Like so many research projects, the search for Worcestershire sauce recipes started as a simple quest that took a sharp turn into the unknown. In Sarah Tyson Rorer’s 1912 book, Canning And Preserving she offered the following recipe.
Sarah Rorer’s Worcestershire sauce
1 quart vinegar
3/4 ounce cayenne
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 anchovies, mashed
12 whole cloves, bruised
1 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 cup port wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
Combine first six ingredients and let stand overnight. Strain into jar with lid, then add wine and soy sauces. Seal and let stand for ten days before bottling.
Of course, I wanted to find out more about the history of this sauce. The Wikipedia article provided the following information:
“The Lea & Perrins brand 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 Marcus Sandys, ex-Governor of Bengal" encountered it while in India with the East India Company in the 1830s, and commissioned the local apothecaries to recreate it (the partnership of John Wheely Lea and William Perrins of 63 Broad Street, Worcester).
According to company tradition, when the recipe was first mixed there 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 a few years later, the chemists decided to try it again, and discovered that the long fermented sauce had mellowed and was now palatable. In 1838 the first bottles of "Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce" were released to the general public.”
That’s a nice story, but the concept was hardly original to Lea & Perrins. There were several earlier fermented fish sauces marketed in England. Harvey Sauce, Reading Sauce, and Quin’s Sauce were all sold earlier and I’ll discuss them in more detail. This article published in the Seattle Times disputes some of the Lea & Perrins claims. The Foods of England web site notes that Worcester Sauces from other companies were being advertised as early as the 1820s.
According to company tradition, when the recipe was first mixed there 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 a few years later, the chemists decided to try it again, and discovered that the long fermented sauce had mellowed and was now palatable. In 1838 the first bottles of "Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce" were released to the general public.”
That’s a nice story, but the concept was hardly original to Lea & Perrins. There were several earlier fermented fish sauces marketed in England. Harvey Sauce, Reading Sauce, and Quin’s Sauce were all sold earlier and I’ll discuss them in more detail. This article published in the Seattle Times disputes some of the Lea & Perrins claims. The Foods of England web site notes that Worcester Sauces from other companies were being advertised as early as the 1820s.
If you'd like to read more, the Soy Information Center published the extensively annotated History of Worcestershire Sauce (1837-1012) by William Shurleff and it is available online.
A quick check of the bottle of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce in the fridge provided the current list ingredients: distilled white vinegar, molasses, sugar, water, salt, onions, anchovies, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, chili pepper extract.
These are very similar to the original formula which included:
Barley malt vinegar
Spirit vinegar
Molasses
Sugar
Salt
Anchovies
Tamarind extract
Onions (originally shallots)
Garlic
Spice
Flavourings
There are hundreds of 19th and early 20th English-language cookbooks online. I did a review of about 200 of them and found only twelve recipes for Worcestershire sauce. All of the include vinegar and cayenne or similar pepper. They also include an umami-rich ingredient, typically walnut or mushroom catsup, anchovies, soy sauce or combination of these.
Other ingredients in order of frequency were:
Garlic: 9
Spices: 7 (in order of frequency - cloves, ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, mace)
Salt: 7
Shallots: 5
Sweet ingredient: 3 (either sugar, molasses, or raisins)
Lemon peel: 3
Tomatoes: 1
port wine: 1
Here are a few of these recipes.
Murrey, Thomas J. Murrey's Salads And Sauces. New York: Chas. T. Dillingham , 1884.
Beeton, Mrs. Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management. London: Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, 1906.
These are very similar to the original formula which included:
Barley malt vinegar
Spirit vinegar
Molasses
Sugar
Salt
Anchovies
Tamarind extract
Onions (originally shallots)
Garlic
Spice
Flavourings
There are hundreds of 19th and early 20th English-language cookbooks online. I did a review of about 200 of them and found only twelve recipes for Worcestershire sauce. All of the include vinegar and cayenne or similar pepper. They also include an umami-rich ingredient, typically walnut or mushroom catsup, anchovies, soy sauce or combination of these.
Other ingredients in order of frequency were:
Garlic: 9
Spices: 7 (in order of frequency - cloves, ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, mace)
Salt: 7
Shallots: 5
Sweet ingredient: 3 (either sugar, molasses, or raisins)
Lemon peel: 3
Tomatoes: 1
port wine: 1
Here are a few of these recipes.
Murrey, Thomas J. Murrey's Salads And Sauces. New York: Chas. T. Dillingham , 1884.
Beeton, Mrs. Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management. London: Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, 1906.
Senn, Charles Herman. The Book of Sauces. Chicago, Ill.: The Hotel monthly press, 1915.
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