland ptarmigan schnapps with Kim Sander Pedersen, Restaurant Mamartut in Ilulissat

Tracing the ptarmigan schnapps back to its roots with Kim Sander Pedersen from Restaurant Mamartut in Ilulissat.

It all starts with Greenland’s nature. Picking berries, herbs, mushrooms or even hunting ptarmigan. Take one or some of these elements, dry it, and infuse it in liquor for some time. Distill it and then let it rest again for a few more months. This slow process of creation allows the taste of Greenland’s nature to be infused in schnapps.

WHAT IS SCHNAPPS?

Schnapps is highly concentrated distilled liquor, also called bitters. Housewives and enthusiasts all over the country make schnapps, so be prepared to try some delicate flavours if you visit the home of a local for dinner.

EXPERIMENTING WITH GREENLAND

Kim Sander Pedersen, the owner and chef of Mamartut in Ilulissat, is well-respected for his schnapps-making techniques. He has experimented using everything from Greenlandic herbs, crowberry, Labrador tea, mushrooms and Greenlandic flowers, but his signature flavor is ptarmigan schnapps.

It’s a painstakingly slow process to make schnapps, and the taste is peppered by whatever is available from nature.

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An assortment of locally produced snapses from Restaurant Mamartut in Ilulissat in Greenland. By Mads Pihl

Arctic thyme at Immiaq microbrewery in Ilulissat in Greenland. By Mads Pihl

PTARMIGAN SCHNAPPS

Ptarmigan schnapps is made with the gizzard of the ptarmigan, which is located at the throat. One can blow up this gizzard like a balloon and then dry the contents. All of its contents is then put into the schnapps and left to stand for five months. After this, it is distilled and left to stand another five months. Real slow food.

The taste can vary with the seasons, but Kim’s favourite version is when the ptarmigan has eaten many crowberries, just frozen when the first frost arrived. The crowberry sweetens accordingly, and gives the schnapps flavour a softer, rounded and sweeter taste.

“Normally it is made very strong, like an essence, so then we dilute it.”

PTARMIGAN ON THE MENU

You can try the range of schnapps at Mamartut, but you will probably be tempted by the rest of the Greenlandic-inspired menu once you take a look at it.

Eat well knowing that it is not only the gizzard of the ptarmigan which is used at Mamartut. The meat from the bird is turned into different types of food. For example, Kim likes to create ptarmigan terrine served with crowberry jam and some homemade sauerkraut. When it is the right season, he also serves ptarmigan with reindeer, so that there are two types of local flavours on one plate.

“Guests like that”, Kim says, “and we like experimenting with different tastes of Greenland.”

You can find more information about Mamartut on their website: http://mamartut.dk/

By Tanny Por

As Content Manager, Tanny curates and tells stories about living, travelling (and sometimes surviving!) in Greenland. She also supports and develops Visit Greenland's strategic initiatives across its different media and social platforms.

https://thefourthcontinent.com/