Blood as food

Blood as foodis the usage ofbloodinfood,religiouslyandculturally. Many cultures consume blood, often in combination withmeat. The blood may be in the form ofblood sausage, as a thickener for sauces, acuredsalted form for times of food scarcity, or in ablood soup.This is a product fromdomesticated animals, obtained at a place and time where the blood can run into a container and be swiftly consumed or processed. In many cultures, the animal is slaughtered. In some cultures, blood is ataboo food.
Blood consists predominantly ofproteinandwater, and is sometimes called "liquid meat" because its composition is similar to that oflean meat. Blood collected hygienically can be used for human consumption, otherwise it is converted toblood meal. Certainfractionsof animal blood are used in humanmedicine.
Blood sausageis anysausagemade by cookinganimalbloodwith a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled.Pigorcattleblood is most often used. Typical fillers includemeat,fat,suet,bread,rice,barleyandoatmeal. Varieties includebiroldo,black pudding,blood tongue,blutwurst,drisheen,kishka(kaszanka),morcilla,moronga,mustamakkara,sundae,verivorst, and many types ofboudin.
Blood pancakes are encountered inGalicia(filloas), Scandinavia, and the Baltic; for example, Swedishblodplättar, Finnishveriohukainen, and Estonianveripannkoogid.
Blood soupsand stews, which use blood as part of the broth, includeczernina,dinuguan,haejangguk,mykyrokka,pig's organ soup,tiet canhandsvartsoppa.
Blood is also used as a thickener insauces, such ascoq au vinorpressed duck, and puddings, such astiết canh. It can provide flavor or color for meat, as incabidela.
Blood can also be used as a solid ingredient, either by allowing it to congeal before use, or by cooking it to accelerate the process.  Blood curd is a dish typically found in Asia that consists of cooled and hardened animal blood.
InChina, "blood tofu" (Chinese:血豆腐;pinyin:xiě dòufǔ) is most often made with pig's orduck's blood, althoughchicken's or cow's blood may also be used. The blood is allowed to congeal and simply cut into rectangular pieces and cooked. This dish is also known in Java assaren, made with chicken's or pig's blood. Blood tofu is found incurry meeas well as theSichuandish,Mao Xue Wang(Chinese:毛血旺;pinyin:máo xuè wàng). Chinese people use pig blood, tofu, and vegetables to make a healthy soup. This soup has a reputation as a healthy and tasty meal in China.
InHungary, when a pig is slaughtered in the morning, the blood is fried with onions and served for breakfast.Hagymásvér, as it is called, is made from pig's blood andonions, often flavoured withpaprikaandmarjoram.
InPeru, they use chicken blood.
InKorea, blood curd is typically made ofcattleblood and is often used as an ingredient for different kinds of soups and stews, such ashangover soup.
InTibet, congealedyak's blood is a traditional food.
InVietnamese cuisine, pig blood curd is used in soup based noodles dishes such asBún bò HuếorBánh canh,bún rêu,tiết canhand cháo lòng.
In some cases, blood is used as an ingredient without any additional preparation. Raw blood is not commonly consumed by itself, but may be used as an addition to drinks or other dishes. One example is the drinking ofsealblood which is traditionally believed by theInuitto bring health benefits.
Russia and ex-USSR countries produce sweet nutrition bars containing cattle blood, known under the generic nameHematogen; originally created for treatinganemia, they are also used like regular sweets nowadays.
TheCatholic Church, as well as theLutheran,Eastern Orthodox,Oriental Orthodox, and someAnglicanchurches, believe that in thesacramentof theEucharist, the participants consume the realbloodandbodyofJesus Christ. The post-communion prayer of the 1662 Anglican Book of Common Prayer describes the meal as "spiritual food". Many other Christian denominations symbolically consume the Eucharist.
The medieval cult of saintThomas Becketin England included the drinking of "water of Saint Thomas", a mix of water and the remains of the martyr's blood miraculously multiplied.
The procedure was frowned upon by the more orthodox due to the similarities with the Eucharist.
Some cultures consider blood to be ataboo form of food. The taboos may be rooted in the fact that consuming greater quantities of blood may causeiron overloadin some genetically predisposed individuals.
InAbrahamic religions,JewishandMuslimcultures forbid the consumption of blood. Blood and its by-products are forbidden inIslam, in the Qurʼan, surah 5,al-Maʼidah, verse 3. In theNew Testament, blood was forbidden by theApostolic Decreedue to banning sacrifice of animals before idols, [Acts 15:19–21] and is still forbidden amongEastern Orthodox Churches.
The Catholic Church determined on the Council of Florence in 1438 that "the prohibition of the apostles "from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood and from things strangled" [Acts 15:29] befitted that time in which one Church arose from the Jews and the Gentiles, who before lived according to different ceremonies and customs, so that even the Gentiles observed some things in common with the Jews, and occasion was furnished for coming together into one worship of God and one faith, and ground for dissension was removed; since to the Jews, by reason of an ancient custom, blood and things strangled seemed abominable, and they could think that the Gentiles would return to idolatry because of the eating of things sacrificed. But when the Christian religion is so propagated that no carnal Jew appears in it, but all passing over to the Church, join in the same rites and ceremonies of the Gospel, believing "all things clean to the clean" [Titus 1:15], with the ending of the cause for this apostolic prohibition, the effect also ended. Thus it declares that the nature of no food, which society admits, is to be condemned, and no distinction is to be made by anyone at all, whether man or woman, between animals, and by whatever kind of death they meet their end; although for the health of body, for the exercise of virtue, for regular and ecclesiastical discipline many things not denied should be given up, since, according to the Apostle, "all things are lawful, but all things are not expedient" [1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:22]."
TheIgboethnic group ofNigeriahas no explicit prohibitions against eating blood, but most regard it with disgust and refuse to eat any meat perceived as "bloody" or undercooked (such as raw meat insushiorsteakprepared raw, rare, ormedium).Goats,cattle, and other animals slaughtered in the traditional Igbo manner are dispatched with a single cut across the neck and then most or all of the blood is allowed to slowly drain from the wound. This practice may have been influenced by theIgbo Jewishcommunity that apparently predates contact withEurope.Many Igbos who buy butchered, packaged meat fromgroceriesandsupermarketsare in the habit of washing the blood from the meat with water before preparing it.
Among theMaasai people, drinking blood from cattle is a part of the traditional diet, especially after special occasions involving a loss of blood such as ritual bloodletting or giving birth.
Cow blood is also consumed by theBahima people.
TheHerero peopleconsumed cow blood with sour milk.
As in Europe, several varieties ofblood sausageare also popular inMexico(moronga),Quebec(boudin),Newfoundland and Labradorand thesouthwest United States,Chile(prietas,ñache),Brazil(chouriço),Argentina,Uruguay,Cuba, andPuerto Rico(morcilla).
InBrazil, the traditional Portuguese dish known ascabidela(see above) is also eaten, as well a stew made of pork blood and offal calledsarapatel.
In the western region of SantanderColombia, a dish called pepitoria is made fromricecooked ingoatblood.
Mexicans from certain regions eat goat's stomach stuffed withporkblood andvegetablesas a delicacy.
InPeru, clotted chicken blood is fried with chili peppers andWelsh onion. This dish is calledsangrecita.
Yaguarlocrois apotatosoupmade with sprinklings of goat's blood.
InChinaand some regions ofSoutheast Asia, coagulatedchicken,duck,gooseorpigblood, known in Chinese as "blood tofu" (Chinese:血豆腐;pinyin:xiě/xuè dòu fǔ) is used in soups. InTaiwan,pig's blood cake(simplified Chinese:猪血糕;traditional Chinese:豬血糕;pinyin:zhū xiě/xuè gāo) is made ofporkblood andsticky rice. It isfriedorsteamedas asnackor cooked in ahot pot.
In theSouth Indianstate ofTamil Nadu,stir-friedlambblood is a common dish for breakfast and lunch. When prepared alone it is calledஇரத்தம் பொரியல்(irattam poriyal). More commonly it is stir-fried with lambstomachandintestineswith spices likeginger,garlic,cloves,cinnamon, redchili powder,green chilies,corianderpowder,cumin,shallotsand gratedcoconut. This dish is very common in theMaduraiandKongu Naduregion of Tamil Nadu.
In the coastalKonkanregion of India,Sorpotel, a dish ofPortugueseorigin is commonly cooked that includes parboiled meat andoffalwhich is cooked in a spicy and vinegary sauce. Some people also use the animals' blood for boiling the curry. Sorpotel is primarily made by Catholics ofGoa,MangaloreandBombay East IndiansofMumbai.
InKumaon, a spicy dish called Luvash is made by pan frying lamb blood with pahadi ghee.
InIndonesia, especially theBataktribe inNorth Sumatra, pig's blood is used as an ingredient and sauce mixed withandaliman(Zanthoxylum acantophodium) for a cuisine named Sangsang (readsaksang). InBalinese cuisine, pork blood is sometimes added intolawardish, a mixture of vegetables, coconut and minced meat mixed with rich herbs and spices to createlawar merah(red lawar).
InJoshua Oppenheimer's filmThe Look of Silence, several of the anti-Communist militias active in theIndonesian mass killings of 1965–66claim that drinking blood from their victims is what prevented them going mad.
InKorea, blood as food is known asseonji(선지[sʌn.dʑi]; derived from theManchuwordsenggi(ᠰᡝᠩᡤᡳ) meaning "blood").Coagulated cattleseonjianddried radish greensare added to thebeef legbonebroth in order to makeseonji-guk(blood curd soup).Sundae, a blood sausage made generally by boiling or steaming cow or pig's intestines that are stuffed with various ingredients, such as pig's blood, cellophane noodles,kimchi, scallions, etc.
In northern region ofNepal,Gyumaa blood sausage is a popular dish commonly eaten by locals. It is made of yak's blood and meat. The fillings also include buck wheat flour and other spices. The sausage is also used in lentils or prepared in stir fry dishes.
People of Newar community also consume popular dish called “cho hee,” which means blood that is prepared by steaming the blood with some local spices. It is consumed by most of the locals in Patan, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur area of Nepal.
In thePhilippines, a popular dish calleddinuguanis made from pig's blood andoffalseasoned withchiliand is traditionally eaten with white rice or steamed rice cakes (puto). Numerous variants exist throughout the islands. Dinuguan can also be served without using anyoffal, using only choice cuts of pork. InBatangas, this version is known assinungaok. It can also be made from beef and chicken meat, the latter being known asdinuguang manok('chicken dinuguan').The NorthernLuzonversions of the dish namely the Ilocanodinardaraanand theIbanagzinaganare often drier with toppings of deep-fried pork intestine cracklings. These versions are sometimes known as "crispy dinuguan" elsewhere. TheItawisof Cagayan also have a pork-based version that has larger meat chunks and more fat, which they calltwik.
Aside fromdinuguan, a nativeblood sausageknown aspinunegalso exists among theKankanaey peopleof the highlands ofLuzon.Cubes of pork blood grilled on skewers is also a common street food throughout the Philippines. These are known colloquially as "betamax" (after its resemblance toBetamaxtapes).
The Ilocano crispy pork dishbagnetmay also sometimes be dipped in raw pig's blood. Though this is rare.InWestern Visayas, the meat-and-liver stewbas-uycan also be enriched with blood.
Coagulatedchicken,duck,gooseorpigblood is used in soups, such as the classic Thai dishTom Lued Moo(pork blood soup). Thailand also has a dish known asNam Tok, which is a spicy soup stock enriched with raw cow or pig's blood. It is often used to enrich regularnoodledishes, as well as inKhao soi.
InLaosandNortheast Thailand), a raw version oflaap, a meatsalad, is made withmincedraw meat,seasonedinspices, and covered with blood. The spicy noodle soupNam ngiaoand certain variants ofKhao soiof the cuisine ofShan StateandNorthern Thailandcontain diced curdled blood.
InVietnam, congealed pork blood is used inBún bò Huế(a spicy noodle soup), as well ascongee(a type of rice porridge). It is simply solidified, then put into the broth to absorb the flavor.
Blood is also consumed raw in Vietnam although it is not so popular nowadays due to health concern and a better understanding of how raw blood may contain parasites and other organisms that are harmful to humans.
This type of raw blood dish is called "tiết canh", literally translated as "blood soup". As its name suggests, the soup is prepared with raw and uncooked animal blood.
Firstly, blood is collected when the animal is slaughtered, then it is mixed with a little bit of fish sauce or salt water to prevent it from congealing (this step varies a lot from person to person and from region to region), this is to have time to prepare the other part of the dish, usually a mixture of the slaughtered animal's heart, liver, stomach, some time, its kidney, being diced and cooked.
Then, the cooked mixture is divided into serving portions. The blood is now mixed with regular drinking water (there is specific ratio between the blood and the water), then it will be poured onto the cooked mixture. After 10–15 minutes, the blood will start to congeal and the final product will have a consistency similar to jelly. Various herbs, roasted and smashed peanut are topped on the congealed blood to enhance its flavor.
This dish is usually made with pig's blood and duck's blood but it can also be made from any type of animal's blood.
In China and Vietnam certain types ofsnakeblood are considered to be anaphrodisiac, and are drunk withrice wine.
In theCzech Republic, pig's blood from traditionalpig slaughteris used to make blood soupprdelačkaand blood sausagesjelito.
InFinland, pig's blood is used, withmilk,flourandmolasses, to make bloodpancakes(veriohukainen), usually served withlingonberry jam.Different types of sausages are also common, includingmustamakkaraandryynimakkara.Verileipäis a type of bread made with blood.Veripalttuis another dish available in some parts of the country.
In France, there is "sanquette", a solidified/curd blood in a pan, and "boudin noir", a sort of sausage.
InNorthern Germanypig's blood used to be traditionally mixed withvinegar, scraps, spices andsugarto makeschwarzsauer. It is eaten warm orpreservedin jars. Changes in taste and lifestyle have made this an uncommon dish.
In ancientLakedaimon, theGreekcity-stateofSparta, theblack brothwas common: a soup with pork meat and blood.
InHungary,hagymás vér(pan-fried pig's/mangalica's blood with onions) often served withhot peppersandvéres hurka(a kind of blood sausage made with pig's blood, bacon, pork, rice, onion, salt and various herbs and spices) are common winter foods. The dark mahagony colored Véres pite (bloody pie) is also made.Pig slaughteris considered a cultural event, when the villagers feast together. Here, all parts of the pig are used, from its blood andcloven hoof(out of which they make körömpörkölt) to its head. In fact, the pig's heart and lungs are also often consumed.
In the old days, they also used to make a soup/sauce called Black soup (fekete leves) out of it, similar tosvartsoppa. Currently, the wordblack soup(inHungary) is used to describe an unpleasant obligation, an impending sudden negative event. Legend has it that theTurksinvited a Hungarian nobleman to dinner. The soldiers were ordered to attack him when "The black soup is still left" was said, hence the phrase.
InItaly, thesanguinaccio dolceis apuddingmade with pig blood, chocolate, sugar, pine nuts, raisins and milk.
Biroldois ablood sausagetraditionally made with parts ofpigsoffallike heart, lungs and tongues.
Balkenbrijis a Dutch food made by combining pig's blood with a variety of ingredients, principally flour or oatmeal, and pig organs, such as intestines. Black pudding, in Dutch "bloedworst," is also consumed. In theLimburgprovince bloedworst, in Limburgish "poetes" or "trip," is consumed with apples baked in a thick syrup called stroop.
Czernina(black soup) is a Polish soup made of duck blood and clear poultry broth, sometimes known as "duck soup". Hen, rabbit or pig blood can also be used.
Kaszankais the Polish incarnation ofblood sausage. It's made of pig's blood andbuckwheatorbarleykasza.
InPortugal, the northern region known as Minho has a traditional blood soup named papas de sarrabulho. "Papas" translates as "mash" and "sarrabulho" is a popular expression for coagulated blood, so the literal translation would be "mashed blood". The soup is made with pig's blood, chicken meat, pork,ham,salami,lemonandbread, and is typically sprinkled withcumin, which provides the dish with its distinctive odor. It is usually served in the winter because it is a rather heavy dish. The dish is seldom eaten in southern Portugal. Also very popular, ismorcelasausage, a type of black pudding. Another traditional Portuguese dish known ascabidelais also made by cooking chicken orrabbitin its own blood, sometimes diluted with vinegar. The samecabideladish is done with lamprey eel's blood and flesh along with rice, during the months of March and April following the migration of these fishes throughout Portugal's rivers.
There is also a candy calledPapas de moado, which is prepared from pig's blood, flour, sugar, nuts and spices, mainly in theMondego Riverregion.
InRomaniathere is a traditional sausage prepared with blood namedsângerete,literally meaning "a thing from hemoragy" (it came fromsângera– "hemoragy" fromsânge– "blood")), and it is prepared especially during the Ignat (the pig carving holiday).
InSpain, themorcillasausage is a kind ofblack puddingmainly made with pig blood, with spices, fat, and sometimes vegetables. InAndalusiasangre encebolladaandValenciansang amb cebaare popular dishes made with chicken or pork solidified blood and onion.
InSweden, the blood soupsvartsoppa, made with goose blood, is traditionally eaten on the eve of St. Martin, especially in the southern region ofSkåne. Other popular dishes, with blood as one of the ingredients includeblodpudding(blood pudding),blodplättar(blood pancakes),blodpalt(potato dumplings flavoured with reindeer or pig blood) andpaltbröd(bread with blood in it, which is dried and boiled and eaten together with fried pork and bèchamel or onion sauce).
InBritain,Ireland, and someCommonwealthcountries, "black pudding" or "blood pudding" is made from blood and some fillergrainsand spices, oftenoatmeal.
InMontgomeryshire,Wales, goose blood was used to make a pastry tart at Christmas time.
InIreland, there is ample evidence of the persistence of the practice of bleeding live cattle until well into the 19th century. It was considered to be a preventative measure against cattle diseases, and the blood drawn, when mixed with butter, herbs, oats or meal, provided a nutritious emergency food.