Worcestershire Sauce's Indian Roots

The inspiration for Worcestershire sauce originated in India, then made its way to England, where it was popularized and sold commercially since 1837. While most recipes use anchovies for that signature taste, it’s very unlikely that the original version from India used dried fish. It's far more likely it was vegan.

Was Worcestershire Sauce Vegan?

Worcestershire sauce was brought to the commercial market by John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, two chemists (pharmacists) who formed the company, Lea & Perrins in the city of Worcester, in Worcestershire, England. Theirs was the first sauce to bear the name “Worcestershire”; they sold their first commercial bottle in 1837. Their original ingredients included tamarind, vinegar, anchovies and most assuredly asafetida, an aromatic little spice virtually unknown to the West at the time.

According to the company, the sauce came from “the recipe of a nobleman in the county,” Lord Marcus Sandys, the ex-Governor of Bengal who tasted the sauce while dining with friends in India. The story goes that when Lea & Perrins first mixed the recipe together it was too strong and unpalatable so they left it stored in a barrel in the basement. A few years later they rediscovered it, tasted it again and loved it - it had naturally fermented and had become quite tasty.

Yet fermented fish sauces are not as abundant in India as they are in other Asian countries like Vietnam or China, so it was unlikely that the original sauce Lord Sandys sampled in Bengal was a fermented anchovy sauce. It's far more likely that the original Indian version was a vegan Worcestershire sauce featuring tamarind and hing (asafetida).

Although Lea & Perrin’s was the first sauce to be called “Worcestershire”, they don’t own a trademark on the name so anybody can make their own version and call it by the same name.

Our Worcestershire Sauce is Organic, Vegan, and Gluten-Free.

At Pure Indian Foods, we wanted to create our version of Worcestershire sauce with healthy, organic ingredients suitable for vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. We went back to the basics, adding organic tamarind paste, replacing the sugar with rich, luscious jaggery, adding organic vinegar and of course, a touch of Indian spices for a full-bodied authentic flavor! As an added bonus, it's been batch-tested gluten-free.

Shake Well. Refrigerate After Opening.

FEATURED RECIPE

How to Use our Worcestershire Sauce

Our organic Worcestershire sauce is ideal for enhancing a variety of foods and even beverages.

Here how you can use it in your cooking:

• Add to Caesar salad dressing and other creamy or vinegary dressings
• Add to melted cheese dip
• Add our vegan Worcestershire sauce to bean dips and spreads
• Season beef stew and chili
• Add a dash of our gluten-free Worcestershire sauce to mashed potatoes
• Make your own spicy cocktails
• Use it as a marinade for a variety of red meats, poultry, fish and shellfish, tofu and tempeh
• Add to bean soups, noodle soups and broth
• Our organic Worcestershire Sauce is great with just about any savory stew
• Season a pot of cooking grain with just a small splash
• Combine with melted ghee or garlic ghee – use as a basting sauce just like my mom
• Add a splash to cheese sauce, pizza sauce and pasta sauce
• Try it with tarter, barbeque, shrimp-cocktail, hollandaise and other favorite sauces
• Add to beef and turkey burgers
• Great in gravy
• Add our gluten-free Worcestershire sauce to stir fries and sautés
• Makes great scrambled eggs and omelets
• Good in meat-and-vegetable marinades and basting sauces
• Really good with sloppy joes
• Don’t forget to add to meatloaf
• Also yummy in a lentil loaf
• Mix with ghee or almond oil, toss with vegetables and roast in the oven
• Use our gluten-free Worcestershire sauce to baste a turkey or roast chicken, chops, steaks, etc.

If you enjoy a cocktail, these spicy drinks can be made with our organic Worcestershire sauce:

• Caesar – made with vodka, tomato juice, hot sauce and Worcestershire
• Bloody Mary – made with vodka, tomato and lemon juices, hot sauce, horseradish and Worcestershire
• Hot and Stormy – made with tequila, ginger beer, pineapple and lime juices, agave syrup, hot sauce and Worcestershire
• Michelada – made with beer, lime juice, habanero sauce, soy sauce, hot sauce and Worcestershire.
• Krakatoa – made with light and dark rum, simple syrup and lime juice, hot sauce and Worcestershire