Mustamakkara
I have a Finnish lab mate, and she’s well aware of my carnivorous diet. On her latest trip home she a brought a present for me: mustamakkara, the Finnish equivalent of black pudding, and its traditional accompaniment of lingonberry jam.
I sliced off a chunk of the sausage and heated it through in a frying pan, placing it on a plate with a good dollop of jam. It was good – more-or-less identical to black pudding, although perhaps a little softer. That said, the texture varies from sausage to sausage so perhaps best not to read too much into the texture. The jam is fruity, a little tart, and goes surprisingly well alongside the meaty taste of the sausage.
I can’t quite see how to fit the jam into a breakfast scenario, but the mustamakkara definitely would work. Perhaps though, as a light lunch in the future, I’ll go the ultra-traditional route: mustamakkara, lingonberry jam, and a glass of cold milk.