People have been left seriously grossed out after finding out how black pudding is made.
It’s time to talk about one of Britain’s most controversial culinary delights.
And if you haven’t heard of it, well, you may well be surprised by the main ingredient.
But first, let’s take a deep dive into the history of the black pudding.
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Believe it or not, it dates back to ancient times.
The earliest mention of something similar to black pudding comes from an English text in the 15th century, according to the Black Pudding Club, but it probably has roots that go even further back in history.
The Romans had a similar recipe for black pudding way back in the 4th century, and get this, it’s even mentioned in Homer’s epic poem Odyssey, which dates all the way back to 800 BCE, according to the Guinness World Records.
Now, that’s some seriously old-school cuisine.
That isn’t all, though.
While some folks have developed a taste for black pudding over the years, it’s not exactly everyone’s cup of tea.
In fact, a YouGov poll revealed that 48 per cent of Brits have a favourable view of this breakfast item, making it a real ‘love or hate’ food.
And while many people keep it traditional, and just have a black pudding for breakfast, it can be served up in so many ways.
As suggested by BBC Good Food, it can be served in mash, potato cakes, in stew, as a replacement for sausages, or even as stuffing.
But here’s the thing, the key ingredient of this so-called delicacy is actually… blood.
Now, you might think it’s a British speciality, but blood sausage, which is what black pudding essentially is, can be found in various shapes and sizes all over the world.
Almost every country has its own version of this rather interesting dish.
So, how is this blood-filled sausage concocted?
Well, it’s typically made from pork or beef blood, which gives it that deep, hearty colour. But instead of using fresh blood, they often use dried blood with a more powdery texture.
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Why? Because it’s more stable, safer, and easier to handle during mass production.
We can’t have those blood sausages making a run for it now, can we?
But it’s not just blood in there.
They mix it up with some animal fat and cereal, like oatmeal or barley, to give it that unique texture and flavour.
Some recipes even throw in breadcrumbs for good measure.
And let’s not forget the seasoning.
A whole array of herbs and spices are added, like pennyroyal, marjoram, cloves, nutmeg, thyme, and mint.
Once all the ingredients are lovingly mixed together, they are stuffed into a natural casing, which is typically made from pig intestines.
After finding out what black pudding is made from, people have taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared their surprise.
One person tweets: “Just learned black pudding is made from pigs blood. Throw the whole plate away pls.”
Another adds: “How can anyone look at that and think, ‘Oh that looks good, I’m going to eat that?'”
“Hard pass on black pudding,” says a third. “Totally gross.”
Not everyone is quite so surprised by the contents of black pudding, though.
One person comments: “I mean, as a German speaker where the name for that literally translates to ‘blood sausage’, I feel like this should be obvious.”
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