# Why do Americans call our Black Pudding "Blood Pie"? And why the hostility towards **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254 "2008-10-09T23:49:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/21 "2008-10-10T06:32:20Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Can someone tell me what’s in Yorkshire pudding? There is nothing “in” Yorkshire Pudding. Its made from a similar batter mixture you would use in pancakes. Wiki explains all :- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire\_pudding](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_pudding) To quote the article :- \*Yorkshire pudding is cooked by pouring batter into a preheated greased baking tin containing very hot oil and baking at very high heat until it has risen. \* ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/22 "2008-10-10T06:44:43Z")
So you guys won’t try our delicious Bury Black Puddings, tripe (with vinegar in every hole),pigs trotters, liver and so on and so forth. A full English breakfast is: Eggs, Bacon,sausage, beans,fried toms,fried bread,mushrooms and black pudd and toast Without the pudd it is incomplete. And yet you guys eat pancakes with syrup ::eek:: with your eggs and bacon ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/23 "2008-10-10T06:57:36Z")
> [@Mr Bus Guy](#): > > I happen to love blood pudding. > > I love tripe, but usually only in menudo - a messican soup. > > I eat tongue - braised (?) in tacos and such - it’s a staple in my heritage. > > It’s odd - most people raised on American food will eat raw blood religiously in a rare steak (me too - yum! ), but the mere mention of blood in a food turns them off. I like my blood sausage (think Polish _kiszka_), but I must correct you, as rare steak doesn’t have any blood or, if there is any, it’s neglible. The redness is myoglobin, not blood. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/24 "2008-10-10T08:10:30Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I would venture to say that most Americans are familiar with meat pies, such as chicken pot pie. But “pie” in a generic sense always means yummy dessert. Sure, it’s a bit milder a source of confusion - it’s just that ‘pie’ similarly baldly stated over here, would usually mean a meat pie - expectations are reversed. Another one is ‘flan’ - to most people in the UK, that means a shallow, open-topped pie - probably most often fruit-filled, but it’s not uncommon to hear people describe quiche-like pies as flans. I understand that in other parts of the world, ‘flan’ means something like what I would call creme caramel. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/25 "2008-10-10T08:20:32Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > One of the reasons that Americans have a suspicion of British cooking is because of British literature: > > This was the first thing that popped into my head. > > Of course, I’m not suggesting American food is anything to write home about, if you weren’t, which you would have to not be, if you ever did. But it’s not uncommon to see the self-deprecating British humor used to slander the cuisine of the islands. At a business meal we had people from different nationalities and at the beginning of the meal the subject was brought up that every language has an equivalent of ‘bon appetit’ except English. So each one said what it was in his own language and lastly the Brit at the table said “We say 'Gawd ‘elp us!’” ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/26 "2008-10-10T08:35:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > TYet another factor is doubtless your close proximity to France, which, let’s face it, kicks both of our butts in the culinary department. So you just look (and taste) bad by comparison to your neighbors. Well, having had both black pudding and boudin noir, I have to say that in this area the french version is not nearly as nice. Of course, given the variations in terroir, it may just be the Parisians that insist on making it the consistency of a squishy turd, with very little flavour. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/27 "2008-10-10T09:47:09Z")
I think another reason people are notoriously wary about British cuisine is that they’ll do things like [deep-fry Mars bars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_bar) – something which most other people would be incapable of even conceiving of, I believe. I’ve also heard of deep-fried pizza slices. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/28 "2008-10-10T10:44:27Z")
I think it should be noted that there are plenty of British people who are not crazy about eating organ meat and other weird stuff that gets mentioned in threads like this. Me, I’ll eat that stuff if it’s processed into an unrecognisable form; I quite like liver sausage, for example, but slap an actual cooked liver down on my plate and I’m not going to touch it. This may be because I still associate it with the horror that was school dinner liver in the 1970s. No doubt, properly cooked, it is quite tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/29 "2008-10-10T11:10:44Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I think another reason people are notoriously wary about British cuisine is that they’ll do things like [deep-fry Mars bars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_bar) – something which most other people would be incapable of even conceiving of, I believe. I’ve also heard of deep-fried pizza slices. :eek: That originated in Scotland and the north, I think - and it’s now become a bit of a parody of itself. I’ve never tried a deep-fried mars bar, and as far as I understand it, ‘deep fried pizza’ consists of the cheapest of industrial frozen pizzas, thawed, folded in half, dipped in batter and fried. It sounds dreadful. ---
**Author:** ![Surok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Surok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surok)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/30 "2008-10-10T11:23:02Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > At a business meal we had people from different nationalities and at the beginning of the meal the subject was brought up that every language has an equivalent of ‘bon appetit’ except English. So each one said what it was in his own language and lastly the Brit at the table said “We say 'Gawd ‘elp us!’” My French colleague (in an international team, so every time we sit down to eat, everyone says ‘Bon appetit’ in a variety of languages) used to tease by saying ‘And what do the British say? Good luck!’ ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/31 "2008-10-10T11:26:02Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I think another reason people are notoriously wary about British cuisine is that they’ll do things like deep-fry Mars bars As implied in the wiki, this really isn’t a very common practice, and I think it is seen as a novelty food at the handful of places where you can buy it. It’s not really indicative of british cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/32 "2008-10-10T11:28:28Z")
Lobsang writes: \> Why do Americans call our Black Pudding “Blood Pie”? And why the hostility \> towards it? Well, first of all, most Americans don’t call it anything. Most Americans will never visit the U.K. Far from being hostile to blood pudding, they have no reason to ever think about it. But consider the average American who does visit the U.K. and for the first time is offered a full English breakfast. chowder writes: \> A full English breakfast is: Eggs, Bacon,sausage, beans,fried toms,fried \> bread,mushrooms and black pudd and toast The average American reaction to such a meal would be “Wow, that’s a lot of food.” Most American don’t eat much more than a bowl of cereal for breakfast. They won’t be totally unfamilar with a big meal for breakfast though, since they probably will have eaten it at a restaurant. Hotel restaurants particularly do large breakfasts. So the American will look at the food and say, “O.K., I recognize eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast.” Those are things that are often served in large breakfasts in the U.S. They will then look at the baked beans, the fried tomatoes, the fried bread, and the mushrooms and say, “Well, those aren’t things that are often eaten for breakfast, but I recognize what they are.” Finally, they look at the black pudding and ask, “What’s that?” On being told that it’s black pudding, they ask, “What’s it made of?” They will be told that it’s a sausage made with blood. They will generally say, “Oh, O.K.,” and then start slowly working their way through the food. Since the black pudding is the most unfamiliar, they will probably get to it last, and many won’t try it. Furthermore, on being offered the choice of full English breakfast or Continental breakfast, many Americans would automatically choose the Continental breakfast because the full breakfast isn’t particularly healthy. It’s full of cholesterol. The fact that someone doesn’t eat a particular item doesn’t mean that he hates your country. It could mean a decision about what’s healthy to eat. I can’t imagine that an American would ever call it a blood pie. That doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t look like anything else called a pie. Lobsang, have you ever actually heard an American call a black pudding a blood pie? Finally, you’ve got a bizarre sense of hostility. Just because someone doesn’t eat everything you put in front of them doesn’t make them hostile. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/33 "2008-10-10T11:49:39Z")
I agree with **Chronos** and **Wendell**. I’ve never hear of “Blood Pie” on either side of the Atlantic. Furthermore, I’ve never had Blood Pudding offered to me in England or Scotland – for some reason, I’ve always had Continental Breakfasts there. But when we went to Ireland, Peepper Mill and I were offered the Traditional Irish Breakfast in several places, and it seems to be the same as the Traditional English Breakfast Wendell describes. We didn’t know what Blood Pudding was. I ate it, but Pepper Mill didn’t – she didn’t like it, and that’s without any knowledge of its contents. I have to admit that I wasn’t particularly fond of it, either, and certainly wouldn’t have sought it out. So there’s a purely anecdotal pair of data points – some Americans won’t eat Blood pudding because of consistency and taste, even without the heavy “yuck” factor associated with the raw materials. I do have to admit that, had we known, we might not have touched it, and this deprived ourselves of a culinary experience that, as we see, we wouldn’t have minded missing anyway. I have to add that not all Americans see Blood Puding in this light. In my hometown the grocers and the butchers shops sold Blood Sausage, and advertised it in their windows. Obviously this wasn’t freaking people out. I should add that my town had a large Eastern European immigrant segment. You might not have been able to do this in some small towns in America’s Heartland, but in any city of at least mofderate size and its suburbs, Blood Sausage wouldn’t be hard to find. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/34 "2008-10-10T11:54:34Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Finally, you’ve got a bizarre sense of hostility. Just because someone doesn’t eat everything you put in front of them doesn’t make them hostile. I hate black puddings. If one comes anywhere near me, I drive a stake through its heart, kill it with a silver bullet, and demand to see the chef. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/35 "2008-10-10T11:57:12Z")
Depending on one’s ethnic heritage, things like blood pudding aren’t necessarily hostility-provoking to Americans. My dad’s side of the family is Ukranian, and I’ve eaten my share of kishka, which is a blood sausage. Ukranians eat primarily pork, when it comes to meat, and other than the bones, hooves, and shit they consume the whole animal. Mom’s people are Pennsylvania Dutch, and they make all manner of sausages/puddings out of organs and head meat. Their recipes make greater use of beef and veal. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/36 "2008-10-10T12:49:57Z")
> [@Mr Bus Guy](#): > > It’s odd - most people raised on American food will eat raw blood religiously The only time we eat blood religiously is at Communion… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/37 "2008-10-10T13:03:40Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I think another reason people are notoriously wary about British cuisine is that they’ll do things like [deep-fry Mars bars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_bar) Actually, similar atrocities are not unknown in America, at least at county fairs. British food has a dubious reputation in other countries besides the U.S. For me it’s not just the weird and unappetizing names and organ foods, but simple stuff like vinegar with your fries (chips). Bleggh. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/38 "2008-10-10T13:11:52Z")
I’ve never heard reference to blood pie. I’ve always heard black pudding. Some people used to eat blood sausage around here. I don’t want either. I’ll use my allocation of blood for fertilizer. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/39 "2008-10-10T13:12:26Z")
All this hostility towards our delightful black pudds. From people that eat squirrels ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/40 "2008-10-10T13:24:20Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Finally, they look at the black pudding and ask, “What’s that?” On being told that it’s black pudding, they ask, “What’s it made of?” They will be told that it’s a sausage made with blood. They will generally say, “Oh, O.K.,” and then start slowly working their way through the food. Since the black pudding is the most unfamiliar, they will probably get to it last, and many won’t try it. \ Yeah, right. The “average American tourist” would say “… Oh… no thanks…” and I don’t blame 'em. I think it’s fairly universal for many people around the world that when you’re in a foreign country, you’re excited to try all the new foods… but not at breakfast. Breakfast is too early for blood. ETA - and most Americans don’t eat squirrels, either. Rural Americans eat squirrels mostly in hard times. Also, the new thing at the State Fair this year is deep fried corn on the cob! A couple years ago it was deep fried Coke. I haven’t had it yet, as it’s ALWAYS sold out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254.md?page=3)