Lea & Perrins, two Worcestershire chemists, were asked by Lord Marcus Sandys, the former governor to Bengal, to create a fish sauce that later became Worcestershire Sauce. Their finished product, however, proved to be anything but pleasing. Disappointed, they banished their brew to the cellar. There, the sauce lay forgotten until the pair stumbled upon it two years later. Before they discarded their concoction for good, they took one last taste. Much to their surprise, it had matured like a fine wine - exhibiting a savoury aromatic scent and a wonderfully unique taste. Lea & Perrins Original Worcestershire Sauce was born and in 1837 began to be produced commercially.
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce soon became popular all over the world and as the business grew so did the premises. By 1865 Lea & Perrins gave up the pharmacy side of the business to concentrate on the manufacture of Worcestershire Sauce. Because Lea and Perrins were originally chemists, Worcestershire Sauce was bottled in round bottles rather than square ones as other sauces at the time were, these round bottles had originally been chemist’s medicine bottles!
Please visit www.splishme.com for more information
Official Dish for Worcestershire Competition
Lea & Perrins launched an Official Dish for Worcestershire Competition in April 2008 offering you the chance to put a dish on the culinary map alongside the Cornish Pasty, the Yorkshire Pudding and the Lancashire Hotpot.
The winner of the competition was created by Jill Jessop and called The Worcestershire Warmer. Please find the recipe below.
| The Worcestershire Warmer by Jill Jessop: For four people You will need 4 x 4oz. pudding basins Ingredients: Suet crust: 6oz. prepared suet 12oz. S.R. Flour half a teasp. salt 1 teasp baking powder |
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Spicy
Lamb Filling:
1
lb organic lamb reared locally chopped into approx. 1 in. pieces
2
hard eating pears- preferably Worcester Black Pear. However this is not always available -Conference
Pears are a good substitute.
Half a pint locally produced Perry
1
tin chopped tomatoes
1 large onion diced
2 cloves
garlic crushed.
2 tbsps lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce
1
heaped teasp each of powdered cinnamon-cumin-ginger and salt
2 tbsps. virgin
oil
approx. half a pint water
1 tbsp. pl. flour
Pepper
to taste
Method:
Pre-heat
oven
prepare spicy lamb dish first
Toss lamb in
cinnamon-ginger -cumin and salt
Peel pears and chop into half inch pieces
Heat
oil in cooking pan-add tossed lamb and saute till lightly browned
Reduce heat
and add onions and garlic. cook gently for 1 min
Gradually add tomatoes-
Perry- Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce and pears
Add enough water in order
to obtain a --coating type consistency
Cover with casserole lid and transfer
to heated oven
Cook for 15 mins at 200c then reduce heat to 150c and cook
for a further 1 hr to 1 hr 30 mins. till lamb is tender but still maintains its shape
Prepare
Suet Crust:
Grease pudding basins well with butter. Place on one side.
Take
a large bowl-add in suet together with sieved flour-baking powder and salt.
Gradually
add sufficient water to bind pastry together.
Place pastry on floured board
and kneed into a ball.
Divide pastry into 4 pieces. cut off a quarter from
each piece for the pudding.
Roll pastry forwards not sideways.
Each
piece of pastry must be large enough to cover the inside of the basin.
Proceed
to line all the basins the same way.
Roll out 4 pudding tops. Place on one
side.
When lamb is cooked season to taste and allow
to cool before filling the suet crusts. meanwhile place steamer on hob to boil.
When
filling has cooled using a perforated ladle remove the meat and pears etc. from sauce and place in the
suet crusts.
Place the suet lids on top carefully pinching the pastry to ensure
there are no gaps.
Cover each suet crust with a double layer of foil. secure
the foil with string round the top of each basin and make a handle with another length of string in
order to lift out the pudding from the steamer.
Steam for 1hr. and 30 mins.
Prepare
Sauce:
Ingredients.
Remaining sauce from pan
4
fl.oz Perry
1 teasp Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce
1
handful chopped coriander .
Method:
Place
remaining sauce in pan.
Add Perry- Worcester Sauce and coriander.
Taste
and add seasoning as necessary.
To Serve Pudding:
Carefully
invert the pudding --turn upside down.
Add sauce.
Serve
with a mixture of baby new potatoes-french beans-baby carrots and sweetcorn.