Here’s a thread about how certain dishes and ingredients can become a national favourite in one country, while the rest of the world looks on aghast. How can they eat that??

Swedish surströmming, French snails, Finnish Mammi, Icelandic Slátur and Robbie Burns’s favourite, the haggis, all spring to mind.

During our recent discussions about the delights of the Great British Pudding, one thing that struck me was that suet is a major ingredient in many of these glorious puds. I’ve never bought any and didn’t even know the Swedish word for it. The dictionary soon put that straight – TALG. My next question was- can you buy it in a modern Swedish supermarket. Who better to ask than @locust?

I received this very amusing reply.

Sure, Kaisfatdad, during the winter months you can buy as much talg as you need – for feeding the birds! That’s the only use of it here, balls of it being hung outdoors for the birds to stay alive during the cold winters. I doubt that it’s available for human consumption!

Yes indeed, there they were in the Konsum supermarket yesterday, Talgbollar – suet balls. Next to the wooden birdhouses. » Continue Reading.