Finnish Culinary Oddities: Wood Tar

in #food5 years ago (edited)

We had guests over today and the just left. I did not have an opportunity to go out and photograph. I decided to use photos that I took earlier this week. I bought some tar flavoured sweets.

What is tar? Tar is a product of destructive distillation without the presence of oxygen or with limited oxygen. In other words, complex organic molecules are broken down with heat. The result is a solution of hydrocarbons and free carbon, hence its pitch black color. Tar is made from coal, petroleum, wood or peat. Wood tar was traditionally made in tar-burning pits that were covered with peat in order to limit the availability of oxygen.

Image Source CC BY-SA 3.0

A traditional tar-burning pit in Oulu.

In the 18th century, tar became a major source of export revenue for the northernmost countries Europe. Tar was used to protect boats and ships from rot. The Royal Navy was the biggest customer. It is still used to protect wood, traditional buildings in particular. It's also used for industrial purposes.

Wood tar does not sound edible. But in small amounts it is used as flavour in sweets, marinades and sauces. I bought a couple of boxes of Terva Leijona sweets.

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This is flavoured with both tar and licorice. The taste is both salty (from the licorice) and bitter (from the tar). Tar has a distinct smoky taste that is hard to describe but it is unmistakable.

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These are the licorice-flavoured ones. They're covered in sugar.

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I'm not sure what "SOKTON" means but I'm guessing it's a contraction of "sokeriton", that is, sugar free. The other flavour in these is eucalyptus oil.

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This is what they look like. The taste is less unusual.

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Sounds like my kind of thing.

Inteteresting setting for pictures of sweeties!

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The British used to buy a lot of tar from us in the past. It's a bit eccentric to eat it but Britain has always had its share of people willing to go where no (or few) men have gone before.

We used to bye those when we where in Finland. I still remember the taste 😂

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It sure is hard to forget. :)

Interesting share.

I have never heard that tar could be eaten in any amount or form. I have only heard of it for flat roof repairs, creating roadways...... and the old time "tar and feather".....LOL.

There are many sources of tar. I'm guessing petroleum must be the source of the tar used as an ingredient of asphalt. The scent of wood tar is popular in shampoos her, for example.

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Ohhh - I NEED TO TRY! I'm a huge liquorice fan and it's barely appreciated by those that are not raised on this taste. Do you know of a good webshop where I can buy these sweets? We haven literally 1000s of liquorice varieties in the Netherlands and I'm curious if this is really different or more like what I know with an 'accent' added to it :-)

You can try Suomikauppa
$rewarding 25% 15 min

Thanks! I'm certainly going to. Will let you know if I did and when I tasted them :D

I’d like to try some.

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