Stornoway black pudding is a type of black pudding (Scottish Gaelic: marag-dhubh) made in the Western Isles of Scotland.^[1]

Characteristics

Jeremy Lee described it as "... arguably the best sausage made in the UK"^[2] and tourist website Information-Britain.co.uk website as "one of the finest blood puddings the world has to offer".^[3]

The application Protected Geographical Indicator of Origin (PGI) status describes the puddings as follows:^[1]

They are moist and firm in texture, with discernible, yet small, fat particulates. The Scottish oatmeal used in Stornoway Black Puddings is responsible for its good, rough texture. Stornoway Black Puddings may be cooked in, or out of the skin, they maintain their shape well throughout the cooking process. Once cooked, they appear almost black and break apart very easily when cut, yet do not significantly crumble. The meaty flavour is moist, rich, full, savoury, well seasoned—but not spicy—with a non-greasy, pleasant mouth-feel and clean after taste.

Application for PGI status

The application for PGI status came about after the food was threatened by "impostor puddings" labelled as Stornoway but made outside of the Western Isles.^[4] The application was made in January 2009,^[5] and protected status was granted in May 2013.^[6]

The Scottish Government's application^[1] to the European Union specified two key characteristics:

• Geographical origin – it is made "on the Isle of Lewis and the surrounding 'Stornoway Trust' area".
• Recipe – its ingredients (principally beef suet, oatmeal, onion, and blood) are within the tolerance of certain specified proportions.