Blutwurst

Blutwurst is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Pig, cow, horse, donkey, sheep, chicken, duck, and goat blood can be used, varying by country. In Europe and the Americas, typical fillers include meat, fat, suet, bread, cornmeal, onion, chestnuts, barley, oatmeal, and buckwheat. On the Iberian Peninsula and in Latin America and Asia, fillers are often made with rice. Sweet variants with sugar, honey, orange peel, and spices are also regional specialties.

In many languages, there is a general term such as blood sausage (American English) and blood pudding (British English) that is used for all sausages that are made from blood, whether or not they include non-animal material such as bread, cereal, and nuts. Belonging to the category of cooked sausages, Blutwurst is a famous German blood sausage with many regional varieties. It is predominantly made with pork and incorporates animal blood, fat, and meat, next to a wide variety of seasonings such as marjoram, allspice, and thyme.

Though already cooked and "ready to eat" it is sometimes served warm and similar in France. In the Rhineland, where it is also traditionally made from horse meat, fried Blutwurst is a constituent of various dishes. In Cologne, the traditional Himmel und Erde (Heaven and Earth) combines apple sauce, mashed potatoes, and Blutwurst served hot on one plate. In Berlin, hot Blutwurst mixed with liverwurst and potatoes is called "Tote Oma" ("Dead Grandma").