Mustamakkara (Blood Sausage)

Mustamakkara is the food that Tampere identifies with most strongly — a thick, dark blood sausage grilled over charcoal or cooked in an oven, served in a split bread roll or on a plate with lingonberry jam. The lingonberry is not optional: the sharpness cuts the richness of the sausage and the combination is genuinely good.

The best place to eat it is at the Tampere Market Hall, where several stalls sell it fresh and cooked throughout the day. The outdoor sellers at Laukontori in summer are a close second. This is not a tourist trap food: Tampere people eat it regularly and take it seriously. If you eat blood products, do not leave without trying it.

eating out food
A story
Mustamakkara — black sausage made from blood, pork fat, and rye — is Tampere's unofficial city food, eaten with lingonberry jam in a combination that sounds alarming but works well. It is sold from the market hall stalls and from carts at Laukontori, and eating it standing at a market counter is the correct approach. Tampere residents are mildly evangelical about this and will tell you with complete seriousness that Tampere mustamakkara is different from and superior to any blood sausage made anywhere else.

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