White pudding

An Irish breakfast consisting of sausages, black and white pudding, rashers (Irish bacon), fried eggs and juice.

White pudding or oatmeal pudding is a meat dish popular in Scotland, Ireland,^[1] Northumberland, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. White pudding is very similar to black pudding, but does not include blood. Consequently, it consists of pork meat and fat, suet, bread, and oatmeal formed into the shape of a large sausage.^[2] Earlier versions (pre-1990^[3]) often had sheep's brain added as a binding agent. A similar pudding, known as Hog's pudding, is made in Cornwall and Devon though it is much spicier than white pudding, as it contains black pepper, cumin, basil and garlic.

In Scotland, white pudding can also be known as mealy pudding and does not always take the form of a sausage. It consists of suet, oatmeal, onions and spices. Some versions of Scottish white pudding are suitable for vegans, in that they contain no animal fat, vegetable fat being used instead.

The pudding may be cooked whole, or cut into slices and fried or grilled. It is an important feature of the traditional Irish breakfast. White pudding (as well as its black and red relatives) is also served battered at chip shops in Scotland as an alternative to fish (see fish and chips). When served accompanied by chips it is known as a White Pudding Supper.

See also

• Black pudding
• Red pudding
• Haggis
• Scrapple
• Goetta
• Boudin

References

1. ^ See, for instance, James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: "White pudding and eggs and sausages and cups of tea! How simple and beautiful was life after all!" Joyce, James (1922). A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. B. W. Huebsch. p. 168. http://books.google.com/books?id=v6YWAAAAYAAJ. 
2. ^ Ayto, John (1990). The Glutton's Glossary: A Dictionary of Food and Drink Terms. Routledge. p. 317. ISBN 9780415026475. http://books.google.com/books?id=vAQOAAAAQAAJ. 
3. ^ This practice is discontinued, as government legislation now prohibits the consumption of brain matter as a food stuff because of Prion, with its link between CJD and BSE, as well as the ovine disease Scrapie.