Lea & Perrins (L&P) is a United Kingdom-based subsidiary of

Kraft Heinz The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz (), is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and the H.J. Heinz Company co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is t ...

, originating in

Worcester, England Worcester ( ) is a cathedral city in Worcestershire, England, of which it is the county town. It is south-west of Birmingham, north of Gloucester and north-east of Hereford. The population was 103,872 in the 2021 census. The River Severn f ...

where it continues to operate. It is the manufacturer of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, a condiment first invented and sold in 1837 by chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins from Broad Street, Worcester. It is currently produced in the Midland Road factory in Worcester that Lea and Perrins built. The sauce was first imported to the United States by the Duncan family of New York in 1839 and they continued to be involved for over a hundred years. A subsidiary in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

currently manufactures an American version of the recipe.

Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire Sauce is produced at the Midland Road factory in Worcester, built by Lea and Perrins. Midland Road was named after the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

, the factory originally having rail sidings to provide raw materials and distribution.

Ingredients

Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce UK and US recipes differ slightly in that the UK recipe uses malt vinegar while the US version uses distilled white vinegar. Also, the US version used high fructose corn syrup until 2011 when they reverted to sugar due to health concerns; the UK version has always used sugar. The UK version is sold in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In the UK, the bottle is known to consumers for its shape and the orange and black label. The precise recipe has been a

trade secret A trade secret is a form of intellectual property (IP) comprising confidential information that is not generally known or readily ascertainable, derives economic value from its secrecy, and is protected by reasonable efforts to maintain its conf ...

, but an original 19th-century list of ingredients was found in a

skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aiding ...

at the factory in 2009 and includes vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies,

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

extract, onions, and garlic and other ingredients which may include

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or Aroma compound, fragrance in fin ...

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

, lemons, pickles and peppers. The current recipe includes malt (or distilled white in the U.S.) vinegar, molasses, sugar, water, salt, onions, anchovies, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, and chili pepper extract.

Other products

An 1846 advertising pamphlet by Lea & Perrins showcase their pharmacy's preparation of "Dr. Locock's Lotion for the Growth of the Hair", "Taraxacum" ( dandelion coffee), and "Essence of Coffee", along with Worcestershire sauce. While Kraft only markets a single variety of Worcestershire sauce under different sizes in the UK and in Canada, a few more products are marketed under the L&P brand in the United States. These include a reduced-sodium version of the sauce, a steak sauce, and marinades in peppercorn and

vinaigrette Vinaigrette ( , ) is made by mixing an edible oil with a mild acid such as vinegar (acetic acid) or lemon juice ( citric acid). The mixture can be enhanced with salt, herbs and/or spices. It is used most commonly as a salad dressing, but can ...

flavours.

Gallery

File:Lea & Perrins lotion for growth of hair.jpg, First page of Lea & Perrins advertising pamphlet describing their manufacture of Dr. Locock's hair growth lotion, 1846 File:1875 ad Lea & Perrins.png, 1875 ad for Lea & Perrins in the ''Era Almanack'', with tagline "The Only Good Sauce"

References

External links