WEBVTT - What Is Worcestershire Sauce?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam Here it's that brown sauce

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<v Speaker 1>with a ni unpronounceable name. It looks on paper like

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<v Speaker 1>war kester Shire. It's a tangy, tasty addition to red meats, soups,

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<v Speaker 1>and pretty much anything that needs braizing. And according to

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<v Speaker 1>the company that originally created it, Lee and Parents, it

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<v Speaker 1>can be pronounced Worcestershire, Woostershire or wooster sheer. Wooster shear.

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<v Speaker 1>Sauce is used to make good things even better because

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<v Speaker 1>it packs a lot of savor nous is sometimes called umami.

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<v Speaker 1>The word umami, by the way, was coined in the

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<v Speaker 1>first decade of the nineteen hundreds as a way of

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<v Speaker 1>marketing the then newly isolated flavor compound monosodium glutamate or MSG.

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<v Speaker 1>But back to the sauce. We spoke by email with

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<v Speaker 1>Shamous Mullen, chef at the Institute of Culinary Education. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>in recent years there's been a newfound interest in umami

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<v Speaker 1>for the fifth taste after salty, sweet, bitter, and sour,

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<v Speaker 1>often described as deliciousness, the umami brings out the natural

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<v Speaker 1>flavorings and food makes steak taste, more steaky mushrooms, more

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<v Speaker 1>shrewmy Worcester shear sauce is made up of a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of flavorful ingredients, including anchovies, and that's right, it's not

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<v Speaker 1>generally vegan plus red onion, molasses, garlic, tamarind and malt

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<v Speaker 1>and or cider vinegar. Mullen said. The vinegar and tamarind

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<v Speaker 1>bring a punchy ascidity to the sauce, and the molasses

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<v Speaker 1>an onion balance out the sweetness. But the true magic

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<v Speaker 1>happens during the lengthy fermentation process, which takes eighteen to

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<v Speaker 1>twenty four months. This last and most critical step was

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<v Speaker 1>something of a happy accident when, supposedly in the early

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen hundreds, two chemists based in Wooster, England, John Lee

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<v Speaker 1>and William Parents, were charged with duplicating a recipe that

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<v Speaker 1>one British nobleman or an other had enjoyed in Bengal.

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<v Speaker 1>Their first effort was an utter failure, however, and the

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<v Speaker 1>chemists left it to languish in jars and their seller.

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<v Speaker 1>A few years later, they rediscovered the batch and were

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<v Speaker 1>thrilled to realize that fermentation had turned it into the

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<v Speaker 1>perfect savory sauce. They started selling it in eighteen thirty seven.

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<v Speaker 1>It came to the US in eighteen thirty nine and

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<v Speaker 1>is sold in over seventy five countries today. When that

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<v Speaker 1>original Leon Parents product was shipped overseas, its glass bottles

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<v Speaker 1>often broke as a result of rough waters, so the

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<v Speaker 1>company began wrapping the individual bottles in paper. The tradition

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<v Speaker 1>continues today more as a way to distinguish the brand,

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<v Speaker 1>rather than a need to keep the product whole. The

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<v Speaker 1>company lost the copyright to the name in eighteen seventy six.

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<v Speaker 1>While the Lion Parents recipe remains a closely guarded secret,

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<v Speaker 1>many competitors have sprung up to make similar versions. The

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<v Speaker 1>BBC counted at least thirty others in Worcester alone. You

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<v Speaker 1>can even try making it yourself at home, Mullen said,

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<v Speaker 1>while the aging and fermenting process might be a bit much.

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<v Speaker 1>To undertake it home, you can make a very tasty

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<v Speaker 1>approximation of oyster sheer sauce by simmering soy sauce, mustard powder, malt, vinegar,

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<v Speaker 1>tamarind paste, garlic, anchovy paste, tomato paste, ginger molasses, and spices.

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<v Speaker 1>Those spices, he said, can include coriander seed, mustard seed

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<v Speaker 1>and clove, as well as orange peel and black pepper.

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<v Speaker 1>He explained that you simply mix all the ingredients and

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<v Speaker 1>simmer to sauce consistency, then strain and store the liquid.

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<v Speaker 1>There are lots of recipes online, including several for those

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<v Speaker 1>of us who have been playing around with home fermentation,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course, the beloved sauce isn't relegated to steaks

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<v Speaker 1>in such either. It can be added to pretty much

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<v Speaker 1>anything that needs singing, be it a bloody mary fondue,

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<v Speaker 1>cheese sauce, eggs, popcorn potatoes, salad dressing, or a grilled

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<v Speaker 1>cheese sandwich. Lee and Parents even recommends a splash of

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<v Speaker 1>it in place of your normal dashes of salt and pepper.

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<v Speaker 1>The continuing enthusiasm over Ummmy Flavor is carrying over into

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<v Speaker 1>the Worst of Shire market, and this recent uptick is

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<v Speaker 1>expected to continue projected through at least Mulin explained O

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<v Speaker 1>Mommy hounds have been on the hunt for heritage condiments,

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<v Speaker 1>likely in Paren's original recipe, and there's an ever increasing

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<v Speaker 1>trend towards finding new applications for the sauce, from marinades

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<v Speaker 1>to cocktails, most to shear sauce is having a moment.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Aliya Hoyt and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Klang. For more in this and lots of other

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<v Speaker 1>savory topics, visit has to Works dot Com. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio,

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