Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauceorWorcester sauce(UK:/ˈwʊstər(ʃər)/WUUST-ər(-shər)) is afermentedliquidcondimentinvented by pharmacistsJohn Wheeley LeaandWilliam Henry Perrinsin the city ofWorcesterinWorcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century. The inventors went on to form the companyLea & Perrins.
Worcestershire sauce has been ageneric termsince 1876, when theHigh Court of Justiceruled that Lea & Perrins did not own atrademarkfor the name "Worcestershire".
Worcestershire sauce is used directly as a condiment on steaks, hamburgers, and other finished dishes, and to flavourcocktailssuch as theBloody MaryandCaesar.It is also frequently used to augment recipes such asWelsh rarebit,Caesar salad,Oysters Kirkpatrick, anddevilled eggs.As both a background flavour and a source ofumami(savoury), it is also added to dishes such asbeef stewandbaked beans.
Fish-based fermented sauces, such asgarum, go back to antiquity. However, no direct link of Worcestershire sauce with such earlier sauces has been demonstrated and they were made very differently.
In the seventeenth century, English recipes for sauces (typically to putonfish) already combined anchovies with other ingredients.
TheLea & Perrinsbrand was commercialised in 1837 and was the first type of sauce to bear the Worcestershire name.The origin of the Lea & Perrins recipe is unclear. The packaging originally stated that the sauce came "from the recipe of a nobleman in the county". The company has also claimed that "Lord Sandys, ex-Governor ofBengal" encountered it while in India with theEast India Companyin the 1830s, and commissioned the localpharmacists(the partnership of John Wheeley Lea and William Perrins of 63 Broad Street, Worcester) to recreate it.However, neither Marcus Lord Sandys nor any Baron Sandys was ever a Governor of Bengal, nor as far as available records indicate had they ever visited India.
According to company lore, when the recipe was first mixed, the resulting product was so strong that it was considered inedible and the barrel was abandoned in the basement. Looking to make space in the storage area some 18 months later, the chemists decided to try it and discovered that the long-fermented sauce had mellowed and become palatable. In 1838, the first bottles of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce were released to the general public.
The ingredients vary by manufacturer but often include vinegar, salt, a sweetener such as sugar ormolasses, aromatics such as garlic, shallots, or onions, soy sauce, and fish orfish sauce.Some formulations may includetamarind,umeboshior other pickles, chili peppers, citrus, or spices such ascloves.
Several anchovy-freevegetarianandveganvarieties are available for those who avoidor are allergic to fish.TheCodex Alimentariusrecommends that prepared food containing Worcestershire sauce with anchovies include a label warning of fish content, although this is not required in most jurisdictions. TheUS Department of Agriculturehas required the recall of some products with undeclared Worcestershire sauce.Generally, Orthodox Jews refrain from eating fish and meat in the same dish, so they do not use traditional Worcestershire sauce to season meat.However, certain brands are certified to contain less than1/60of the fish product and can be used with meat.
Althoughsoy sauceis used in many variations of Worcestershire sauce since the 1880s,it is debated whether Lea & Perrins has ever used any in their preparation. According toWilliam Shurtleff's SoyInfo Center, a 1991 letter from factory general manager J. W. Garnett describes the brand switching tohydrolyzed vegetable proteinduring World War II due to shortages.As of 2021, soy is not declared as an ingredient in the Lea & Perrins sauce.
TheLea & Perrinsbrand was commercialised in 1837 and continues to be the leading global brand of Worcestershire sauce.
On 16 October 1897, Lea & Perrins relocated manufacturing of the sauce from their pharmacy in Broad Street to a factory in the city ofWorcesteron Midland Road, where it is still made. The factory produces ready-mixed bottles for domestic distribution and a concentrate for bottling abroad.
In 1930, the Lea & Perrins operation was purchased byHP Foods, which was in turn acquired by theImperial TobaccoCompany in 1967.  HP was sold toDanonein 1988 and then toHeinzin 2005.
Some sizes of bottles sold by Lea & Perrins in the United States come packaged in dark glass with a beige label and wrapped in paper. Lea & Perrins USA explains this practice as a vestige of shipping practices from the 19th century, when the product was imported from England, as a measure of protection for the bottles.The producer also claims that its Worcestershire sauce is the oldest commercially bottled condiment in the U.S.The ingredients in the US version of Lea & Perrins also differ somewhat, in that the US version (which include distilled white vinegar, molasses, sugar, water, salt, onions, anchovies, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, and chili pepper extract) replaces the malt vinegar used by the UK and Canadian versions withspirit vinegar.
In Brazil and Portugal, it is known asmolho inglês('English sauce').
In Costa Rica, a local variation of the sauce isSalsa Lizano, created in 1920 and a staple condiment at homes and restaurants.
Worcestershire sauce, known assalsa inglesa('English sauce') orsalsa Perrins('Perrins sauce'), is very popular inEl Salvador. Many restaurants provide a bottle on each table, and the per capita annual consumption is 2.5 ounces (71 g), the highest in the world as of 1996.
A sweeter, less salty version of the sauce calledWorcestersauce Dresdner Artwas developed in the beginning of the 20th century inDresden, Germany, where it is still being produced. It contains smaller amounts of anchovies. It is mostly consumed in the eastern part of the country.
In Mexico, it is known assalsa inglesa(English sauce).
Holbrook'sWorcestershire was produced in Birmingham, England, from 1875 but only the Australian subsidiary survives.
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce is sold in the United States byKraft Heinzfollowing the Kraft & Heinz merger in 2015.
Other Worcestershire sauce brands in the United States includeFrench's, which was introduced in 1941.
It is commonly namedsalsa inglesa('English sauce') and is part of many traditional dishes such asHallacas(a traditional Christmas dish) and some versions ofAsado Negro.
Some "Worcestershire sauces" are inspired by the original sauce but have deviated significantly from the original taste profile, most notably by the exclusion of fish.
Gy-Nguang(Thai:ไก่งวง) Worcestershire sauce has been produced since 1917.It relies on soy sauce instead of anchovies for the umami flavour. The company makes two versions: Formula 1 for Asian taste, and Formula 2 for international taste. The two differ only in that Formula 2 contains slightly less soy sauce and slightly more spices.
In Japan, Worcestershire sauce is labelledWorcester(rather thanWorcestershire), rendered asウスターソース(Usutā sōsu). Many sauces are more of a vegetarian variety, with the base being water, syrup, vinegar, puree of apple and tomato puree, and the flavour less spicy and sweeter.Japanese Agricultural Standarddefines Worcester-type sauces byviscosity, with Worcester sauce proper having a viscosity of less than 0.2poiseuille, 0.2–2.0 poiseuille sauces categorised asChūnō sōsu(中濃ソース), commonly used in Kantō region and northwards, and sauces over 2.0 poiseuille categorised asNōkō sōsu(濃厚ソース); they are manufactured under brand names such as Otafuku and Bulldog, but these arebrown saucesmore similar toHP Saucerather than Worcestershire sauce.
Tonkatsu sauceis a thicker Worcester-style sauce made from vegetables and fruits and associated with the dishtonkatsu.
Worcestershire sauce has a history of multiple introduction in Chinese-speaking areas. These sauces, each differently named, have diverged both from the original and from each other: