October 6, 2023 • 24 mins
As complex to make as it can be to pronounce, Worcestershire sauce is prized for its pungent flavor. In this classic episode, Anney and Lauren examine the history and science that make Worcestershire sauce possible.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hello and welcome savor prediction of iHeartRadio. I'm Annie Reese.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And I'm Lord Vocal bamb and today we have a
classic episode for you about What's to shear sauce.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Oh no, I still don't know how to pronounce it,
and I still always think of Scooby Doo. It's the
first thing I think of.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
It's one of the first things I think of now too.
So there you go.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
That's uh, you're welcome. Yeah, sure, okay.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
So this episode originally aired in June of twenty eighteen.
It's a really fun one.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I had forgotten.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
It goes a lot of places, It runs around a lot,
you know, just like the Scooby Gang.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
You know. Yeah, I will say I don't know why necessarily,
but I have been using more Worcester sauce. You did
a good job in things like spaghetti sauce. I've been
using it just to kind of add a little bit
(01:17):
of something else to sauces. So I've been on a kick.
I've been on a kick lately. That's fun.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Heck yeah, heck yeah, I yeah. I don't have any
deep updates. I will say that we have done full
episodes about a few of the ingredients that we're going
to talk about, so see those for more information. Tamarind
pops up for sure, Uh some of some of those. Oh, garam,
(01:45):
we did one on garam. Yeah yeah, which is that
ancient Roman fish sauce and uh yeah. The news update
that I have for you is that just a few
days ago. Actually not why I chose this as a classic,
but it does. Coincidentally, leading brand Lead Parents launched a
Bloody Marry mix in partnership with this brand called George's
(02:07):
Beverage Company, and for the launch of this product, they
are pairing with a few BLT restaurant locations around the
country to to do a branded cocktail plus themed and
entree dinner. The cocktails it is a Bloody Mary and
made with this mix, and the meal plays on some
(02:29):
of the toppings that are given to Bloody Mary's. The
the garnishes including a steak marinated in the wister shoe
sauce and then a skewer of shrimp and bacon and
grape tomatoes.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Oh well that sounds good. I mean, if anyone.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Goes yeah, please yeah, not a not a sponsor, I
think I think as of I think if if you
listen to this like the day that it airs. You
might have like two days left to go check this out.
I think it's only running the end of September through
like the first week of October. But you know, yeah, yeah,
if you have experienced it, let us know.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yes, please let us. But in the meantime, I guess
let's let pass. Danny and Lauren take it away. Hello,
and welcome to food Stuff. I'm Annie Reese.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
And I'm Lauren Vocal Bomb. And today, okay, we're talking
about Rochester. That's the take, isn't it It is, folks,
we're talking about Worcestershire sauce. Yes, yes, and we're probably
going to pronounce it differently every single time we say
(03:54):
it throughout this episode.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Yeah. I also jokingly in the outline call this this episode?
How many times must I use spell check? In one?
In one outline?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
I can't say it, but for some reason I can
spell it real good. I'm not sure. I'm not sure
what that's about. But okay, Whatster your sauce?
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Worcester your sauce? If if you listeners remember the Bloody
Merry episode, Oh yeah, you might remember that.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I got like, like I do, remember that.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
I vaguely recall I mentioned a story about Scooby Doo
that no one I'm pretty sure no one ever gets.
So every time I hear Worcester sauce or it comes
up in conversation, I always say, Worcester your sauce. I
hate Worcester sauce, and then the people are like, really why,
(04:46):
I'm like, it's a Scooby Doo quote. My mom every
time I do that, she's like, I thought you loved
Worcester sauce, And every time I have to explain it's
from Scooby Doo and uh. I would like to include
the clip so that you can enjoy the beautifultural moment,
very very important, share it with us.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yes, yes, sir, give me some more of this hereauce.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I hate.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
It's yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That's a clip of a villain from the New Adventures
of Scooby and Scrappy Doo who is found out because
of his immense hatred for Worcestershire sauce.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yeah, and I recommend looking it up, both because I
love it and also because he does quite the hand
body gestures, body flail yeah when he says that it's
admirable sauce. Oh yeah, absolutely, but we're not the only
ones that struggle to pronounce it. Then. Also, there's a
gag about this in South Park. Yes, in the first
(05:48):
season there's an episode called Pinky where Kenny is turned
into a zombie after a mortician accidentally spills Worcester Sauce
into the embalming fluid.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
And it's not scientifically accurate by the way.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
No, but in the show, they the only reason to stop,
like the zombie outbreak, the only reason, the only way
is I can't remember oh to kill the original zombie.
But they only find that out after they call the
Worcester Sauce Hotline. There's a number on the back that's
like for any comments, complaints, concerns or if there's a
zombie outbreak, please call the Worcester Sauce hot hot Line.
(06:26):
And they do and there's a great, like two minute
bit where they're on the phone talking about their zombie
outbreak and what to do. It's really funny, it's really gay.
And it was originally instead of Worcechester Sauce, it was
going to be Doctor Pepper, but Doctor Pepper was like, nah, no,
how about nah yeah, So it became Worcechester Sauce. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Which is not an official copyright.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
No, and we will talk about that a little bit.
But okay, now this brings us to our Worcester sauce.
What is it? Bit?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yes, well, Worcester sauce is a thin brown colored liquid
seasoning slash sauce that tastes sort of salty, savory, sweet, tart, earthy, spiced.
And I know that that might sound like I just
said everything like all of the flavors that you can
experience in a list. Yeah, but that is what it
(07:22):
tastes like.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
It is as a fun little exercise. I would love
for everyone to like stop them think what do you
think Worcester sauce is? Just get that in your head
and U I suspect you might be in for a surprise.
I could be wrong, but I was surprised. I was
as well. Yeah. The most popular maker of Worcester sauce
(07:45):
is Lee and Parents. The sauce is British in origins,
but interestingly the British and US recipes are different. Instead
of malt vinegar, the US version calls for distilled white
to vinegar, which is gluten free and three times the
salt per one third ounce, and subs out the sugar
for high fruitose corn syrup.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Not really a surprise there no. Also missing from the
US formula is pork liver yo.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, there you go. Well, there's one thing that you
might be surprised about in the US as serving size
as a tea spoon. In the UK and Canada, it's
one tablespoon. You can find Worcester sauce esque type of
sauces all around the world under different names. Japan's Tongukcat
su sauce is an example similar. Yes, yeah, it can
be used for a lot of things, but I mainly
(08:29):
think of it as an ingredient in Bloody Mary's or
a marinade for steak or burgers or something. It's also
a common ingredient in deviled eggs, caesar salads, and Welsh
rare bits.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Or rabbits, depending on how you want to pronounce it.
Also cocktail sauce, meat loaf, sloppy joes, crabcakes, meat pies,
checks mix and barbecue sauces. Freeze dried Worcester sauce shows
up in a lot of barbecue spice rubes. Actually, it
also pairs well with oyster, and it is a flavor
of chip.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Of course, it is it is. My mom does love
Worcester sauce. I do too, but she uses it a lot.
But let's talk about how it's made. Let's get into
this how exciting part of it.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Oh yeah, okay, Well, so first of all, this this
is one of our the many products that we talk
about on the show that tastes the way it does
largely thanks to bacteria and yeast and they're poop.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yep, huzzah.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
It is a fermented product. The original Lea and parent
sauce is made like this. First, you pickle onions and
garlic and melt vinegar for one to two years.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
One to two years, yep.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Towards the end of that, you start carrying some anchovies
in salt for a few months.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
You heard anchovies everyone.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yep, anchovies, cured anchovies. Then you take those things. You
add some salt, some sugar, some white vinegar, some malt vinegar,
some tamarind concentrate, some molasses, and a bunch of other
flavorings and spices which are secret but possibly include clove, sherry, brandy, lemons,
soy sauce, pickles, hot peppers, and walnut and mushroom ketchups.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Hmmm.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
You mix all this together and let the whole mess
ferment for another several months, then strain, blend past your eyes,
and bottle.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah I really did not.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah, so it's a fermented fish sauce.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
It's a fermented fish sauce. I've never given it much thought,
but I always assumed it was kind of a like
soy sauce, but with something added in I think flavorings.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, Like I thought it was just like like spices, yeah,
and soy sauce.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
That's not what it is. Nope, nope, nope.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Fascinating, Yeah, super fascinating. The show How It's Made, which
has stuff works is not.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
No, we get confused for that all the time.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
The show How It's Made has an episode about how
It's made, and honestly, it's like a real gross looking
I totally recommend looking it up. It'll it's it's pretty cool,
and you can make this stuff at home. It won't
be quite the same as most rest peas do skip
the fermentation part, but you can come up with a
pretty decent version by slow cooking similar ingredients to the
(11:06):
manufactured version. And of course, if you're doing it at home,
you can leave out the anchovies. If you if you're vegetarian,
for example, or you can leave out the glutenous products
like the malt vinegar.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Yeah. Yeah, So if anyone gives that a try, let
us know.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Oh my goodness, please do yes, especially if you do
the fermented version. With the answer.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Two years later we get a listener mail it's finally happening.
Sauce is ready.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
I want it so much?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Okay, all right, yeah, Well we'll hold on hope that
in two years we hear from someone.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
But in the meanwhile, we're going to get into the
history of what's just your sauce. But first going to
get into a quick break for a word from our sponsor,
and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Thank you. The history on this one is surprisingly suspiciously
perhaps straightforward. Why what Yeah, if we go back to
fermented sauces, fermented sauce is based around fish and specifically anchovies.
Chase back all the way to ancient Rome.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
One of the first sauces, groom and or Liquomen, was
an extremely pungent fish sauce of smaller fish like anchovies,
then fermented alongside the intestines of larger fish. These fish
parts got a healthy marinate of salt and then we're
left in the sun for about two months, then drained
of all the resulting liquid. It originated in the ancient
(12:41):
Rome and was fairly well known in the Mediterranean by
fifth century BCE, as indicated by the remains found in
excavations from salteries in the region. Many recipes in the Epiciose,
one of the first cookbooks called for garam liquimen, including
in sweets. From there you'd find sauces like essence of
anchovy and anchovy sauce. We could include catch up in
(13:04):
this discussion of early fermented fish sauces as well. Oh yeah,
but Worcester sauce as we know it comes out of
England in the eighteen hundreds. The story is that a
posh nobleman went on holiday to Bengal in the nineteenth
century and developed quite a taste for the spices he
encountered there, or or possibly it was the one time
(13:27):
governor of Bengal, Lord Sandis. When he returned to England,
he sought out a way to capture some of these
flavors and ended up hiring two chemists for the job,
John Lee and William Parns. Their first attempts were not successful.
According to the Lee and Parens website quote, Lee and
parents were not impressed with their initial results. The pair
found the taste unpalatable and simply left the jars or
(13:50):
possibly the barrel in their cellar to gather dust. A
few years later, they stumbled across them and decided to
taste the contents again. To they their delight, the aging
process had turned it into a delicious savory sauce. Now
the whole Rich Fellow request thing might be totally foff,
more of a marketing ploy than anything else.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
There are actually no records of Lord Sandis ever being
in India, and certainly not indicating that he was the
governor of Bengal, so there's.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Some fishy parts of this story.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Another story goes that Lord Sanders's wife had a taste
for curry, and a friend of hers who had an
uncle who'd served as Chief Justice in India, gave her
a recipe and even recommended two chemists to help her
try it out or that could be completely made up
to at any rate.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
At any rate, The first batchman on sale in eighteen
thirty seven out of the Lean Parrin's Pharmacy in Worcester, England,
he's the name. It's not the only Worcester sauce from
the area either. The success of the lean Paren Sauce
led to over thirty competitor sauces just out of Worcester.
Part of the popularity of these sauces was not only
flavorizing bland food, but also tenderizing tough cuts of meat
(15:07):
and a fun gin and tonic throwback our gin and
tonic episode. Lee and parents also produced Quinine wine and
the purportedly anti malarial Quinn sauce or Quine sauce in
eighteen thirty from an eighteen thirty cookbook. Two wine glasses
of port and two of walnut pickle, four of mushroom ketchup,
(15:27):
half a dozen anchovies pounded, the like number of shallots,
sliced and pounded, a tablespoonful of soy, and half a
dram of cayenne pepper. Let them simmer gently for ten minutes,
strain it, and when cold, put it into bottles well
corked and sealed over. It will keep for considerable time.
Ops This is commonly called Quinn sauce, and was given
(15:49):
to me by a very sagacious sauce makerous Say Jacious goodness.
This is fun with pronunciation should be the other title
of this show. Absolutely also this note in a recipe
for essence of anchovy. I found quote fresh pickle mixed
with red paint. H I think maybe this met wine
(16:12):
read the pain.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
I hope it met wine.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I really I do as well. Hmmm. Worcester sauce was
pretty much an instant hit in its home region, and
one of the first steps liam parents took to spread
their sauce was getting it on dining tables of British
passenger ships. They wrapped the bottles in paper to keep
them from breaking, and to this day some of the
bottles are packaged that way. It didn't take long for
(16:35):
it to become a British staple, particularly as a sauce
for steaks. Some of the first ads for this stuff
were great, hailing it as digestive and that it would
make your hair beautiful, among many other medicinal uses. Worcester
sauce arrived in America via New York in eighteen thirty nine.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
A New York entrepreneur had ordered a bit to test out.
It was supposedly the first commercially bottle condiment in the
United States, and it was a huge hit.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
As the sauce grew in popularity, Lion parents were able
to give up their chemistry shop and start selling the
sauce full time by eighteen sixty six. Not too long after, though,
in eighteen seventy six, Liam Parens lost the copyright to
Worcester Sauce, allowing it to be used generically. The Lean
Parens variety is labeled as the original Worcester sauce.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
In the early to mid nineteen hundreds, Worcester sauce made
its way to Japan, along with a bunch of other
Western foods, where it was adapted into the thicker, sweeter sauce,
often literally just called sauce sausu, to be served with
foods like tankatsu, okonomiyaki, and takayaki. Sometime probably in the
(17:46):
late twentieth century, the original Lean Parrin's recipe, thought to
have been lost to the ages, was found by a
company accountant written in cepia ink in two leather folios
and a dumpster. Oh no, he rescued.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Them that that is a heartwarming tale of triumph right there.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Uh huh. And in two thousand and five, Hinz Company
acquired HP Foods Group, including Leeann Parens and their original
sauce for some eight hundred and twenty million dollars United States.
I mean that was for the whole group.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
But like still, I just did like a dramatic cartoonish
like shock mouth a gatee. Wow. Yeah, minds showing up again.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yes, sauces are Sauces are big business, that's true. I
mean condiments, y'all.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yeah, put them on my My family is a big
condiment family. So yeah, I mean I guess you use
them a lot, you put them on different things, wow,
lean parents all right, mm hmm. So that's the history.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah, and we do have a little bit of science
for you. But first we've got another quick break for
a word.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
From our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
There is just an amazing amount of flavor science involved
in every wee little bottle of oyster sauce. I mean
you're starting out with some of the most strongly flavorful
objects that I personally know of. Yeah, and their fermentation
does all sorts of really interesting things. Okay, this is
also another section full of pronunciations, So we're we're making
(19:26):
it happen this episode. We are all right, fermented anchovies
release iosinate, which is a savory flavor compound, and onions
add glutamic acid, another savory note. Those garlic and onions
bring some sulfurous compounds, including alison and dialyl disulfate, which
pin your pain receptors. That's actually why garlic and onions
taste a little bit like spicy. Yeah, it's that burn. Yeah,
(19:48):
it's totally pain receptors that are just going, oh oh yeah.
There's also probably a little bit of ethanol in there
from the fermentation process, which does more of the same
as we have talked about in our alcohol related episode. Tamarind,
molasses and sugar or high frictose corn syrup add some sweetness,
plus the tamarind gives it the tart twinge, tamarind being
(20:09):
a tropical fruit that tastes sort of sweetened sour. If
you've never had pure tamarind, a I recommend it. It's
really interesting. But b it's one of the primary ingredients
in pad thaie sauce. If that helps you place the flavor.
There's also kepsaiusin from hot peppers and eugenol from cloves
to provide a little bit more of that bite.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Yeah, and of.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Course, the specific yeasts and or bacteria that you're using
for your fermentation are going to make a huge difference
in the flavor profile. Good old Sacharomics Sera vizier is
a common one. It also makes stuff like beer and
sour dough bread happen, thank you, yeah, thank Indeed it
can also add iso amyl alcohol aka banana flavor.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Oh uh huh.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
And it and Britanno mices, which we talked about in
our sour Beer episode, provide ethylphenol aka a like barnyard
or earthy savory.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Flavor, barnyard flavor.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yeah, but yeah, no, seriously, Like think in your mental
catalog about Worcester shear sauce and you will find banana
in there.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I go try some after this.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I had never thought about it before, but it's that's
definitely a flavor that is in there.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Oh my gosh, I can't wait. Wait, And then now
I'm interested because I never would have thought that it
had roots in India, and now I want to try it,
like with that context in mine. Well, sure if I
can pick out different kind of those flavors.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
From those spices, from those spice road spices.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Sure, yeah, yeah, that is Worcester sauce. It's this was
a fun, surprising one. It is.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
It's as fun to read about as it is difficult
to pronounce.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
This is true, We've been. It's actually kind of fun
to say. If you can get it right, there's something
kind of fun about it. Worcester Share. Yeah, we're gonna
get people writing in and be like, actually, actually.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
There are at least four accepted pronunciations.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Okay, I hope we got one of them. I mean
we had to have. I did watch a video on
Huffington Post that was like almost every article I found
about Orchester sauce started with this. One's hard to say.
Here's this video. Go watch people trying to pronounce it.
It does not look to my eye that that is
the way you should pronounce it. But that does not
(22:32):
mean English is fun that way. I'd say war estics here. Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
I was looking at this earlier because it was driving
me nuts about how it could possibly be pronounced to
the way that it is. And I think that the
problem is is that we're looking at the syllables wrong,
Like we're looking at war chester Shire and it's not
war Chester. It's worse Esther.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Okay, like like the w r.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
CE Sure is one sound unit. It's war Yeah, christer
Sure Okay.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I remember the first time I was in London, I
made a fool of myself pronouncing oh god, now I
can't even remember to pronounce it Leicester.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Oh Leicester, it's just lester see.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah okay, oh still oh.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Old German words that made their way into English. Fun
with words, Thanks Chaucer. Yeah, thanks Printing Press for cementing
our language while the verbal part was still evolving.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
No, thanks, it's more like and that brings us to
the end of this classic episode. We hope that you
enjoyed it as much as we did. We had fun
making this one. For sure. I got to bring my
obscure Scooby Doo reference to light. Finally, it was fun.
(24:01):
And yes, if you have any recipes or ways you
like to use worceh to sure cells, you should hear
how my mom pronounces it is the most Southern pronunciation.
It's very cute. But yes, if you have any of
those recipes uses, please let us know. You can write in.
(24:25):
Our email is hello at savorpod dot com.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
We are also on social media. You can find us
on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. At saber Pod and we
do hope to hear from you. Savor is a production
of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you
can visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our
super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you
for listening, and we hope that lots more good things
(24:49):
are coming your way.
Hello and welcome savor prediction of iHeartRadio. I'm Annie Reese.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And I'm Lord Vocal bamb and today we have a
classic episode for you about What's to shear sauce.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Oh no, I still don't know how to pronounce it,
and I still always think of Scooby Doo. It's the
first thing I think of.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
It's one of the first things I think of now too.
So there you go.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
That's uh, you're welcome. Yeah, sure, okay.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
So this episode originally aired in June of twenty eighteen.
It's a really fun one.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I had forgotten.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
It goes a lot of places, It runs around a lot,
you know, just like the Scooby Gang.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
You know. Yeah, I will say I don't know why necessarily,
but I have been using more Worcester sauce. You did
a good job in things like spaghetti sauce. I've been
using it just to kind of add a little bit
(01:17):
of something else to sauces. So I've been on a kick.
I've been on a kick lately. That's fun.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Heck yeah, heck yeah, I yeah. I don't have any
deep updates. I will say that we have done full
episodes about a few of the ingredients that we're going
to talk about, so see those for more information. Tamarind
pops up for sure, Uh some of some of those. Oh, garam,
(01:45):
we did one on garam. Yeah yeah, which is that
ancient Roman fish sauce and uh yeah. The news update
that I have for you is that just a few
days ago. Actually not why I chose this as a classic,
but it does. Coincidentally, leading brand Lead Parents launched a
Bloody Marry mix in partnership with this brand called George's
(02:07):
Beverage Company, and for the launch of this product, they
are pairing with a few BLT restaurant locations around the
country to to do a branded cocktail plus themed and
entree dinner. The cocktails it is a Bloody Mary and
made with this mix, and the meal plays on some
(02:29):
of the toppings that are given to Bloody Mary's. The
the garnishes including a steak marinated in the wister shoe
sauce and then a skewer of shrimp and bacon and
grape tomatoes.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Oh well that sounds good. I mean, if anyone.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Goes yeah, please yeah, not a not a sponsor, I
think I think as of I think if if you
listen to this like the day that it airs. You
might have like two days left to go check this out.
I think it's only running the end of September through
like the first week of October. But you know, yeah, yeah,
if you have experienced it, let us know.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yes, please let us. But in the meantime, I guess
let's let pass. Danny and Lauren take it away. Hello,
and welcome to food Stuff. I'm Annie Reese.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
And I'm Lauren Vocal Bomb. And today, okay, we're talking
about Rochester. That's the take, isn't it It is, folks,
we're talking about Worcestershire sauce. Yes, yes, and we're probably
going to pronounce it differently every single time we say
(03:54):
it throughout this episode.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Yeah. I also jokingly in the outline call this this episode?
How many times must I use spell check? In one?
In one outline?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
I can't say it, but for some reason I can
spell it real good. I'm not sure. I'm not sure
what that's about. But okay, Whatster your sauce?
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Worcester your sauce? If if you listeners remember the Bloody
Merry episode, Oh yeah, you might remember that.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
I got like, like I do, remember that.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
I vaguely recall I mentioned a story about Scooby Doo
that no one I'm pretty sure no one ever gets.
So every time I hear Worcester sauce or it comes
up in conversation, I always say, Worcester your sauce. I
hate Worcester sauce, and then the people are like, really why,
(04:46):
I'm like, it's a Scooby Doo quote. My mom every
time I do that, she's like, I thought you loved
Worcester sauce, And every time I have to explain it's
from Scooby Doo and uh. I would like to include
the clip so that you can enjoy the beautifultural moment,
very very important, share it with us.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yes, yes, sir, give me some more of this hereauce.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I hate.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
It's yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That's a clip of a villain from the New Adventures
of Scooby and Scrappy Doo who is found out because
of his immense hatred for Worcestershire sauce.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yeah, and I recommend looking it up, both because I
love it and also because he does quite the hand
body gestures, body flail yeah when he says that it's
admirable sauce. Oh yeah, absolutely, but we're not the only
ones that struggle to pronounce it. Then. Also, there's a
gag about this in South Park. Yes, in the first
(05:48):
season there's an episode called Pinky where Kenny is turned
into a zombie after a mortician accidentally spills Worcester Sauce
into the embalming fluid.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
And it's not scientifically accurate by the way.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
No, but in the show, they the only reason to stop,
like the zombie outbreak, the only reason, the only way
is I can't remember oh to kill the original zombie.
But they only find that out after they call the
Worcester Sauce Hotline. There's a number on the back that's
like for any comments, complaints, concerns or if there's a
zombie outbreak, please call the Worcester Sauce hot hot Line.
(06:26):
And they do and there's a great, like two minute
bit where they're on the phone talking about their zombie
outbreak and what to do. It's really funny, it's really gay.
And it was originally instead of Worcechester Sauce, it was
going to be Doctor Pepper, but Doctor Pepper was like, nah, no,
how about nah yeah, So it became Worcechester Sauce. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Which is not an official copyright.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
No, and we will talk about that a little bit.
But okay, now this brings us to our Worcester sauce.
What is it? Bit?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yes, well, Worcester sauce is a thin brown colored liquid
seasoning slash sauce that tastes sort of salty, savory, sweet, tart, earthy, spiced.
And I know that that might sound like I just
said everything like all of the flavors that you can
experience in a list. Yeah, but that is what it
(07:22):
tastes like.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
It is as a fun little exercise. I would love
for everyone to like stop them think what do you
think Worcester sauce is? Just get that in your head
and U I suspect you might be in for a surprise.
I could be wrong, but I was surprised. I was
as well. Yeah. The most popular maker of Worcester sauce
(07:45):
is Lee and Parents. The sauce is British in origins,
but interestingly the British and US recipes are different. Instead
of malt vinegar, the US version calls for distilled white
to vinegar, which is gluten free and three times the
salt per one third ounce, and subs out the sugar
for high fruitose corn syrup.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Not really a surprise there no. Also missing from the
US formula is pork liver yo.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, there you go. Well, there's one thing that you
might be surprised about in the US as serving size
as a tea spoon. In the UK and Canada, it's
one tablespoon. You can find Worcester sauce esque type of
sauces all around the world under different names. Japan's Tongukcat
su sauce is an example similar. Yes, yeah, it can
be used for a lot of things, but I mainly
(08:29):
think of it as an ingredient in Bloody Mary's or
a marinade for steak or burgers or something. It's also
a common ingredient in deviled eggs, caesar salads, and Welsh
rare bits.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Or rabbits, depending on how you want to pronounce it.
Also cocktail sauce, meat loaf, sloppy joes, crabcakes, meat pies,
checks mix and barbecue sauces. Freeze dried Worcester sauce shows
up in a lot of barbecue spice rubes. Actually, it
also pairs well with oyster, and it is a flavor
of chip.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Of course, it is it is. My mom does love
Worcester sauce. I do too, but she uses it a lot.
But let's talk about how it's made. Let's get into
this how exciting part of it.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Oh yeah, okay, Well, so first of all, this this
is one of our the many products that we talk
about on the show that tastes the way it does
largely thanks to bacteria and yeast and they're poop.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yep, huzzah.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
It is a fermented product. The original Lea and parent
sauce is made like this. First, you pickle onions and
garlic and melt vinegar for one to two years.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
One to two years, yep.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Towards the end of that, you start carrying some anchovies
in salt for a few months.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
You heard anchovies everyone.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yep, anchovies, cured anchovies. Then you take those things. You
add some salt, some sugar, some white vinegar, some malt vinegar,
some tamarind concentrate, some molasses, and a bunch of other
flavorings and spices which are secret but possibly include clove, sherry, brandy, lemons,
soy sauce, pickles, hot peppers, and walnut and mushroom ketchups.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Hmmm.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
You mix all this together and let the whole mess
ferment for another several months, then strain, blend past your eyes,
and bottle.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah I really did not.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah, so it's a fermented fish sauce.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
It's a fermented fish sauce. I've never given it much thought,
but I always assumed it was kind of a like
soy sauce, but with something added in I think flavorings.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, Like I thought it was just like like spices, yeah,
and soy sauce.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
That's not what it is. Nope, nope, nope.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Fascinating, Yeah, super fascinating. The show How It's Made, which
has stuff works is not.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
No, we get confused for that all the time.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
The show How It's Made has an episode about how
It's made, and honestly, it's like a real gross looking
I totally recommend looking it up. It'll it's it's pretty cool,
and you can make this stuff at home. It won't
be quite the same as most rest peas do skip
the fermentation part, but you can come up with a
pretty decent version by slow cooking similar ingredients to the
(11:06):
manufactured version. And of course, if you're doing it at home,
you can leave out the anchovies. If you if you're vegetarian,
for example, or you can leave out the glutenous products
like the malt vinegar.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Yeah. Yeah, So if anyone gives that a try, let
us know.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Oh my goodness, please do yes, especially if you do
the fermented version. With the answer.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Two years later we get a listener mail it's finally happening.
Sauce is ready.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
I want it so much?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Okay, all right, yeah, Well we'll hold on hope that
in two years we hear from someone.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
But in the meanwhile, we're going to get into the
history of what's just your sauce. But first going to
get into a quick break for a word from our sponsor,
and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Thank you. The history on this one is surprisingly suspiciously
perhaps straightforward. Why what Yeah, if we go back to
fermented sauces, fermented sauce is based around fish and specifically anchovies.
Chase back all the way to ancient Rome.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
One of the first sauces, groom and or Liquomen, was
an extremely pungent fish sauce of smaller fish like anchovies,
then fermented alongside the intestines of larger fish. These fish
parts got a healthy marinate of salt and then we're
left in the sun for about two months, then drained
of all the resulting liquid. It originated in the ancient
(12:41):
Rome and was fairly well known in the Mediterranean by
fifth century BCE, as indicated by the remains found in
excavations from salteries in the region. Many recipes in the Epiciose,
one of the first cookbooks called for garam liquimen, including
in sweets. From there you'd find sauces like essence of
anchovy and anchovy sauce. We could include catch up in
(13:04):
this discussion of early fermented fish sauces as well. Oh yeah,
but Worcester sauce as we know it comes out of
England in the eighteen hundreds. The story is that a
posh nobleman went on holiday to Bengal in the nineteenth
century and developed quite a taste for the spices he
encountered there, or or possibly it was the one time
(13:27):
governor of Bengal, Lord Sandis. When he returned to England,
he sought out a way to capture some of these
flavors and ended up hiring two chemists for the job,
John Lee and William Parns. Their first attempts were not successful.
According to the Lee and Parens website quote, Lee and
parents were not impressed with their initial results. The pair
found the taste unpalatable and simply left the jars or
(13:50):
possibly the barrel in their cellar to gather dust. A
few years later, they stumbled across them and decided to
taste the contents again. To they their delight, the aging
process had turned it into a delicious savory sauce. Now
the whole Rich Fellow request thing might be totally foff,
more of a marketing ploy than anything else.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
There are actually no records of Lord Sandis ever being
in India, and certainly not indicating that he was the
governor of Bengal, so there's.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Some fishy parts of this story.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Another story goes that Lord Sanders's wife had a taste
for curry, and a friend of hers who had an
uncle who'd served as Chief Justice in India, gave her
a recipe and even recommended two chemists to help her
try it out or that could be completely made up
to at any rate.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
At any rate, The first batchman on sale in eighteen
thirty seven out of the Lean Parrin's Pharmacy in Worcester, England,
he's the name. It's not the only Worcester sauce from
the area either. The success of the lean Paren Sauce
led to over thirty competitor sauces just out of Worcester.
Part of the popularity of these sauces was not only
flavorizing bland food, but also tenderizing tough cuts of meat
(15:07):
and a fun gin and tonic throwback our gin and
tonic episode. Lee and parents also produced Quinine wine and
the purportedly anti malarial Quinn sauce or Quine sauce in
eighteen thirty from an eighteen thirty cookbook. Two wine glasses
of port and two of walnut pickle, four of mushroom ketchup,
(15:27):
half a dozen anchovies pounded, the like number of shallots,
sliced and pounded, a tablespoonful of soy, and half a
dram of cayenne pepper. Let them simmer gently for ten minutes,
strain it, and when cold, put it into bottles well
corked and sealed over. It will keep for considerable time.
Ops This is commonly called Quinn sauce, and was given
(15:49):
to me by a very sagacious sauce makerous Say Jacious goodness.
This is fun with pronunciation should be the other title
of this show. Absolutely also this note in a recipe
for essence of anchovy. I found quote fresh pickle mixed
with red paint. H I think maybe this met wine
(16:12):
read the pain.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
I hope it met wine.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I really I do as well. Hmmm. Worcester sauce was
pretty much an instant hit in its home region, and
one of the first steps liam parents took to spread
their sauce was getting it on dining tables of British
passenger ships. They wrapped the bottles in paper to keep
them from breaking, and to this day some of the
bottles are packaged that way. It didn't take long for
(16:35):
it to become a British staple, particularly as a sauce
for steaks. Some of the first ads for this stuff
were great, hailing it as digestive and that it would
make your hair beautiful, among many other medicinal uses. Worcester
sauce arrived in America via New York in eighteen thirty nine.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
A New York entrepreneur had ordered a bit to test out.
It was supposedly the first commercially bottle condiment in the
United States, and it was a huge hit.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
As the sauce grew in popularity, Lion parents were able
to give up their chemistry shop and start selling the
sauce full time by eighteen sixty six. Not too long after, though,
in eighteen seventy six, Liam Parens lost the copyright to
Worcester Sauce, allowing it to be used generically. The Lean
Parens variety is labeled as the original Worcester sauce.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
In the early to mid nineteen hundreds, Worcester sauce made
its way to Japan, along with a bunch of other
Western foods, where it was adapted into the thicker, sweeter sauce,
often literally just called sauce sausu, to be served with
foods like tankatsu, okonomiyaki, and takayaki. Sometime probably in the
(17:46):
late twentieth century, the original Lean Parrin's recipe, thought to
have been lost to the ages, was found by a
company accountant written in cepia ink in two leather folios
and a dumpster. Oh no, he rescued.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Them that that is a heartwarming tale of triumph right there.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Uh huh. And in two thousand and five, Hinz Company
acquired HP Foods Group, including Leeann Parens and their original
sauce for some eight hundred and twenty million dollars United States.
I mean that was for the whole group.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
But like still, I just did like a dramatic cartoonish
like shock mouth a gatee. Wow. Yeah, minds showing up again.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yes, sauces are Sauces are big business, that's true. I
mean condiments, y'all.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yeah, put them on my My family is a big
condiment family. So yeah, I mean I guess you use
them a lot, you put them on different things, wow,
lean parents all right, mm hmm. So that's the history.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah, and we do have a little bit of science
for you. But first we've got another quick break for
a word.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
From our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
There is just an amazing amount of flavor science involved
in every wee little bottle of oyster sauce. I mean
you're starting out with some of the most strongly flavorful
objects that I personally know of. Yeah, and their fermentation
does all sorts of really interesting things. Okay, this is
also another section full of pronunciations, So we're we're making
(19:26):
it happen this episode. We are all right, fermented anchovies
release iosinate, which is a savory flavor compound, and onions
add glutamic acid, another savory note. Those garlic and onions
bring some sulfurous compounds, including alison and dialyl disulfate, which
pin your pain receptors. That's actually why garlic and onions
taste a little bit like spicy. Yeah, it's that burn. Yeah,
(19:48):
it's totally pain receptors that are just going, oh oh yeah.
There's also probably a little bit of ethanol in there
from the fermentation process, which does more of the same
as we have talked about in our alcohol related episode. Tamarind,
molasses and sugar or high frictose corn syrup add some sweetness,
plus the tamarind gives it the tart twinge, tamarind being
(20:09):
a tropical fruit that tastes sort of sweetened sour. If
you've never had pure tamarind, a I recommend it. It's
really interesting. But b it's one of the primary ingredients
in pad thaie sauce. If that helps you place the flavor.
There's also kepsaiusin from hot peppers and eugenol from cloves
to provide a little bit more of that bite.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Yeah, and of.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Course, the specific yeasts and or bacteria that you're using
for your fermentation are going to make a huge difference
in the flavor profile. Good old Sacharomics Sera vizier is
a common one. It also makes stuff like beer and
sour dough bread happen, thank you, yeah, thank Indeed it
can also add iso amyl alcohol aka banana flavor.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Oh uh huh.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
And it and Britanno mices, which we talked about in
our sour Beer episode, provide ethylphenol aka a like barnyard
or earthy savory.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Flavor, barnyard flavor.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yeah, but yeah, no, seriously, Like think in your mental
catalog about Worcester shear sauce and you will find banana
in there.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I go try some after this.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I had never thought about it before, but it's that's
definitely a flavor that is in there.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Oh my gosh, I can't wait. Wait, And then now
I'm interested because I never would have thought that it
had roots in India, and now I want to try it,
like with that context in mine. Well, sure if I
can pick out different kind of those flavors.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
From those spices, from those spice road spices.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Sure, yeah, yeah, that is Worcester sauce. It's this was
a fun, surprising one. It is.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
It's as fun to read about as it is difficult
to pronounce.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
This is true, We've been. It's actually kind of fun
to say. If you can get it right, there's something
kind of fun about it. Worcester Share. Yeah, we're gonna
get people writing in and be like, actually, actually.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
There are at least four accepted pronunciations.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Okay, I hope we got one of them. I mean
we had to have. I did watch a video on
Huffington Post that was like almost every article I found
about Orchester sauce started with this. One's hard to say.
Here's this video. Go watch people trying to pronounce it.
It does not look to my eye that that is
the way you should pronounce it. But that does not
(22:32):
mean English is fun that way. I'd say war estics here. Okay.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
I was looking at this earlier because it was driving
me nuts about how it could possibly be pronounced to
the way that it is. And I think that the
problem is is that we're looking at the syllables wrong,
Like we're looking at war chester Shire and it's not
war Chester. It's worse Esther.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Okay, like like the w r.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
CE Sure is one sound unit. It's war Yeah, christer
Sure Okay.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I remember the first time I was in London, I
made a fool of myself pronouncing oh god, now I
can't even remember to pronounce it Leicester.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Oh Leicester, it's just lester see.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah okay, oh still oh.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Old German words that made their way into English. Fun
with words, Thanks Chaucer. Yeah, thanks Printing Press for cementing
our language while the verbal part was still evolving.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
No, thanks, it's more like and that brings us to
the end of this classic episode. We hope that you
enjoyed it as much as we did. We had fun
making this one. For sure. I got to bring my
obscure Scooby Doo reference to light. Finally, it was fun.
(24:01):
And yes, if you have any recipes or ways you
like to use worceh to sure cells, you should hear
how my mom pronounces it is the most Southern pronunciation.
It's very cute. But yes, if you have any of
those recipes uses, please let us know. You can write in.
(24:25):
Our email is hello at savorpod dot com.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
We are also on social media. You can find us
on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. At saber Pod and we
do hope to hear from you. Savor is a production
of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you
can visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our
super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you
for listening, and we hope that lots more good things
(24:49):
are coming your way.
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