Blood sausage

Blood sausage is the food made by cooking down the blood of any mammal (usually pigs or cattle) with meat, fat or filler until it is thick enough to congeal (become firm or solid) when cooled. A legend says that blood sausage was invented in the bet between two Bavarian butchers drunk on absinthe during the 14th century. In fact, stories from very long ago speak of sausages made with blood, for example from Homer's Odyssey - "As when the man besides the great fire has filled the sausage with fat and blood and turns it this way and that and is very eager to get it quickly roasted...".

In England blood sausage is called Black Pudding. The ingredients include pig's blood, suet, bread, barley and oatmeal.

The most common kind of German blutwurst is made from fatty pork meat, beef blood and filler such as barley. Though already cooked and "ready to eat" it is usually served warm.

Other kinds of blood sausage include boudin noir (France), boudin rouge (Creole and Cajun) and morcilla (Spain).

See also: Sausage [[ko:순�e]] [[zh:豬血�middot;]]