White pudding is a type of sausage much enjoyed in the UK. It is similar in construction to blood pudding, containing sugar, oats or bread, suet and shredded pork. It often contains onions, and may have cinnamon or other sweet-oriented spices.

The ingredients much resemble some of the baked or steamed puddings for which the Irish and British are well known. This accounts for white pudding being called a pudding instead of a sausage. The difference is that white pudding is stuffed into casings, and is usually fried in individual slices.

Unlike blood pudding, white pudding does not contain animal blood. It resembles a banger sausage, but tends to have a larger circumference. Scotland makes a smaller white pudding similar in size to a large American hot dog, which may be served whole.

White pudding is a frequent favorite addition to what is considered a “traditional” Irish breakfast. This breakfast would also include a few slices of fried blood pudding, ham or Irish bacon, eggs and fried potatoes. Such a breakfast is a frequent offering at pubs or at restaurants in Ireland and the UK.

Most Irish homes, however, do not serve such a breakfast every day. Instead, porridge of oats or wheat is a more likely breakfast in an Irish home. However, a special feast day, such as Saint Patrick’s Day might prompt serving the larger or more labor-intensive breakfast that includes white pudding.

Occasionally the ingredients of white pudding and blood pudding are mixed to produce what is called a red pudding. This is less common, and is most likely to be found in pubs or restaurants rather than in the home. It is available marketed under several brands at grocers throughout the UK and Ireland.

It is quite difficult to find white pudding in the US. One can make one’s own and there are many recipes on the Internet. Alternately, international grocery stores may have a few imported variants of white pudding. White pudding can be quite easily ordered on the Internet, but one may want to check shipping practices, since failure to keep these sausages cool could result in food spoilage.