Boudin

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Boudin noir, before cooking Boudin3.jpg
Boudin noir, before cooking

Boudin, black pudding in English, is essentially pig's guts filled with blood and other ingredients, such as onions, spinach, etc. (French pronunciation: [budɛ̃] ) The added ingredients vary in French, Luxembourgish, Belgian, Swiss, Québec, Acadian, Aostan, Louisiana Creole, and Cajun cuisine.

Contents

Etymology

The Anglo-Norman word boudin meant 'sausage', 'blood sausage', or 'entrails' in general. Its origin is unclear. It has been traced both to Romance and to Germanic roots, but there is not good evidence for either (cf. boudin). [1] The English word pudding probably comes, via the Germanic word puddek for sausage [2] , from boudin. [3]

Some modern chefs, such as John Folse [4] and Olivier Poels, attribute boudin to ancient Greece by way of Aphtonite, [5] [6] to whom they attribute the first mention of boudin noir in the Apicius . [7] [8]

Types

South Louisiana boudin balls BoudinBallsElizabeths.jpg
South Louisiana boudin balls

In the United States

The journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition include an early record of boudin blanc in the Louisiana Territory during an encounter with French fur trapper Toussaint Charbonneau on May 9, 1805, who prepared it using buffalo intestine, meat, and kidney suet, boiled the links, and fried them in bear grease. [22]

The term boudin in the Acadiana region of Louisiana is commonly understood to refer only to boudin blanc, and specifically to the regional combination of rice, pork, and seasonings originally made at rural communal hog butcherings since the 18th century. [23] Also popular is seafood boudin, consisting of crawfish or crab, shrimp, and rice. [13]

Cajun boudin is available most readily in the Acadiana region of southern Louisiana, though it may be found nearly anywhere in "Cajun Country" extending along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico from eastern Texas [13] to western Mississippi. [24] Several Louisiana towns and cities stake claims based on their boudin; Scott, Louisiana, was named "Boudin Capital of the World" in 2012, while Jennings was named "Boudin Capital of the Universe" [25] and former "Boudin Capital of the World" Broussard redesignated itself the "Intergalactic Boudin Capital of Positive Infinity". [26]

There are numerous meat markets and Cajun stores devoted to the speciality, though boudin is also sold from many convenience and grocery stores in other towns and areas along Louisiana's portion of Interstate 10, referred to by the Southern Foodways Alliance and some local tourism bureaus as the Southern Boudin Trail. [27] [28] [29] Since Cajun boudin freezes well, it can be shipped outside the region if made and packaged in a federally approved facility. [30]

Boudin noir is available in Illinois in the Iroquois County towns of Papineau and Beaverville, with their Quebecois heritage. The dish is the featured cuisine at the annual Beaverville Founder's Day, held the second weekend of September. People travel from hundreds of miles to partake of the boudin. [31]

"Le Boudin"

Boudin gave rise to "Le Boudin", the official march of the French Foreign Legion. "Blood sausage" is a colloquial reference to the gear (rolled up in a red blanket) that used to top the backpacks of Legionnaires. [32] The song makes repeated reference to the fact that the Belgians do not get any "blood sausage", since the king of the Belgians at one time forbade his subjects from joining the Legion (the verse says "ce sont des tireurs au cul").[ citation needed ]

See also

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References

  1. Trésor de la langue française , s.v. "boudin"
  2. Collins English Dictionary, 3rd edition, 1991
  3. Oxford English Dictionary , 3rd edition, 2007, s.v. "pudding"
  4. Maloney, Ann (October 31, 2017). "At Boudin, Bourbon & Beer, an ancient dish gets a modern twist". The Times-Picayune . Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  5. Ricotta, Julien (February 13, 2021). "Quelle est la différence entre le boudin noir et le boudin blanc?". Europe 1 (in French). Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Banigan, Melissa (May 4, 2017). "Boudin: A Story Of Sausage, Slavery And Rebellion In The Caribbean". The Salt. National Public Radio . Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  7. Thayer, Bill. "Apicius, De Re Coquinaria — Book II". LacusCurtius. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  8. Mac Con Iomaire, Máirtín (2019). "Preface". The Black and White Cookbook. Technological University Dublin. pp. 3–8. doi:10.21427/0hnp-6472.
  9. Michael Stern (May 7, 2009). 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late: And the Very Best Places to Eat Them. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   978-0-547-05907-5 . Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  10. "Une association veut une appellation protégée pour le boudin blanc de Liège" [An association wants a protected designation for the boudin blanc de Liège]. RTBF (in French). November 12, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  11. Boudin blanc de Liège (Report) (in French). Association des Producteurs de Boudin blanc de Liège. February 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  12. McNulty, Ian (November 7, 2022). "How Cajun sausage links friends, family, football rituals across Louisiana". The Times-Picayune . Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 Shattuck, Harry (February 17, 2011). "Louisiana's famous boudin tells the story of Cajun country". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Boudin". Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  15. Carriker, Bob (November 16, 2006). "Boudin by the Bite". New Orleans Magazine. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  16. "Boudin Blanc". Cooking2000.com (in French). Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  17. "Boudin Blanc Rethel". Je découvre la France.com (in French). Archived from the original on January 4, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  18. "Sea Bass with Blood Sausage and Sea Urchins (Llobarro, Cruixent de Botifarra Negra, Eriçons de Mar, i Salsa de Pa Torrat)". Saveur . Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  19. Reid, J.C. (March 17, 2023). "Boudin rouge is a rare find in Louisiana's Cajun country". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  20. "The Boudin". Valle d'Aosta. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  21. Chaberge, Marie Claire. À La Decouverte des Produits Valdotains de la tradition aux DOP et aux DOC (PDF) (Report) (in French). Assessorat régional de l'agriculture et des ressources naturelles. pp. 36–37.
  22. Lewis, Meriwether (May 9, 1805). "The Journals of Lewis and Clark". Capt C. killed 2 bucks and 2 buffaloe, I also killed one buffaloe which proved to be the best meat, it was in tolerable order; we saved the best of the meat, and from the cow I killed we saved the necessary materials for making what our wrighthand cook Charbono calls the boudin blanc, and immediately set him about preparing them for supper; this white pudding we all esteem one of the greatest delacies of the forrest, it may not be amiss therefore to give it a place.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. Carriker, Robert (August 30, 2019). "Desperately Seeking Boudin". 64 Parishes . Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities . Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  24. "New Cajun specialty meats store opens in Vidalia". The Natchez Democrat. August 23, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  25. Montagne, Renee (April 13, 2012). "La. Town Named 'Boudin Capital Of The World'". Morning Edition . National Public Radio . Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  26. Salinas, Claire (March 2, 2015). "Around Louisiana". Louisiana Life. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  27. "Southern Boudin Trail". Southern Foodways Alliance . April 13, 2006. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  28. Vowell, Jason (June 23, 2021). "Fear and Loathing on the Boudin Trail". Country Roads. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  29. Mcleod, Gerald E. (July 7, 2023). "Day Trips: Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  30. Comeaux, Ray (January 22, 2009). "Ray Comeaux" (PDF) (Interview). Interviewed by Mary Beth Lasseter. Southern Foodways Alliance.
  31. Sier, Renee. "Taste for boudin sausage is in blood". Daiily Journal. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  32. Douglas Porch, French Foreign Legion at the Encyclopædia Britannica