Worcestershire Sauce History

Worcestershire Sauce History

Worcestershire sauce has its roots in India, but was actually created by accident in its namesake town of Worcester, England in 1835. As the story goes, Lord Marcus Sandy had returned home to England to retire after successfully governing Bengal, India for many years. He so missed his favorite Indian sauce that he commissioned drug store owners John Lea and William Perrins to come up with a reasonable facsimile.

The original intent of the chemists was to keep some of the batch to sell in the store, but the fish and vegetable mixture had such a strong odor that they decided otherwise and stored it in the cellar. It lay forgotten for two years, until it was rediscovered during a clean-up mission. The batch had aged into a wonderfully flavored sauce which was bottled and quickly became a hot item with customers.

Lea and Perrins successfully branched out by convincing stewards on British passenger ships to include it on their dining table set-ups. It soon became a British staple, primarily as a steak sauce, and further emigrated worldwide. The guarded recipe basically remains the same. However, the advertising no longer purports to "make your hair grow beautiful."

More About Worcestershire Sauce

• What is in Worcestershire sauce?
• Homemade Worcestershire Sauce Recipe
• Worcestershire Sauce History
• Worcestershire Sauce Recipes
_{Worcestershire Sauce Photo © 2007 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.}