# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/101 "2008-10-10T22:12:40Z")
You’ve never had [Shrimp chips?](http://www.calbeeamerica.com/products.htm) I’m certain I’ve had other shrimp-flavored snacks, too. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/102 "2008-10-10T22:31:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That might be part of it. There also seems to be a divide on how we view organ meats: Liver is the stereotypical “eww” meal here, and you won’t see steak and kidney pie in the US. Another factor is the reputation Brits have of boiling everything, which is a surefire way of reducing many foods to tasteless mush. I don’t know how accurate that perception is anymore, though: It might also stem from memories of WWII, and Americans over-boiled food in the forties and fifties, too. Yet 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. You won’t see Liver or Kidney anywhere in my diet either -EUGH!!11ONE I only ever… wait I don’t boil anything, ever (I was going to say ‘eggs’ but then I remembered that I never boil eggs) I occasionally fail to poach them. I often fry or scramble them. I’m not a cook. My cooking is of the bare minimum style of needing food. I fry a lot of things, use the toaster, use the oven. but never boil anything!! When I was in france I only ate out once, and that was italian food (Pizza) and it was pretty good. I was quite surprised at what _wasn’t_ available. I can hardly judge, but I happen to think most british restraunt food is pretty good., ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/103 "2008-10-11T00:09:30Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > 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 Organ meats just aren’t that popular here. Simply smelling liver cooking would make many of us toss our cookies. And most Americans wouldn’t eat mushrooms for breakfast unless they were part of an omelette. Nor would they eat all of the fatty stuff described along with all the carbs—never mind that juice, jam, syrup, and honey don’t even show up on the English breakfast list. (Not actually a criticism–just pointing out a fact. We do love our sweets. Many of us get by on Starbucks latte and a muffin if we have to–or even if we don’t.) ---
**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 11, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/104 "2008-10-11T01:40:36Z")
The sauce for prawn cocktail in the U.K. is quite different from the sauce for shrimp cocktail in the U.S.: > **[Prawn cocktail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrimp_cocktail)** > > Prawn cocktail, also known as shrimp cocktail, is a seafood dish consisting of shelled, cooked prawns in a Marie Rose sauce or cocktail sauce, served in a glass. It was the most popular hors d'œuvre in Great Britain, as well as in the United States, from the 1960s to the late 1980s. According to the English food writer Nigel Slater, the prawn cocktail "has spent most of (its life) see-sawing from the height of fashion to the laughably passé" and is now often served with a degree of ir The cocktai... Prawn cocktail-flavored crisps in the U.K. are thus a different flavor than you might expect. ---
**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 11, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/105 "2008-10-11T01:49:28Z")
I imagine Prawn Coctail chips would probably taste like the spicy shrimp crisps in the Asian food section of a lot of large grocery stores. I’ve had those and they are ok, kind of like a shrimpy Funion without the onion flavor. Meijers sells Spotted Dick in a can, I bought some on a lark once but never did try it; I think I gave it away as a gift to embarass someone. And there are many places where one can get Fish and Chips, even with loads of malt vinegar to dump on them ::drools:: No mushy peas though. Although I’ve looked them up. They seem to be a sort of green chick pea or garbanzo bean, boiled down until they basically fall apart then spiced up with some nice curry and, if I am reading correctly, a generous splash of vinegar. Which can be malt vinegar, rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar or if desperate apple cider vinegar but white distilled vinegar would be like putting Windex on the chips… er… I mean fries. Big fat meaty fries with mushy innards and crispy outtards. Anyone who calls Steak 'n Shake shoestrings “fries” should be shot in the ass with rock salt. ---
**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 11, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/106 "2008-10-11T01:49:42Z")
I would guess that at most 1% of the American population has ever eaten squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/107 "2008-10-11T01:59:03Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > You’ve never had [Shrimp chips?](http://www.calbeeamerica.com/products.htm) > > I’m certain I’ve had other shrimp-flavored snacks, too. I was gonna scream “[KRUPUK](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krupuk)!” and join you in glee over fishy chip snacks, but then I clicked. Those are pale Western imitations, dangit. The little round pastel colored flour chips are great grease vehicles as well. _sob_ ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/108 "2008-10-11T07:23:53Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > Organ meats just aren’t that popular here. Simply smelling liver cooking would make many of us toss our cookies. And most Americans wouldn’t eat mushrooms for breakfast unless they were part of an omelette. Nor would they eat all of the fatty stuff described along with all the carbs—never mind that juice, jam, syrup, and honey don’t even show up on the English breakfast list. (Not actually a criticism–just pointing out a fact. We do love our sweets. Many of us get by on Starbucks latte and a muffin if we have to–or even if we don’t.) As a matter of fact we have the orange juice to start, then scarf down the full English, then finish off with toast and marmalade just to fill up any available space:D:D And in my case a cup, or two, of strong black coffee completes the deal ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/109 "2008-10-11T07:58:21Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I would guess that at most 1% of the American population has ever eaten squirrel. I thought it was that low at first, but [1.5 million squirrel are eaten a year in KY](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=1.5+million+squirrel+are+eaten+a+year+in+KY&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=) alone, so I’m thinking it’s high than that… ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/110 "2008-10-11T10:54:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To the first question, to Americans, “pudding” automatically means a dessert, and unless further specified (bread pudding, rice pudding, or plum pudding) means a specific sort of dairy-based, custard-like dessert. The notion of a sausage being called “pudding” is just completely foreign to us. The few Americans who have heard of something called “Black Pudding”, it’s from [a D&D monster book](http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ooze.htm#blackPudding), and is not in any way something you’d want to eat. > > To the second point, it’s probably just an instinctive reaction to all British food. No offense, but you limeys have built up quite a reputation for being at best boring cooks. Yes, yes, I’ve had black pudding, and I know it’s tasty, but most Americans haven’t. And blood PIE looks like a pie?? 😃 I LOVE blood pie and it is quite tasty. But there is no question that it IS an acquired taste. There aren’t that many Canadians who have had it either. In French, we call it boudin, more because of the shape that it usually comes in than anything else, I would surmise. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/111 "2008-10-11T11:16:00Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Prawn cocktail-flavored crisps in the U.K. are thus a different flavor than you might expect. Prawn cocktail crisps taste like nothing else on Earth, and certainly not much like actual prawn cocktails, nor the Chinese shrimp/prawn nibbles that you can get here too. I reckon they called them prawn cocktail flavour simply because they had to call them something, and that seemed like the closest real life equivalent. The are sold in bright pink packaging, to make them seem more prawny. That said, they are quite tasty. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/112 "2008-10-11T12:32:23Z")
Still on the subject of grub. Why is it in the UK we don’t get those “Fortune Cookies” in Chinese Restaurants. I’ve had them in the US every time I’ve eaten Chinese, whether eat in or take out ---
**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 11, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/113 "2008-10-11T12:37:24Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Still on the subject of grub. Why is it in the UK we don’t get those “Fortune Cookies” in Chinese Restaurants. > > I’ve had them in the US every time I’ve eaten Chinese, whether eat in or take out Our local Chinese restaurant has them. I find the actual cookies tasteless, a bit like eating thick paper. ( No, I don’t mean the motto) ---
**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 11, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/114 "2008-10-11T13:22:44Z")
Usram writes: \> Prawn cocktail crisps taste like nothing else on Earth, and certainly not much \> like actual prawn cocktails, nor the Chinese shrimp/prawn nibbles that you can \> get here too. True, but they taste more like prawn cocktails in the U.K. than they do like shrimp cocktails in the U.S. The sauce for prawn cocktails in the U.K. is more or less ketchup, mayonnaise, and horseradish. The sauce for shrimp cocktails in the U.S. is mostly diced tomatoes, horseradish, and some chili sauce. Lobsang writes: \> Why is it in the UK we don’t get those “Fortune Cookies” in Chinese \> Restaurants. They were invented in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/115 "2008-10-11T13:35:38Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > True, but they taste more like prawn cocktails in the U.K. than they do like shrimp cocktails in the U.S. The sauce for prawn cocktails in the U.K. is more or less ketchup, mayonnaise, and horseradish. The sauce for shrimp cocktails in the U.S. is mostly diced tomatoes, horseradish, and some chili sauce. Actually, ketchup and horseradish sounds pretty much like what I’ve always seen served with shrimp cocktails. I can’t remember seeing anything that looked like it had actual pieces of tomatoes in it. ---
**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 11, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/116 "2008-10-11T13:50:37Z")
I don’t know. I don’t eat shrimp cocktails very much (or even use cocktail sauce from a bottle), but the sauce doesn’t taste to me like it ever passed through being ketchup. Yes, it’s clearly more blended so that there are no noticeable pieces of tomatoes in it, but it doesn’t have the distinctive ketchup taste. In any case, my post wasn’t about that. It’s about the fact that prawn cocktail sauce in the U.K. always has mayonnaise in it, while shrimp cocktail sauce in the U.S. never does. That’s the basic difference between the two things. ---
**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 11, 2008, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/117 "2008-10-11T13:53:09Z")
Here are two recipes for Marie-Rose sauce, the sort used in a prawn cocktail :- 4 heaped Tbsp Home made or Hellman’s Mayonnaise 1 Tbsp Heinz Ketchup (or enough to make the mayonnaise pink) Lemon juice Pinch Cayenne pepper 1 Tbsp Cream (or enough to give desired thickness depending on preference) 2 heaped tbsps mayonnaisse 1 tbsp tomato ketchup 1 tsp brandy pinch cayenne pepper salt and black pepper squeeze lemon ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/118 "2008-10-11T14:46:51Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > Just to forestall any questions about the above. The faggots do not contain brains. Yeah, gays ARE kinda stupid. What? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/119 "2008-10-11T15:52:32Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner They were invented in the U.S.[/QUOTE] This makes absolutely no sense whatsover:confused: What does it matter where they were invented? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254/120 "2008-10-11T16:45:51Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > tly diced tomatoes, horseradish, and some chili sauce. > > Lobsang writes: > > \> Why is it in the UK we don’t get those “Fortune Cookies” in Chinese > \> Restaurants. Ummmm… No I didn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-call-our-black-pudding-blood-pie-and-why-the-hostility-towards/467254.md?page=7)