Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce in a dish
Alternative namesWorcester sauce
TypeCondiment
Place of originWorcester, England
Created by
Main ingredients

Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce (UK: /ˈwʊstə(ʃə)/ WUUST-ə(-shə)) is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century. The inventors went on to form the company Lea & Perrins.

Worcestershire sauce has been a generic term since 1876, when the High Court of Justice ruled that Lea & Perrins did not own a trademark for the name "Worcestershire".

Worcestershire sauce is used directly as a condiment on steaks, hamburgers, and other finished dishes, and to flavour cocktails such as the Bloody Mary and Caesar. It is also frequently used to augment recipes such as Welsh rarebit, Caesar salad, Oysters Kirkpatrick, and devilled eggs. As both a background flavour and a source of umami (savoury), it is also added to dishes such as beef stew and baked beans.