In these days of such rapid change, it’s nice to run across a product that was founded so long ago and has remained in business. As a concession to modern times, though, they did introduce a low sodium version in 2010.

The Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce company was founded in 1837 in Worcester, England, by chemists John Lea and William Perrins. It’s now a subsidiary of Kraft Heinz, though it is still being producens in Worcester, England.

The sauce contains malt vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies, tamarind extract, onions, garlic, and secret spices. The sauce ages in wooden casks for 18 months to develop its deep flavor.

The information below comes from a cooking booklet from Lea & Perrins published in 1922. Even though the publication date is not from the 1800s, the sauce was produced in 1837 and used during that century and continuing today. You can download a free copy of this book, called “Seasoning Suggestions” with over 150 recipes from the Project Gutenberg website by clicking on this link: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61678.

FROM “SEASONING SUGGESTIONS” LEA & PERRINS, 1922

After all, there are only a certain number of meats and fishes. But the thing that makes them seem more varied–the different feature of each is the dressing or gravy that is served with them–the dressing which is made through the inimitable flavor of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=, a distinguishing addition to the dish.The zest, the piquancy, the keen edge, gives to a dressing or gravy has long been known and used to advantage by the high-salaried chefs of our luxurious restaurants and hotels.And now that the chef’s secret is known, every homemaker has at her fingers’ ends the basic knowledge for creating from one or two recipes an infinite variety of rich, delicious dressings that will transform the plainest food and make the simplest home meal an appetizing repast.

Foods that are too dry can be bettered with a thin dressing–enhanced by the addition of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=; for more moist foods a thicker gravy, also seasoned with Lea & Perrins’ Sauce, should be added. Plain dishes may be embellished, rich dishes “toned down” with contrasting flavors.

                          STEWS AND CASSEROLE DISHES

In stews and casserole dishes our object is to make tender by slow, long cooking the meat selected, besides cooking with it herbs, spices and vegetables to supplement and flavor it.

Of all the spices and herbs which it is possible to add to these casseroles and stews, there is no seasoning that will produce just that zestful, appetizing flavor which =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=–gives. Use it freely in seasoning all kinds of long-cooked meat dishes–goulashes, pot roasts, ragouts, stews, casseroles and meat pies. Use it also in making meat loaf and rolled meated dishes, in croquettes and timbales.

                           ROASTED MEAT LOAF
   
1 tablespoon of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=.
3 cups of finely ground raw meat (about 2 pounds).
2 cups of soft bread crumbs.
2 slices of bacon.
1 cup of celery.
1 green pepper.
1 onion.
1 egg.

Mix the finely ground meat with the bread crumbs and celery. Add the chopped green pepper, a little salt and pepper, the egg well beaten and the =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=. Add enough water to make the mixture moist and pack into a greased brick-shaped pan. Place in the ice-box* to chill, then remove when cold to a greased roasting pan, turning the loaf out of the mold. Place the bacon cut into thick strips on top of the loaf and also slices of the onion. Pour a cup of thin tomato sauce over the whole and roast the meat in a hot oven* for from fifty minutes to an hour. Serve hot with Tomato Sauce, sliced onion and crisp bacon.

*ice-box – a wooden box lined with tin or zinc, insulated with various materials, and containing a large block of ice. They were often called refrigerators until the electric refrigerator was invented.

*hot or quick oven – about 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit.

                             EGG AND OLIVE SANDWICH FILLING

Chop 2 hard-cooked eggs into fine pieces and add to them 4 tablespoons of finely chopped olives. Add to these enough olive oil to moisten. Season with 1 teaspoon of =Lea & Pe rrins’Sauce= and spread on sandwiches.

                              MINCED MEAT

Grind ham, chicken, veal or any desired meat through the meat grinder and measure it by the cupful. To every cupful add 1 tablespoon of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce= and 4 tablespoons of chopped sour pickles. Add salt and spread between sandwiches.

                      SALAD DRESSINGS AND SALADS

In salad dressings, where flavor and spices are the very heart of the recipe, =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce= reaches the height of its seasoning power. Use it in your own favorite salad dressing or in the delicious salad dressing recipes given here. You will be surprised and delighted with the new, piquant taste, in a never-to-be-equalled manner, to the dish.

                          MAYONNAISE DRESSING

1 tablespoon of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=.
2 egg yolks.
1 teaspoon of soft sugar.
½ teaspoon of salt.
1 pint of olive oil.
2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
2 tablespoons of vinegar.

Beat the yolks of the eggs well. Add the =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce= and the vinegar and stir well. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and beat well. Use a double-wheel egg-beater from this stage on. Add the olive oil first by teaspoons and then tablespoons at a time, beating constantly and rapidly. When all of the oil has been used, add 2 tablespoons of boiling water to smooth the sauce. Put in a cold bowl or pint preserve jar and keep in the ice-box until needed.

                         COOKED SALAD DRESSING

1 teaspoon of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=.
2 egg yolks.
½ teaspoon of salt.
1 teaspoon of sugar.
½ cup of milk.
1 cup of oil.
2 tablespoons of vinegar.

Add the dry ingredients to the well-beaten yolks of the eggs. Beat until well blended and then add the milk, vinegar and oil. Cook in the top of a double boiler until smooth and thick and beat with an egg-beater during the cooking so that it will not curdle. Remove from the fire as soon as it reaches the correct consistency.Plunge the pan into cold water and continue beating. Add =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=. Put into a preserve jar for convenient keeping in the ice-box.

                       FRENCH DRESSING

2 teaspoons of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=.
2 teaspoons of vinegar.
3 tablespoons of olive oil.
½ teaspoon of salt.

First rub a small bowl with ice. Remove and add the salt, the =Lea & Perrins’= Sauce and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir well and add the vinegar. As the dressing thickens through stirring, add the rest of the olive oil and continue beating. This may be poured into a bottle and kept in the ice-box, beating or shaking again before it is served.

                             DEVILED EGGS

To yolks of one-half dozen hard boiled eggs add 1 tablespoon salad dressing, 1 small teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce= and 1 teaspoon each of finely chopped celery and onion. These are very fine served on lettuce leaves with mayonnaise dressing containing =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=.

           CATSUPS, CHUTNEYS, PICKLES AND HOME-MADE RELISHES

In pickling, we think first of Grandmother and the delicious catsups, pickles and chutneys which she served with Sunday-night suppers and wonder why we see these delicious relishes so seldom these days. But we need not forego our home-made catsups, pickles and chow-chows, nor even find them less relishing because we have no herb garden.

Use =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce= in seasoning catsups, chow-chows, pickles, vinegars, chutneys, piccalilli and chilli sauce relishes–it is the unequalled spice for them all.

                            MUSHROOM CATSUP

3 tablespoons of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=.
2 quarts of mushrooms.
1 cup of vinegar.
1 tablespoon of salt.
1 tablespoon of mustard.

Peel the mushrooms, cut into small pieces, cover with ½ cup of boiling water and cook until quite tender and soft. Mash through a fine purée strainer or sieve and add the vinegar, salt, and then the =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=. Cook from half to three-quarters of an hour or until of the consistency of catsup and pour into sterilized bottles and seal at once. Label and store.

                            TOMATO CHUTNEY

4 tablespoons of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=.
4 quarts of tomatoes.
1 quart of onions.
1 quart of apples.
1 pound of raisins.
1½ cups of brown sugar.
1 tablespoon of salt.
1 quart of vinegar.

Peel the tomatoes and cut fine. Peel and chop the onions, skin and chop the apples, and place all of these ingredients in a heavy iron kettle. Add the brown sugar and salt. Cook for half an hour, add the vinegar, boil ten minutes longer, then add the =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

                           RED PEPPER RELISH

2 tablespoons of =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce=.
4 quarts of red peppers.
2 green peppers.
4 pounds of brown sugar.
1 teaspoon of salt.
1 quart of vinegar.

Remove seeds and pulp from peppers and cut into long, thin strips with scissors. Cover with boiling water and simmer, but do not boil, for ten minutes. Drain and plunge into ice water. Remove. Pack in hot sterilized jars. Add the sugar, salt and =Lea & Perrins’ Sauce= to the vinegar. Boil until all are well blended and pour over the peppers. Seal the jars. Label and store in a cool place.

REMEMBER:–_Lea & Perrins’ is the Only Original Worcestershire Sauce. None of the so-called “Worcestershires” can be used in these recipes with good results.

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You can download a free copy of the book, “Seasoning Suggestions” with over 150 recipes from the Project Gutenberg website by clicking on this link: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61678.

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Do You Use Worcestershire Sauce? Please Leave a Comment Below.

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