Immortal Worcestershire Sauce?

Immortal Worcestershire Sauce?

Is Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce really immortal? What brings this to mind is a BBC Food Programme radio show from some months ago. The topic was popular brands in Britain and there was a Lea & Perrins representitive claiming that this iconic sauce will never spoil and will only get better with age even if opened and stored without refrigeration.

He claimed the only reason there is a best by date on the label is a date is legally required.

Well, I found a bottle three years out of date and plan to use it tonight. If I survive, I will tell you how it turned out. Some claims just have to be tested.

Meanwhile, what do you think of this product claim? Fact or fanciful product fiction?

I questioned the date on some grey salt and got the same answer and told they just put on a new six month date if it doesn't sell which is fine by me.

I've opened the W sauce and put it in the pantry for such a long time (and it was fine) that I don't think another 1000 years would matter.

I have never thrown away a bottle of Lea and Perrins-I use it til its done...my parents were the same way.Guess its one of those things you never pay attention to the "use by"date...

The L&P rep was no doubt talking about the sauce made in Worcester, England. Every batch I tried over the last 35 years tasted different from the sauce made by L&P in Fair Lawn, NJ. However, I usually use Baumer Foods' Worcestershire sauce, sold either under their own Crystal name or under a million house brands. It goes off after about 4 years from time of manufacture.

If there is sludge at the bottom of your bottle that shaking will not break up, I would say it might not be spoiled, but would change the flavor of the dish.

My kitchen could not operate without Lea And Perrins !

Still a favorite on steak(average cuts) and so many other dishes...Can't be without it!

Food (sauce) of the gods. When I was little, like 4 or 5, I used to drink it straight from the bottle. ;-)

One of those products with anchovies I can stomach(sorry anchovey lovers!)

quote:

Originally posted by drummagick
Food (sauce) of the gods. When I was little, like 4 or 5, I used to drink it straight from the bottle.

Drummagick,
As a kid (and I was one once, not so long ago!), I used to enjoy Lea & Perrens Worcestershire "by itself" by the part-spoonful. Little wonder, I suppose, that when I became old enough, my taste in alcoholic beverages began with Ballantine India Pale Ale (in 1970, when it was held in wood for 9 months!) and progressed to Guinness Extra Stout ... first in the bottle and later (when it became available here) on draught.
Even now, I generally do not use any other Worcestershire, even when provided by a restaurant... I carry a bottle of Lea & Perrens in my van (!!), and it only seems to become better as it ages through a normal scorchy Georgia Summertime.
Gotta hand it to those Lea & Perrens folks... their sauce is so good it's not only immortal, it borders on the immoral.
Enjoying Being A Bit Of A Saucerer, Ort. Carlton in Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Boo Athens, Georgia.

Can a BBQ sauce be any good without the addition of a little Lea & Perrins?
Shake it on most all grilling meats. Habit or love?

I too have been known to put some in a spoon and drink it straight. Good stuff.

Several years ago L&P USA altered the recipe and switched to high fructose corn syrup. They may have also change the vinegar as well.

I now only use the British L&P. Since it lasts virtually forever, I get friends who go there on business to buy me several bottles at a time. Far superior to the USA stuff.

Thank for the tip on the British L&P. I wonder if it's available at a European market locally.

Does the British version contain high-fructose corn syrup?

Greyghost? Did you survive? Uh oh.
Friends. we are gathered here today on this solemn occasion...

quote:

Originally posted by MellowRoast

Thank for the tip on the British L&P. I wonder if it's available at a European market locally.

Does the British version contain high-fructose corn syrup?

UK L&P ingredients:
Malt Vinegar (from Barley)
Spirit Vinegar
Molasses
Sugar
Salt
Anchovies
Tamarind Extract
Onions
Garlic
Spice
Flavouring

I no longer have a US bottle to compare with, but remember comparing them about 3 years ago when I was made aware of the US version change, and there were considerable differences.

US Ingredients listed on bottle purchased in the last couple of months:

Vinegar
Molasses
HFCS
Anchovies
Water
Onions
Salt
Garlic
Tamarind Concentrate
Cloves
Natural Flavorings
Chili Pepper Extract

I can find no "use by" date on my 20 oz bottle.
I am going out on a limb here- but I use about two (2) bottles a year or more- so, it wouldn't need an expiration date for me anyway!

Lea and Perrins were 'chemists' (pharmacists) during the British occupation of India and found a returning serviceman with the original recipe.

They lost interest for a few years, allowing the WORCHETERSHIRE sauce time to ferment(?)/age in a cask......it's not a happy story.

They bought the original recipe for pretty much nothing and built an industry.....

Come to think of it, it DOES seem like a brewed almost soy sauce taste.......

Thanks! I'll check the European Market and an Englis tea room here. I'll have to get my hands on the British version!

My favorite thing in a Bloody Mary! Heck, I put it in to my V-8!

Has anyone tried Jamaican Pickapepper Sauce? It's kind of like Worcestershire but spicier.

I don't see a use by date on my bottle either and I bought this new bottle 2 weeks ago. Where's the expiration date?

Yes, Lea & Perrins is my all-purpose ingredient, but Pickapeppa is quite good!

Well, this is the only source in the USA I've found so far:

http://www.britishfoodshop.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes&sppp=150

You mean there are other brands of Worcestshire sauce besides L&P? I love it, and use it to the last drop.

I wish L&P would make a travel sized bottle like the mini Tabasco bottles. I like it it on roast beef poor boys, and unless some sandwich shops have a bar attached, they won't carry L&P.

I was a food buyer for an upscale grocery store, and as the owners wife was British, I could only order the stuff from England.I bought it through Skandia foods, and unfortunately if your store doesnt use them as a supplier,you will get the "American"version. I suggest checking out World Market, if there is one in your area.They have alot of imported British food.(I still have my bottle from 2 years ago-from England)

Hello, I'm alive after my out of date L&P experiment. I loved my dinner which was saturated in it (liver if you want to know). The responses so far are wonderful and quite informative.

Where is the date on the bottle? On mine it was at the very bottom of the back label and one might need a magnifying glass to see it. Mine said "Best By 05/08/05". The date did not matter, the product was just fine.

I am fascinated by the difference in the UK and US versions. Of course, I now want the UK one. Why should we in the US get an adulterated, watered down product? Well, I looked into it Seems Lea & Perrins is owned by Heinz. Explains a lot.

There is one way to get to the bottom of it. Last time I looked Lea & Perrins still held the Queens Royal Warrant. I suspect only the UK versions hold the Royal Warrant as I saw no such indication on the US version. If they had it they would brag about it.

I reckon one way to get to the bottom of it is to contact the Queen. This is how you do it:

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page249.asp#1

quote:

Originally posted by syrupy08

Has anyone tried Jamaican Pickapepper Sauce? It's kind of like Worcestershire but spicier.

I go through Pickapeppa bottles faster than L&P, but I use it like ketchup.

I bought a bottle of non-L&P worcestershire once, used it once and threw the rest away. Nothing compares to the original!

I have a 50-page Lea & Perrins recipe booklet printed in 1934. This little "notice to husbands" is stuck in the middle of the canape recipes.

The first time I ever tried L&P was when I was 6 or so - circa 1954, before they put "CYA" expiration dates and "refridgerate after opening" notices on the labels. There was this old dusty bottle of it in the pantry that my mother had opened and used once for cooking a long time before. Against her better judgment I was allowed to taste it before she was going to throw it away. I put it on my burger patty and was in heaven! She threw that bottle away, but bought a fresh one on the next trip to the A&P. Ever since, there has always been "fresh" L&P in both my pantry and fridge.

And, I don't care how good the steak is or how snooty the restaurant I always request it. It amuses me that the finer joints serve in in a small ramekin with a demitasse spoon!

(My goodness, I had almost forgotten A&P: The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company - once the largest grocer in the U.S. but hardly remembered by anyone under 40 today).

Ort, how well I remember that Ballantine IPA, with the clipper ships on the cardboard containers. An American microbrew long before the advent of such. One of the most refreshing beers of all time.