What Is White Pudding? 4 Regional White Pudding Variations

White pudding is a traditional oatmeal sausage dish in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and parts of England. While recipes vary by region, most call for cereal grain (like oatmeal or barley), animal fat (like pork or beef suet), breadcrumbs, spices (like white pepper or coriander), and sometimes a protein (either pork meat or pork liver). Chefs combine these ingredients in a sausage casing before boiling and cooling the pudding in cold water. Chefs may cook the sausage whole or slice it up into coins which they then fry, grill, or deep-fry.

White pudding recipes originated as a way for butchers to use offal (or animal organs). Other offal dishes include black pudding, which includes pork or beef blood to give it a stronger color and flavor, and haggis, a savory Scottish pudding.

Some of the world’s regions prepare white pudding in slightly different ways:

1. 1. Scottish: Scottish white pudding, or mealy pudding, doesn’t usually contain pork meat and instead features a base recipe of oatmeal and lard with spices and onions or leeks. The most traditional way to serve Scottish white pudding is alongside “mince and tatties” (minced beef and potatoes) or deep-fried in a chip shop. Fruit pudding, another closely related Scottish dish, folds raisins or other dried fruits into the sausage.
2. 2. Irish: Irish white pudding may include many additional ingredients to add flavor and texture to the dish, including potato flour, pork meat, and spices. It’s an integral part of a traditional full Irish breakfast.
3. 3. Canadian: Canadian white pudding, popular in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, is less meaty or fatty than other white puddings, with a pared-down recipe featuring oatmeal as the main ingredient.
4. 4. English: Certain areas in England are known for white pudding variants, namely Northumberland in the north and Somerset, Cornwall, and Devon in the south, where they prepare a highly spiced white pudding called hog’s pudding.

Both white and black pudding are traditional oatmeal-based sausages that originated as a way for butchers to use offal, or animal organs, after slaughter. However, they have a few culinary differences:

• Ingredients: While white pudding and black pudding have the same basic ingredients—oatmeal, suet, and spices—black pudding has one extra ingredient that changes its flavor and texture: cow’s or pig’s blood. The addition of blood classifies black pudding as blood sausage, while white pudding is simply a traditional oatmeal sausage.
• Color: Since black pudding recipes include blood, the sausage takes on a darker color, like red, black, or dark brown, while traditional white pudding is light brown or beige, similar to oatmeal.
• Flavor: White pudding typically has light flavors of onions and spices since it predominantly comprises oatmeal and pork fat. On the other hand, blood sausage has stronger, earthier flavors and can taste slightly metallic due to the inclusion of blood.

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