16^th Century: Black Pudding

Just like the haggis, the black pudding originated centuries before the first written word about it. A blood pudding appeared in Homer’s Odyssey around 800 BCE, and the Romans had several recipes for it.

In times when food was scarce, animals would be bled to create black pudding in trays or as cakes. A little milk and oatmeal would be added, and the pudding would be the only source of protein. From letters of the period, we know this custom was still very mu