Now, maybe a lot of people know this, but I didn't until my later adult life.
I think we all identify with Lea & Perrin's as being the original "Worchester-ester-shire" sauce. It was originally invented in 1837, but its history is kind of interesting.
So, the Brits were in search of a flavoring from India called "Garum". They narrowed this flavor down to fermented fish and other spices cured in a barrel and Lea and Perrin decided to commission a local pharmacist to barrel some of their own. They took a bunch of dead herring and spices and threw them in a barrel and aged them for what they thought was appropriate (the exact time is unclear, but is thought to be about 45-60 days). When opened, the barrel had the stench of something unholy and was completely inedible. The experiment was a complete failure. With nowhere to dispose of the putrid contents, Lea and Perrin had the pharmacist re-bung the barrel and it was moved out of their way in this warehouse.
Nearly two years later, the floor space in this warehouse was needed for something else, and the caretakers came across this barrel of fermented fish and spices. By then, the mixture had mellowed into this delightful sauce we now know today as Worcestershire ("Wurshestur-chester,-ester-shire"-or whatever) sauce. The fermentation time had allowed the spices, liquids and rotting fish to meld into something which was really flavorful.
Lea and Perrin bottled it, and it was an immediate hit, which became the Worcestershire sauce from Lea & Perrin's, in the brown paper bag, which we know today.
Incidentally, the brown bag was to keep sunlight from getting through the brown glass and causing the flavor of the mixture to fade. (So, don't leave your Lea & Perrin's sans the bag, out on the counter or the table or too long, and always make sure to shake it to get all the good bits up into the mixture and onto your food!!
Just a fun trivia fact.
edit - The brown paper bag was also used to keep the bottles from breaking during shipping.
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Tabasco Sauce- Has an equally interesting history.
Avery Island, in Louisiana, where Tabasco Sauce is produced, originally went bankrupt following the civil war (long story). All the McIlhenny family had money for was a few red pepper seeds, and eventually the entire island became overgrown with red chili peppers (another long story). Nobody knew what to do with all these peppers back then, and the only other readily available thing to keep their only crop from spoiling was vinegar, so they mixed the two together. After some trial and error, it didn't take long to get to the mixture known as "Tabasco Sauce" we know today.
In the time since those days, the Tabasco sauce remains largely like it did back in the mid-1800's. I am kind of "Meh!" on Tabasco Sauce (I go for much hotter without the vinegar), but I still find the history of the product cool.
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"Fish Sauce" - Like the kind you see over in SE Asia has an even darker history which lives, by tradition, to this day. That stuff is absolutely delicious!! BUT, you'd never know it by smelling it. On food though, that stuff is pure magic!
The whole process of making it is probably one of the most repulsive things I've ever seen (or smelled), but the way it comes together at the end is this fabulous sauce which no two are alike. Fish sauce from Malaysia is completely different from Thailand, completely different from Singapore, and China, and Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia. Korea especially. They're all different, and they're all delicious! Just have to watch for the salt though, because all of them are very high in sodium. (some way more than others).
I think we all identify with Lea & Perrin's as being the original "Worchester-ester-shire" sauce. It was originally invented in 1837, but its history is kind of interesting.
So, the Brits were in search of a flavoring from India called "Garum". They narrowed this flavor down to fermented fish and other spices cured in a barrel and Lea and Perrin decided to commission a local pharmacist to barrel some of their own. They took a bunch of dead herring and spices and threw them in a barrel and aged them for what they thought was appropriate (the exact time is unclear, but is thought to be about 45-60 days). When opened, the barrel had the stench of something unholy and was completely inedible. The experiment was a complete failure. With nowhere to dispose of the putrid contents, Lea and Perrin had the pharmacist re-bung the barrel and it was moved out of their way in this warehouse.
Nearly two years later, the floor space in this warehouse was needed for something else, and the caretakers came across this barrel of fermented fish and spices. By then, the mixture had mellowed into this delightful sauce we now know today as Worcestershire ("Wurshestur-chester,-ester-shire"-or whatever) sauce. The fermentation time had allowed the spices, liquids and rotting fish to meld into something which was really flavorful.
Lea and Perrin bottled it, and it was an immediate hit, which became the Worcestershire sauce from Lea & Perrin's, in the brown paper bag, which we know today.
Incidentally, the brown bag was to keep sunlight from getting through the brown glass and causing the flavor of the mixture to fade. (So, don't leave your Lea & Perrin's sans the bag, out on the counter or the table or too long, and always make sure to shake it to get all the good bits up into the mixture and onto your food!!
Just a fun trivia fact.
edit - The brown paper bag was also used to keep the bottles from breaking during shipping.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tabasco Sauce- Has an equally interesting history.
Avery Island, in Louisiana, where Tabasco Sauce is produced, originally went bankrupt following the civil war (long story). All the McIlhenny family had money for was a few red pepper seeds, and eventually the entire island became overgrown with red chili peppers (another long story). Nobody knew what to do with all these peppers back then, and the only other readily available thing to keep their only crop from spoiling was vinegar, so they mixed the two together. After some trial and error, it didn't take long to get to the mixture known as "Tabasco Sauce" we know today.
In the time since those days, the Tabasco sauce remains largely like it did back in the mid-1800's. I am kind of "Meh!" on Tabasco Sauce (I go for much hotter without the vinegar), but I still find the history of the product cool.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Fish Sauce" - Like the kind you see over in SE Asia has an even darker history which lives, by tradition, to this day. That stuff is absolutely delicious!! BUT, you'd never know it by smelling it. On food though, that stuff is pure magic!
The whole process of making it is probably one of the most repulsive things I've ever seen (or smelled), but the way it comes together at the end is this fabulous sauce which no two are alike. Fish sauce from Malaysia is completely different from Thailand, completely different from Singapore, and China, and Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia. Korea especially. They're all different, and they're all delicious! Just have to watch for the salt though, because all of them are very high in sodium. (some way more than others).
