Black blood pudding and white blood pudding

Blood pudding is one of the oldest known deli products dating back more than 5,000 years. It is made of pork blood and fat which is seasoned and stuffed into a casing.

There are innumerable varieties of blood pudding. In fact, it is said that there are as many varieties of blood puddings as there are deli meat providers. Not only can the proportion of blood and fat differ, a wide range of ingredients can be used in varying proportions, for example: onions, spinach, grapes, apples, prunes, chestnuts, milk, cream, fruit brandy, semolina, breadcrumbs, oatmeal, eggs, spices, herbs... This mixture is stuffed into a casing of pork intestine and then poached. This is what is known as black blood pudding.

White blood pudding appeared much later in history. In the Middle-Ages, a charcutier was inspired by the Christmas custom of having boiled milk after midnight mass. He thought of adding eggs, white meat, fat or lard and seasonings and stuffing it all into an animal casing. This is how white blood pudding or Parisian blood pudding was invented. It is now served mostly during the Christmas season.

A little trick: to keep the skin of blood pudding from bursting during cooking, prick the skin in several places with a needle. This is also the best way to judge doneness. When the liquid that oozes out is no longer pink, the blood pudding is cooked.

Here are a few cooking suggestions for you:

The great classics…

• Black blood pudding with apples is without a doubt the most popular way to serve it.
• Cut into slices and pan-fry, poach or grill for 10 minutes or so, serve with apples fried with cinnamon or potato purée.
• White blood pudding is usually pan-fried slowly, grilled, poached, oven-roasted or en papillote.
• Christmas blood pudding, popular in Europe, is prepared with walnuts, mushrooms, candied fruit and even truffles and served as an appetizer with sparkling white wine.

… a few more tasty ideas!

The explosive Antillais blood pudding
Let’s not forget Antillais blood pudding. Also made of blood, lard and herbs, the Antillais blood pudding, as you can imagine, differs by the addition of a large quantity of hot peppers. Unforgettable!


Blood pudding salad’
A few apple quarters, watercress, grapes, vinaigrette and a few pieces of grilled blood pudding…Now there’s a delicious salad!

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