Worcestershire Sauce

Appears in
Umami: Unlocking the Secrets of the Fifth Taste
Umami

By Ole Mouritsen and Klavs Styrbæk

Published 2014

  • About

Worcestershire sauce is basically a variety of fermented anchovy sauce and, consequently, is related to the classical Roman fish sauce, garum. It is a favorite taste enhancer in many Western kitchens. Even famous celebrity chefs will admit that they use this condiment in their creations.

Worcestershire sauce was first made commercially in Worcester, England, in 1837 by two apothecaries, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins. It caught on quickly and its popularity spread to the colonies as well. Their original recipe was a closely guarded secret for more than 170 years, until 2009. By then, the Heinz food conglomerate had acquired the company, and a former employee at Lea & Perrins claimed to have found some old notes that revealed the hitherto-unknown ingredients in the recipe.