Worcestershire Sauce, Organic

Did you know the original Worcestershire Sauce is from India and did not include fermented fish? Try our organic, gluten free vegan Worcestershire Sauce.

Worcestershire Sauce was brought to the commercial market by John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, two chemists 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, and aromatic little spice virtually unknown to the West at the time.

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 (Asafoetida).

• USDA Organic
• Vegan