Worcestershire sauce

Ingredients

The sauce

• 1 bottleWorcestershire sauce

It contains

• malt vinegar
• anchovies
• tamarind
• molasses
• onion
• garlic
• spices

To use in

• Bloody Mary
• Welsh rarebit
• shepherd’s pie and stews
• Caesar dressing
• marinades

Note

• it contains fish and is not vegetarian

Directions

1. The chemists John Lea and William Perrins bottled Worcestershire sauce in Worcester in 1837, after a barrel left forgotten in their cellar had matured.
2. That much is broadly documented. The more colourful part of the story, that they were reproducing a recipe brought back from Bengal by a Lord Sandys, appears in the company’s own later marketing and no independent evidence supports it.
3. It is best treated as an origin story rather than history, and the sauce is a genuinely English invention regardless.
4. The forgotten barrel part is the interesting bit and is plausible: the fresh mixture was unpleasant, and it was only after long fermentation in the cask that it became what it is.
5. Now what it actually is, which people rarely think about.
6. It is a fermented sauce built on malt vinegar, anchovies, tamarind, molasses, onion, garlic and spices.
7. The anchovies are the point. They break down completely over months of fermentation into a deep savoury base, and nothing in the finished sauce tastes of fish.
8. It is essentially a descendant of garum, the fermented fish sauce of the Roman world, arriving by a long and indirect route.
9. Now a practical point that catches people out.
10. It contains fish and it is not vegetarian.
11. That surprises a great many people, since it is used so casually in stews and on cheese, and it appears in a lot of recipes without comment.
12. Vegetarian and vegan versions are widely sold and use tamarind and soy for the savoury depth, and they work perfectly well.
13. Now on making it at home, which is worth being straight about.
14. It is a long fermentation of anchovies in vinegar, matured in wood for eighteen months or more.
15. That is a controlled industrial process maintained by people who understand their own conditions, and it is not something to improvise in a domestic kitchen.
16. Quick homemade versions exist and they are worth trying, but they are approximations rather than the same thing, and they lack the depth that time provides.
17. Buy it, which is what everyone does.
18. Now using it, and the useful thing to understand is what it is for.
19. It is a savoury booster rather than a flavour in its own right.
20. A few dashes make a stew, a sauce or a dressing taste more of itself, which is the same job soy sauce or fish sauce does in other cuisines.
21. Used in that quantity it disappears entirely, and you notice its absence rather than its presence.
22. Use it sparingly. Too much and it dominates, and the tamarind sourness and the clove come forward unpleasantly.
23. Now where it genuinely belongs.
24. It is essential in a Bloody Mary, where it provides most of the savoury depth.
25. It goes into Welsh rarebit, into shepherd’s pie and cottage pie, into gravies and into brown stews.
26. It is a defining ingredient of Caesar dressing, along with the anchovy.
27. It is splashed onto cheese on toast, into scrambled eggs and over grilled meat.
28. It is used across a surprising range of countries, and it appears in Japanese tonkatsu sauce, in Central American cooking and in Hong Kong cafés.
29. Now storage, which is straightforward.
30. Shake it before use, since the solids settle.
31. It keeps for years unopened and a long time after opening, being vinegar-based, and refrigeration is not required though it does no harm.
32. The Lea and Perrins bottle is still wrapped in paper, which began as protection during shipping and is now simply what it looks like.
33. The Worcester factory still makes it and the sauce still matures in wooden casks before bottling.
34. Other brands and a great many regional versions exist, and they vary considerably in sweetness and spice.

Technique

• The Lord Sandys origin story appears in company marketing and is not independently documented.
• It contains anchovy and is not vegetarian.
• It is a distant descendant of Roman garum.

Substitutions

• Vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, widely sold.
• Soy sauce with a little tamarind and vinegar, as a rough approximation.

Variations

• Vegetarian and vegan versions.
• Regional brands, which vary in sweetness.
• Used in a Bloody Mary or a Caesar dressing.

History

Chemists John Lea and William Perrins bottled it in Worcester in 1837, after a forgotten barrel left in their cellar had matured.

Frequently asked questions

What is Worcestershire sauce?

Worcestershire sauce is a sauce & condiment from United Kingdom: thin fermented sauce of anchovy, tamarind and vinegar, splashed into stews and drinks. Chemists John Lea and William Perrins bottled it in Worcester in 1837, after a forgotten barrel left in their cellar had matured.

How long does Worcestershire sauce take to make?

Worcestershire sauce takes 5 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes notes on a bought sauce. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Worcestershire sauce?

Yes, within limits. Vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, widely sold. Soy sauce with a little tamarind and vinegar, as a rough approximation.

What is the most important thing to get right in Worcestershire sauce?

It is best treated as an origin story rather than history, and the sauce is a genuinely English invention regardless.