# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/41 "2008-10-10T13:29:35Z")
I used to love both black and white pudding. Bloody delicious. Alas now I am a lamentatious vegetarian. ---
**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, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/42 "2008-10-10T13:30:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Breakfast is too early for blood. [Bela Lugosi] Blood — it’s not just for dinner anymore![/Bela Lugosi] ---
**Author:** ![ZomZom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zomzom/32/5620_2.png) [@ZomZom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZomZom)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/43 "2008-10-10T13:42:03Z")
> [@Mr Bus Guy](#): > > 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. This is a common misconception. Your steak isn’t leaking blood, but [myoglobin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoglobin). ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/44 "2008-10-10T13:59:34Z")
> [@ZomZom](#): > > This is a common misconception. Your steak isn’t leaking blood, but [myoglobin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoglobin). Which, of course, makes it SO much yummier. Mmmmm… myoglobin. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/45 "2008-10-10T14:32:34Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > 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. > \* I discovered last night that you can buy frozen Yorkshire puddings. I also noted, to my dismay, that my local supermarket (a huge, national chain) had them in the _dessert_ section of the freezer. So it’s not just the 'merrikuns fucking this up. ---
**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, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/46 "2008-10-10T14:40:34Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > All this hostility towards our delightful black pudds. > > From people that eat squirrels Well, squirrel is actually quite tasty. The other night on **Bizzarre Foods** , Andrew Zimmern was in the UK. Various wild animals of the type we in the US would call “small game” were for sale in markets and on the menu at some snooty restaurants. Zimmern consumed jugged hare, for example. What makes a hare more appetizing than a squirrel? ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/47 "2008-10-10T14:51:10Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > All this hostility towards our delightful black pudds. > > From people that eat squirrels I’ll trade ya’. I’ll chow down on a nice black pudding, with eggs and toast and you can have my portion of breaded and fried squirrel. No batter of course, just a nice dry rub with some spices and a rolling around in a corn meal / flour mix. Then fried in lard until nice and golden brown (close to the original color of the critter in the first place). I’d rather have rabbit of course, much tastier. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/48 "2008-10-10T14:55:51Z")
> [@The\_Weird\_One](#): > > So as far as I know, American’s don’t call black pudding “blood pie,” we call it “blood sausage.” As The Weird One said, we **don’t** call it blood pie. If we did, you’d be able to find a lot more hits than the mere 3,500 google comes up with, and even then many of those hits are about some star trek food, not the food you’re talking about. We call it blood sausage, if we call it anything at all. And Chowder, we don’t eat squirrels! Well, perhaps the 5% of the population that’ll eat _anything_ that moves does, but I bet you have people over there who eat hedgehogs too. Besides, according to [these people](http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/treehouse/1123-eating-squirrels.html), some on your side of the pond eat squirrel too. You didn’t imagine you’d find them in our grocery stores, did you? ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/49 "2008-10-10T15:12:54Z")
Strangely enough, the only person I have known to eat squirrel (and documented the entire recipe in her cooking blog, along with pictures) is an English woman. I was raised in Canada by an English step-father. Plenty of steak-and-kidney pie, but never any blood pudding. ---
**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, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/50 "2008-10-10T15:35:36Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > And Chowder, we don’t eat squirrels! Well, perhaps the 5% of the population that’ll eat _anything_ that moves does, but I bet you have people over there who eat hedgehogs too. Besides, according to [these people](http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/treehouse/1123-eating-squirrels.html), some on your side of the pond eat squirrel too. You didn’t imagine you’d find them in our grocery stores, did you? As far as I’m aware the only people that eat hedgehog are the Romany folk. They wrap it in clay and bake it, when baked the spines just fall off…apparently. Incidentally 5% of the population of the US is a helluva lot of people scarfing down poor little ol’ bushy tail;) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/51 "2008-10-10T16:23:42Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > A couple years ago it was deep fried Coke. How the hell do they manage that one? ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/52 "2008-10-10T16:25:11Z")
Generally, Americans don’t eat organ meats. My wife and her mother decided to make something that required heart, liver and kidney meat. The regular supermarket doesn’t carry those meats. We had to go to a Shoppers in an area with a sizable African American and immigrant community. I suspect that even those demographics are eating less and less organ meats since they didn’t have a large supply of it compared to the other stuff. For things like blood sausage, you will have to go to a specialty store catering to immigrant populations. I’ve had blood sausage and prepared right, it can be quite tasty, but it isn’t what I would want for breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/53 "2008-10-10T16:46:07Z")
> [@The\_Weird\_One](#): > > How the hell do they manage that one? Deep fried Coke is Coke flavored batter that is deep fried. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/54 "2008-10-10T16:56:23Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > _snipo_ > And yet you guys eat pancakes with syrup ::eek:: with your eggs and bacon Hell I put syrup ON my eggs and bacon. Salty, fatty, meaty taste blended with the sweet, mapley taste is Gods gift to the universe. I’ve never had black pudding but I’m of the type where I’ll taste almost anything once. So I’d definitely try it. I would love to try a deep-fried Mars bar. I’ve made deep fried Oreos and those kicked ass. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/55 "2008-10-10T17:01:09Z")
I think the GQ aspects of the OP, such as they were, have been answered. Since this is about food, off to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**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, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/56 "2008-10-10T17:01:14Z")
While on the subject of food. What English speaking nation has not embraced, nay welcomed, that most British of culinary delights…Fish n’ Chips with, and I hasten to add, MUSHY peas. The USA that’s who. Instead they have the effrontery, gall and temerity to foist upon the citizens of this fair land such abominations as KFC, MCDonalds and Burger King. Bastards 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/57 "2008-10-10T17:02:36Z")
The simple answer is that we come from a different culture than you do. All cultures have their food and drink taboos, and their concepts of what is good to eat. People grow up eating what their culture says is good to eat and not eating what their culture says is taboo. Eating blood is taboo in American culture. Just because our cultures share a language doesn’t mean we’ll have all the same food taboos. Some people are more adventurous eaters than others, and will try stuff that people in their culture don’t normally eat. I think it’s another level of adventurous eating to try something that is actually taboo in your culture, like blood or horse meat or insects are to Americans. A few of those Americans who won’t eat black pudding might be like me- we keep kosher, and eating blood is specifically prohibited by our religious dietary laws. In fact, we’re required to salt and soak meat to drain all the blood out of it. Incidentally, that doesn’t make as much difference to the taste or texture of the meat as you might think it would- how it’s cooked makes a lot more difference IME of not keeping kosher and then taking up the practice later in life. > [@ZomZom](#): > > This is a common misconception. Your steak isn’t leaking blood, but myoglobin. You’re right. Kosher steaks still have juices, too, if they’re rare enough, so that liquid is not blood. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/58 "2008-10-10T17:05:04Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > 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. True. Besides, go to ANY state in America during the summer and you’ll find deep fried everything (cheese curds, pie, Twinkies, all kinds of candy bars!) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/59 "2008-10-10T17:08:47Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > While on the subject of food. > > What English speaking nation has not embraced, nay welcomed, that most British of culinary delights… **Fish n’ Chips with, and I hasten to add, MUSHY peas**. > > The USA that’s who. > > Instead they have the effrontery, gall and temerity to foist upon the citizens of this fair land such abominations as KFC, MCDonalds and Burger King. > > Bastards 🙂 Bolding mine. Oh we have Fish N’ Chips and I personally love it. > **[Official Website of Long John Silver's and Seacret Society Rewards](https://www.ljsilvers.com/)** > > Order online and skip the wait and make our app your First Mate. Secret Society Rewards Members But the thing is you guys put MUSHY peas on it and that is yucky and just another example of why we think some of your food is weird and yucky. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/60 "2008-10-10T17:28:48Z")
> [@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: There is confusion when discussing the \*Mars Bar \*in different regions of the world. The \*Mars Bar \*in America is different than the \*Mars Bar \*in Europe and this must be taken into account when considering our (i.e. American) revulsion toward the concept of a deep fried Mars Bar. Indeed, what those silly Scottish folks call a \*Mars Bar \*is what we right-thinking Americans call a _cod fish_. Taken in this context, a deep-fried Mars Bar (of the cod fish variety) is much less abhorrent a concept than we’re lead to believe… :smack:Uh…no, that’s not quite right. The [Mars Bars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Bar)are different in Europe from ours in America, but to a much lesser degree than I alluded to—more like what we call a Milky Way Bar, which, on reflection, makes those Scots even wackier. BTW, as the offspring of a WWII British war bride, married to an American fly-boy, I was brought up on plenty of Steak & Kidney pie, Birds Custard, Bubble & Squeak, Yorkshire Pudding, Jellied Eels and other fine English culinary fare, and I love it all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254.md?page=4)