I’ve heard a lot about a thing called ‘salo’. I’ve googled the pics and I got an idea what it’s made of but I ain’t never had a chance to try it. What’s it like?

Well, I can’t really tell you. It seems to be the problem to find the right words

Salo is a thick layer of pork’s fat.

How can I describe ‘salo’? Fatback, lard, fat, bacon… Somethin like that.

You should try it yourself!

It tastes like… emm… like raw bacon with no ham strips.

As for me I hate salo. Its taste and looks really make me wanna throw out. Most people love it, though. But I think it’s only for fatty food lovers.

Apart from taste I’ve always wondered about the origins of that word. Does anyone know what it means?

I think “сало” may have something to do with the word “соль” (=salt) because lard must be rolled in salt and spices to become salo.

Sounds convincing. But according to an etymological dictionary the word сало comes from Proto-Slavonic ‘sadlo’ which is derivative of “садиться”/“to sit”. In other words, salo is a substance which “sits” on meat, i.e. fat. Eventually suffix -dl was dropped and “sadlo” turned into “salo”.