Many people know that drinking blood is really not the safest thing in the world, but at the same time close their eyes to the reality of just what causes it to be unsafe. A fact I find disturbingly common. For sanguinarians this can be a serious subject, and one that I have found few know that much about. I have broken the risks of blood-drinking into two pages, this one, on Blood-Borne Diseases, and a second on Other Blood-drinking Risks On to the info:
Read More »UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS
When dealing with blood or other body fluids, there are typical precautions against unwanted and unintentional contact that all medical staff follow. Even if you are not in a medical career yourself, learning these precautions will be useful for situations when you don’t want to run the risk of disease transmission. These include:
1) Protective barriers – gloves, face masks, gowns, goggles, etc. If you are allergic to latex, there are alternative materials such as Nitrile, Polyurethane, Polyisoprene, and others. Cost will vary depending on type of material.
Read More »Much of my page focuses on medicine, science and looking for a medical cause to the sanguin condition. But is this a practical approach? Are we wasting our time looking in that direction?
Many argue that there can be no medical cause for sanguins… it is either all metaphysical or it is all psychological. I approached the psychological aspect of things in the article Psychosomatic? I Think Not!. Metaphysical is more difficult because of its very nature, but I will address it in another article later. Here, let us look at the practicality of a medical reason for sanguinarians.
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This time around, we take a step back to ancient Sparta to bring you the infamous “Black Broth”, Melas Zomos (μέλας ζωμός), a staple dish of the period, made primarily of four simple ingredients: boiled pork shank, fresh blood, salt, and vinegar.
As with most blood touched foods, Melas Zomos has a bit of a poor reputation. Accounts of the dish tend to lean heavily on amusingly dramatic exclamations of abhorrence, rather than actual taste and merit. The sinister hype seems to have strengthened the image of the aggressive and resilient Spartan warrior, but the dish itself continues to suffer from a stigma of distaste. If we push sensation aside, however, we can see that Melas Zomos is a humble, albeit logical effort of necessity; a concoction that simply utilizes parts of an animal that have now become uncommon in many places around the world.
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We can’t say why we’ve not tried this until now, but there’s no going back.. this one’s a keeper. The custard is smooth, with a lovely texture; not too rich, nor cloyingly sweet. The vanilla complements the blood well, and the hint of cocoa adds a small, yet pleasant depth to the ensemble.
Overall, a fairly easy, straightforward, and unfussy recipe, combining a simple butter crust with a blood and cocoa custard. Think of it as the bloody, slightly moody sibling of the classic Flan Parisien.
Any blood will do here, but we were able to put our hands on a bit of goat’s blood from a farmer friend and it worked beyond expectations. Smoother, less salty than that of pig, it lends itself very well to desserts.
Here we go!
This time around, we visit Peru, land of llamas, potatoes, and our obsession of the moment, sangrecita; a humble, yet tasty dish composed of chicken blood sautéed with fragrant aromatics. Traditionally, this sanguine melange is served with regional staples such as rice, corn, yuca, or potatoes, but it pairs well with many starchy foods, so feel free to get creative, or just use what you have on hand.
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Hello, my fellow eccentric eaters. ❤ This time around, we (awkwardly) attempt to seduce your lovely eyes with a northern Thai specialty, Khao kan jeen (ข้าวกั๊นจิ๊น). This is a fairly humble looking dish, we must admit, but don’t let that fool you. Like most S.E. Asian food, it’s incredibly fragrant and has a lot of flavor to offer your eager mouths..
What it be? Well, it’s much like a rice dumpling or tamale in spirit. Blood, rice, meat, and aromatics wrapped in a pretty little package. This dish (is a tease) tends to be eaten as a type of appetizer or accompaniment to the main event. Like most blood food, it’s quite location oriented, sadly, and not often found outside of Northern Thailand. It can be made at home with minimal effort, however, so why not have a little adventure? And, and..honestly, who doesn’t love steamy, adorable bloody rice presents?!
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Chapssal-tteok / Chaltteok is a chewy Korean treat made from sweet glutinous rice flour, not unlike Japanese mochi. It’s commonly found with steamed and baked confectionery items in most Asian markets, and for good reason.. Chaltteok is textural hedonism, especially this adaption.
Traditionally, it exists in a fairly glutinous state, with only the additional items providing contrast. This version, however, brings a crispy crust to the texture party (think mochi brownies). L.A. rice cake, as it’s commonly referred to, evolved to suit the ingredients readily available outside of Asia in decades past.
Borne out of necessity and immigrant ingenuity, we now have a treat that’s not only unique, but incredibly unfussy. Even with the addition of blood, it only takes a few minutes to come together. The taste of blood is very light in this version, so feel free to swap more blood in place of milk if you’d like to make it more pronounced.
Blood and curry – it doesn’t sound like an obvious union, does it? South East Asia, land of creative, improbable, unapologetic food opportunities, begs to differ. This area of the world is notorious for putting every usable part of a food source, whether it be animal or not, to very good use.. And, trust us, blood itself has many useful attributes when it comes to food preparation.
From a culinary standpoint, using blood in this situation isn’t terribly strange. When exposed to gentle heat and treated with care, it can add wonderful body to a dish. If taken a bit further, it acts as a natural, minimally processed thickening agent. This age old technique, though falling out of fashion, can still be seen the world over, especially in areas still holding fast to culinary culture.
I had half a bottle of pig’s blood (as one does.. ;P) and was pondering what to use it for, when I came across something intriguing – a recipe for a blood thickened sauce with an olde medieval twist. As it so happens, I’m quite enthusiastic about medieval reenactment, and this was the perfect opportunity to put that experience to use.. Who’d have thought stirring gruel and lard in heavy cauldrons (when not stabbing Saxons with a pike) would become practical application? I’ll be cheeky here and call this bloody concoction “Regis’ Special“. (;
An immersion circulator (sous vide) isn’t necessary to prepare this sauce, as the blood isn’t technically raw in the final product. If you’re squeamish, however, feel free to take the added steps for peace of mind. It’s important to note that blood is a finicky substance – going above 140 °F / 60 °C increases the odds of solidification, which is certainly not wanted in a sauce. Beyond that, the blood sauce is fairly easy to make and keeps well frozen in small, ready to use portions.
Braised guinea fowl with blood sauce
THE RED CELLAR 