Description
The Timoleague Brown Pudding PGI is a sausage produced from fresh pork blood, pork trimmings, cereals, fresh onions, seasonings and spices, packed in natural casing.
Production Area
The Timoleague Brown Pudding PGI production area is limited to a zone of a 6-mile radius from the processing plant in the village of Timoleague in Cork County, in the province of Munster. Additional ingredients, such as cereals, onions and casings come from southern Ireland, within a 100-mile radius from the conversion plant.
Production Method
Once the pig is slaughtered, a cereal-based thickener is added to the fresh blood the evening before the production process starts. In the morning, all ingredients are mixed and seasoned in a big bowl and added to the mixture of blood and cereals. The composition obtained is inserted into the natural casing by means of a vacuum filling device and put into water to boil for approximately 15 minutes. During this period, it naturally adapts to the characteristic ring shape. After cooling the pudding is delivered to sales outlets.
Appearance and Flavour
Timoleague Brown Pudding PGI is a long brown-coloured ring shaped sausage. It may weigh between 750 gr to 1 kg and is characterised by a fairly compact consistency obtained from the combination of blood and cereals. The characteristic rustic and distinct taste is closely related to the use of fresh blood for its preparation.
History
There is an old tradition in West Cork of using all the edible by-products of slaughtered pork for home consumption in the preparation and production of puddings. This production technique, based on the traditional family recipe handed down over the years, and the producers' association, currently uses a modern system suitably built for animal slaughtering and pudding production. So far, the product has been awarded two prizes in the food field: the Irish Master Butchers Federation Award and the Best Deli Product Award at the Tesco National Food Awards, demonstrating the importance and fame that the Timoleague Brown Pudding PGI has acquired throughout the years.
Gastronomy
Timoleague Brown Pudding PGI is kept in a cool place, ideally in cold storage. It is consumed in the natural state or cooked. Timoleague Brown Pudding PGI is an ever-present ingredient in Irish breakfasts. Cut into slices, it is fried with butter and served with soda bread garnished with an egg, sausages and tomatoes.
Marketing
The product is sold as Timoleague Brown Pudding PGI. It is marketed whole or cut into pieces of different weight depending on consumers' demands; moreover, it can be sold vacuumpacked.
Distinctive Features
The fertile territory, the pork feeding, the exclusive use of fresh blood and the production technique based only on the traditional recipe give the Timoleague Brown Pudding PGI the distinguishing characteristics of quality and uniqueness.
