The story: When trying to get to the bottom of "who invented black pudding", one will come across the Romans, sooner or later. The first reference of the black pudding (or blood sausage) was made by Homer in The Odissey - "as when a man besides a great fire has filled a sausage with fat and blood and turns it this way and that..." . Go figure, the blood sausage is so tasty, even Homer praises it!

The first official recipe of the blood sausage is included in "The Art of Cooking", the oldest collection of recipes, and the credits go to Aphtonite and Aspicius, although their ingredits vary a bit from what is used today. 

With the Romans cruising the globe (feed the army blood and onion to keep them strong!), the blood sausage spreaded across the globe and it soon became an intrinsic part of many cultures, who created their own version of it and adapted the recipe based on the ingredients available. 

The blood sausage endured a century of blame and disgrace in the 17th century. Christians and Hebrews deemed it forbidden, as God's laws speak against consuming blood products and even Newton abstained from consuming it! 

Black pudding is actually the British version of the blood sausage, but in principle it is the exact same thing; it originated in Stornoway and it now part of the traditional English breakfast.

The main ingredients: pig's blood, finely chopped pork fat, oatmeal, salt to taste, various herbs (but not mandatory). Go on Dracula, go for it! :)