What is Blood Pudding?
- Written By: Tricia Ellis-Christensen
- Edited By: O. Wallace
-
Copyright Protected:
2003-2013 Conjecture Corporation
Blood pudding sounds like a suitable dessert for vampires. In reality, it is a quite popular and quite common sausage made throughout Europe. It is a combination of animal blood, suet, grains, raisins or currants, and spices, which cause the resultant sausage to look either deep purple or black.
Blood pudding is a traditional part of the Irish breakfast in an Irish pub or restaurant. Several slices of blood pudding may be served with white pudding, ham, eggs and potatoes as part of a very hearty breakfast. Such a breakfast may also be a popular choice in Scotland and throughout the rest of the UK.
Most visitors are actually surprised that blood pudding tastes like a “normal” sausage, for the most part. Since it is often fried in slices, and can have about the diameter of Italian salami, it has the same texture and firmness of most other sausages.
In the US, blood pudding is often sold as black pudding or black sausage to avoid its association with animal blood. However, no black pudding can work without the addition of animal blood, so this change in names does not translate to change in essentials. A blood pudding “by any other name” is still part animal blood.
The term pudding may have resulted from blood pudding containing a high degree of grain, usually oats or wheat. Blood pudding also has other pudding-like qualities, containing raisins or currants, nuts, occasionally figs, and a higher quantity of sugar. It is like a British plum pudding in casings, with the addition of animal blood.
Those who can adventure past the name may find that blood pudding is quite enjoyable. It is certainly popular among Irish residents and those in the UK. Virtually all countries in Europe have their own variant, which may be differentiated from Irish blood pudding by the spices and ingredients used. Also choice of animal blood may vary. Pig’s blood is popular, but goat, sheep, or cow blood might also be the first choice.
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truman12
Post 19 |
I had blood pudding for the first time when I studied abroad in Scotland. I wanted to get as much as I could out of the experience so I made it a point to try all the local foods. I was game for trying haggis and some of the more exotic British foods but I was always kind of put off by blood pudding. But I was in my final week there and they were serving it at this pub and I decided to just go for it. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either and it was not as gruesome as I had imagined. In the end I was glad that I could cross it off my list. |
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anon289771
Post 18 |
I love blood pudding, light on spices. Also not very fond of too much filler. I was born in the center of Canada when times were very hard. My mother raised chickens to supplement our food. When she would kill a chicken for dinner, she would fry the blood, like scrambling an egg, in a little butter or chicken fat and I was the one who had the honor of eating it. Oh, that was so very good -- my favorite food. I still remember how delicious it was and hope to have it at least one more time before I die. Unfortunately, in the USA, that's not likely to happen. |
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anon272530
Post 17 |
If you didn't know what it was when you tried it, as I did, you would forever crave it and not not be able to find it, and go mad. I loved it. |
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anon155123
Post 16 |
Not all blood puddings contain raisins or any type of fruit. However, here in Newfoundland, people here eat it a lot. I like it, but besides me and my late father, we were the only ones in the family who actually cared for it. I especially loved homemade blood pudding that my uncle used to make. He would put fatback pork and onions in it. |
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anon102961
Post 15 |
The 'juice' in steak is not actually blood. Blood goes bad quickly so all of it is drained out in the slaughtering process. The juice you see from a steak is actually a fluid called sarcoplasm. |
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anon83787
Post 14 |
I was so opposed to it when I heard the name and what it was however, I have since tried it and love it! |
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anon63088
Post 13 |
this black pudding is the best. we ate it for breakfast in scotland. |
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anon61256
Post 12 |
I think this is disgusting!
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anon41190
Post 11 |
If you are interested, there are many stores in Massachusetts that sell it. I grew up eating blood pudding and never realized that most parts of the country have no clue, or the few areas that do have it, it's usually a Spanish/Mexican form that is extremely spicy. BTW, for those that are thinking of it as tasting like blood, think of it this way, does a steak taste like blood? It, too has blood in it. In a steak, we call it juice. |
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anon40016
Post 8 |
Our traditional dish in Slovenia is "krvavica" or blood sausage. It is made of pork blood, grease, rice (optional), buckwheat and tiny cooked pieces of meat from pig's head. It is boiled first and then roasted in the oven. It's served with pickled cabbage and corn porridge with roasted ham. |
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anon28471
Post 7 |
"Black pudding" is also called "rice pudding" in Antigua, which is a small island in the caribbean, colonized by the British. Rice is the main filling, cow blood is also used. Mdf |
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Tsu
Post 5 |
If I ever find this black pudding, I definitely want to try it. |
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cynthia387
Post 4 |
Black pudding is a vital ingredient of a cooked breakfast but can be used in many other ways. It works well with fish, fruit, lamb and pork. Blood pudding is one of the great delicacies of Acadian cuisine. -cynthia jacquline, newfoundland drug rehab |
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anon15120
Post 3 |
its actually quite good, being from newfoundland we have a very thick irish influence, and blood pudding is quite common breakfast item here, dont knock it until u try it! its no worse than a steak medium rare. |
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anon13021
Post 2 |
While I myself do not find the blood particularly tasty by itself, I do think that it adds a certain flavor that can not be duplicated by way of spice nor seasoning. The blood after all, is as natural and important as any other part of an animal. |
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knittingpro
Post 1 |
I know that it is cultural, but I just can't get behind the idea of eating blood. No thanks. |
