History

figree

A Brief History of Lord Sandy’s Worcestershire Sauce

A Brief History of Lord Sandy’s Worcestershire Sauce

"While traveling the high seas of the Far East, I have developed an appetite for not only adventure and knowledge, but also for the most unique and rare ingredients available throughout these exotic cultures.  For this creation, the secret of my recipe lies in the marriage of naturally brewed soy tamari and vinegar, further infused with a potpourri of spices from the farthest of fields and deepest of jungles -- at the end result, this concoction exhibits a peculiar piquancy that adds an invigorating zest to all my culinary creations"

~Lord Sandy, 1877

1877

Lord Sandy devises his proprietary concoction while docked on Hong Kong harbor after endless iterations of ingredients' combinations using naturally brewed soy sauce as the recipe's base.

1881*

Most of the soy sauce manufactured in Canton is shipped to England, where it is used in large quantities as a base for the production of worcestershire sauces.

1886*

During most of the 1800's, the ingredients used in making worcestershire sauce were a carefully kept secret. A reporter from The Washington Post, in writing about soy sauce, is the first to state that soy sauce is used as a key ingredient in worcestershire sauce.

​“One score and two years since the genesis of my worcestershire sauce, I set sail for the Americas, whose sunny fields are world renowned for yielding the most delectable tomatoes directly off the vine.  Whilst dining in Princeton with the country’s foremost tomato baron, we mixed a spoonful of his puree with my worcestershire and by happenstance formed a profound ambrosia of a scarlet brown hue.  Upon my return to London, I shall present this glorious creation to our Prime Minister, the Most Honourable 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, as the most transcendent condiment to welcome in the next centennial.”

~Lord Sandy, 1899

1902*

For the first time in a cookbook, it is stated that soy sauce “forms the foundation of” worcestershire sauce.

1940-1945*

During World War II, when soy sauce became extremely difficult to obtain, its use was discontinued by many worcestershire sauce manufacturers and replaced by less expensive non-fermented hydrolyzed vegetable protein. 

2013

Lord Sandy's lost worcestershire sauce recipe is discovered and recreated for 21st century consumers to experience his original creation.

* Shurtleff, William, Akiko Aoyagi.  History of Worcestershire Sauce.  Publication. Soy Info Center, 2013.