Worcester sauce is a wonderful supplement based on natural ingredients, which is perfect for meat and some other dishes. You can find out where it came from, what it consists of and how to cook it from the article.

Worcester sauce - what is it, composition

Worcester sauce has a sweet and sour slightly spicy taste. The color of the additive is dark brown, quite liquid in consistency.

The composition of the sauce at first glance may seem strange, because it contains products that, in theory, should not be combined with each other. But it is they who make the taste so rich and interesting.

The classic version of the sauce includes approximately the following components:

  • onion;
  • garlic;
  • celery;
  • ginger;
  • nutmeg;
  • anchovies;
  • shallot;
  • horseradish;
  • aspik;
  • salt;
  • molasses;
  • curry;
  • Bay leaf;
  • tamarind;
  • black pepper;
  • asafoetida;
  • water;
  • Chile;
  • lemon juice.

But this is far from a complete list and not entirely accurate, because the real recipe is unknown to anyone except the manufacturers themselves.

Just a few drops of such an additive will be enough to enhance the taste and significantly improve the flavor of the dish.

Appearance story

The first mention of the sauce appeared 170 years ago. Lord Sandy, upon returning to England, considered that the country had very fresh dishes and hired two pharmacists to make the seasoning, while he already had a recorded recipe.

 

Unfortunately, the result greatly disappointed everyone, the banks were removed away and forgot about them for several years. And after this time, the tasting was carried out again and were pleasantly surprised how delicious the sauce was.

It is believed that his recipe is still secret, and to prepare this Worcester sauce you need to spend three years and three months.

What dishes is combined with

In general, this sauce is ideally suited to the famous Caesar salad, and it must also be added to the original Bloody Mary cocktail. Without this seasoning, dishes simply lose their charm and unique taste.

But since English cuisine cannot boast of variety and piquancy, they began to add the sauce to other products. It is put in almost all meat dishes, such as roast beef, steak or stew.

It is great for fish marinades, various snacks, and even sandwiches. Vegetable salads and casseroles are not complete without it, because this is a wonderful alternative to harmful mayonnaise or sour cream.

Moreover, the sauce does not interrupt the taste of the product itself, it only emphasizes it favorably. Most often, it is put very little, because the seasoning is very concentrated and is used in conjunction with soy sauce, Tabasco, olive oil and other spices.

How can I replace the sauce

Now you can find Worcester sauce in almost any supermarket, and its price is not too high. If you want to try it according to the original recipe, then look for a manufacturer called Lea & Perrins.

 

And if there is no opportunity to purchase and cook at home due to the lack of some ingredients, which, incidentally, are very exotic, then many, of course, are interested in how to replace the sauce.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to find a complete analogue of this seasoning, it too has a peculiar taste.

Instead of sauce, balsamic vinegar, a mixture of vinegar with seafood and seasonings suitable for them are usually used.

How to Make Classic Worcester Sauce

If you are not afraid of a huge list of ingredients for this piquant and unusual sauce, then you can try to make a good enough alternative.

Immediately pay attention to the fact that this recipe is only as close as possible to the original, but it still will not be quite like it. To get an exact copy you will need special conditions, a lot of time and oak barrels, so it is better to cook Worcester sauce in a simplified version.

Complete Product List

To get started, stock up on everything you need:

  • sea ​​salt;
  • 100 grams of sugar;
  • half a cinnamon stick;
  • two cloves of garlic;
  • 125 milliliters of water;
  • one small spoonful of black pepper and peas;
  • 0.5 liters of vinegar 9%;
  • one medium-sized onion;
  • half a glass of soy sauce;
  • one small ginger root;
  • a small spoonful of clove flower buds;
  • two large spoons of tamarind paste;
  • one anchovy;
  • half a spoon of curry and cardamom;
  • a quarter of a spoon of red pepper.

Cooking technology

  1. Peel the onion, rinse and fill with the indicated amount of vinegar, leave for half an hour for pickling and only then cut into cubes.
  2. Grind the garlic in any convenient way, also lightly sprinkle with vinegar.
  3. Prepare a bag of gauze and place onion, garlic and all the spices on the list except curry. Tie tightly so that nothing falls out of the bag.
  4. Pour vinegar into a deep pan, put sugar, tamarind paste, soy sauce and mix the mixture very carefully, then put on the stove and turn on a strong heating level.
  5. Put a bag of spices in this mass, and as soon as the contents begin to boil, make the fire minimal and cook everything for about 45 minutes.
  6. Finely chop the anchovy, mix with salt, curry and water. All this will be sent to the pan after the necessary cooking time is out and immediately remove the container from the fire.
  7. Pour what happened, into a suitable glass jar, not forgetting to put a bag of spices there and carefully cover the container.
  8. After the future sauce has completely cooled, move it to the refrigerator.
  9. There the jar will have to stand for two weeks, and every day you will need to get a bag from it, squeeze it, mix the contents and close it again.
  10. Fourteen days later, the sauce will be ready. We take out the bag and throw it away, it is no longer needed. And pour the resulting seasoning into small plastic bottles or jars.It is desirable that the containers are not transparent, but darkened.

Store the finished sauce only in the refrigerator, occasionally shaking it.