29 August 2023 , 12:12
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When it comes to condiments, we all have our favourites whether it is ketchup, mayonnaise or more spicy options like Worcestershire sauce. But do we really know all their ingredients? For some Worcestershire sauce fans, the full recipe has left them shocked.
A video has re-emerged showing inside the Lea and Perrins factory were the popular sauce is made, and there is one ingredient which many fans didn't realise was included, anchovies. The revelation has confused fans who claim they normally "hate fish" but "love" the sauce.
The clip, uploaded to YouTube by DCODE by Discovery, takes viewers on a tour of the factory, which has been making the sauce since 1897, showing how it is made while also informing viewers of its history and the all important ingredients. The sauce was invented 1835 when a posh army officer went to India to help run the British Empire. He fell in love, not with a woman, but with a fish sauce.
The sauce contains years-old fish (YouTube)According to the video, on his return he asked chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins to recreate this sauce. Their attempt didn't taste good, until two years later. Fast forward to today and the sauce is made using garlic, onions, anchovies and tamarind paste.
In the video, viewers are told "fish, spice and veg maturing in vinegar forms a delicious sauce". Talking about how fish is used and stored to make the sauce, its narrator says "130 barrels of Spanish anchovies are matured for up to three years. Fresh fish goes bad very quickly, so the layers of anchovies are cured with salt."
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Commenting underneath the video, one person said: "Worcestershire has such a unique flavour its easy to see why its lasted the test of time. I was shocked to find out what is actually in it. I bet most seafood haters had no idea it contains anchovies as I didn't either." While another added: "I absolutely love this sauce! It's crazy how this weird combination of ingredients (at first glance at least) can make such an amazing condiment".
A third said: "I love this sauce so much! I had no idea what was in it or how it is made." While others claim they had already worked out how the sauce was crafted. One viewer said: "I figured it was fermented, just like Louisiana hot sauce, Tabasco sauce, and so on". Another added: "I've read the ingredients of foods since I was a little boy, and I've always known it contains a lot of anchovies. I don't enjoy fish. But I do enjoy this sauce."
Did you know the full recipe? Let us know in the comments below