Black Pudding gains ‘superfood’ status

It has long been the centrepiece of a hearty Scottish breakfast but the health benefits of black pudding were often ignored.

But in 2016 it has finally found its place among the superfoods of quinoa, kale and black beans as the newest addition to a balanced, healthy diet.

Now according to online health retailer MuscleFood.com, black pudding is ‘going to become a superstar of 2016’.

There is no legal definition of what makes a ‘superfood’ but the term is used to describe foods with supposed health and nutritional benefits.

 Clean eating of natural foods has been hailed as the way forward for all of us and processed food often gets a bad press, but the humble black pudding has bucked this thinking, with its benefits such as filling protein, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron which is needed to make healthy blood cells, it is expected to become increasingly popular in 2016 amongst health conscious foodies.

The news can only be good for Scottish producers and in particular Stornoway, renowned for its black pudding.

The Stornoway Gazette reported the town’s Charles Macleod Butchers had seen postal demand for its famous delicacy increase substantially over the last few days, perhaps due to this new superfood tag.

Lorna Maclennan, director of the butchers’ shop in Stornoway, said: “We have had a surge in the number of people ordering their black puddings direct, January is usually quiet, but we have had 100 orders with more coming in all the time.”

Yet Lorna revealed that the growth of the product has been an ongoing since black pudding achieved European protected status in 2013, following a campaign by four island butchers.

This protection means that the black pudding can only be described as from Stornoway if it is made in the town.

Lorna revealed:“It’s been an ongoing trend since it got PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status, as people know it is a good quality product, she added: “It’s been a staple on the kitchen table throughout the Hebrides for many years, it’s now good to see its benefits being recognised.”