Sweet and sour Worcester sauce, like no other, is popular in England. Gradually, although with a great delay, it becomes a familiar seasoning in Russian cuisines. And then the question arises: if he wasn’t in the nearest supermarket, but I want Caesar salad, can I replace the sauce from Britain with something?
Pick your recipe
The name "Worcester" itself comes from the county of Worcestershire. According to the official version, in 1835, Lord Marcus Sandy, who returned from a Bengal expedition and missed oriental food, ordered local pharmacists to prepare a sauce according to a recipe brought from India. The composition was about 40 ingredients, and the pharmacy Lea & Perrins faithfully reproduced the recipe. However, according to legend, no one liked the result, and the container with tasteless sauce was put into a dark corner, where it stood for two years. What happened after two years of fermentation became the world-famous Worcester sauce, which has been the main seasoning of British cuisine for more than a hundred years.
It is Worcester sauce that gives the unique taste to the Bloody Mary cocktail and the popular Caesar salad.
What does Worcester sauce consist of?
Manufacturers are quite strict about keeping the secret of Worcester sauce, so there is no recipe as such in the public domain, but occasionally lists of ingredients appear. For example, one of them:
- tomato paste;
- walnut extract;
- broth of champignons;
- black pepper;
- dessert wine;
- tamarind;
- anchovies;
- curry powder;
- chilli;
- allspice;
- lemon;
- horseradish;
- celery;
- meat broth;
- vinegar;
- water;
- ginger;
- Bay leaf;
- nutmeg;
- salt;
- sugar;
- tarragon.
The trouble is that neither the proportions, nor the order of the bookmark, nor the manufacturing procedure are really known. In addition, the presence of anchovies suggests that the sauce is prepared by fermentation, that is, long fermentation, like Thai fish sauce. These subtleties, as well as an impressive list of ingredients, greatly complicate the preparation of Worcester at home. Nevertheless, there are adapted recipes that make home-made Worcester sauce a real, albeit a very difficult event.