What Pork Blood Ice Cream Really Tastes Like

It's a hot summer day, and you and the family are in the mood for something cold and refreshing. Why not load the family up in the car and cruise down to the ice cream shop? You can get a classic scoop of good old vanilla, your partner can get a scoop of strawberry cheesecake, and Junior can get that delicious all-American flavor that all kids love: pig blood.

While this may sound like a joke straight out of The Onion or the macabre strips of Gahan Wilson, the idea of pork blood ice cream actually isn't too far-fetched. Granted, you may not be able to stroll into your local Friendly's or Baskin-Robbins and ask for a waffle cone of pig's blood deluxe, as only a few select locations carry this creepy-sounding cream treat. Salt & Straw, an Oregon-based artisanal ice cream shop, released a special Halloween flavor known as Dracula's Blood Pudding that was infused with cinnamon, brandy, and pig blood (via Today). 

Although some may balk at the idea of blood and ice cream, those who are especially brave or perhaps a bit more inclined to all things weird may be asking, "What does it taste like?"

Now, you may already have lots of guesses about how pig blood ice cream tastes: salty, bitter, metallic, gamey, and so on. But as described by Amanda McArthur of SweetyHigh, it has a "subtly sweet" flavor to it. McArthur likened it to "a cross between very subtle cherry and chocolate flavors." In fact, the writer was unable to detect any sort of meaty or metallic flavor that one might expect from blood.

In 2012, the Washington City Paper reviewed a "Sundae Bloody Sundae," a pig blood-based dessert from The Pig in DC's Logan Circle. This dessert also had a noticeable richness to it, with the review describing the mousse-like sundae as a "really good dark chocolate." It was far too sweet for the reviewer to finish on their own.

Pig's blood in food has been around for longer than one may think, albeit not usually in the form of ice cream. One of the better-known examples is black pudding – a type of sausage made with pig's blood, barley or oatmeal, and fat – which is usually served with a full English or full Irish breakfast (via The Spruce Eats).