Wuh-chester-shire... Wor-chester-shy-er... WOOS-tur-sher?
Whatever you call it, the dark, tangy, and umami-rich condiment known as Worcestershire sauce has been a mainstay of the British pub pantry since the 19th century. The sauce was first made by two chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, who ran a pharmacy in Worcester, which gave the sauce its most mispronounced name. But did you know that its origins likely go back to colonial India?
According to one origin story, Lord Marcus Sandys, a former governor of Bengal, commissioned Lea and Perrins to recreate a sauce he had tasted in India. After returning to England, Lord Sandys supposedly provided them with a list of ingredients and asked them to make a sauce similar to the one served to him in Bengal. The exact list of ingredients he gave Lea and Perrins was lost to time. However, it is believed to have included vinegar, molasses, tamarind extract, fermented anchovies, onion, garlic, cloves, chilli pepper, and other spices. The first batch they produced was reportedly too strong and inedible, so the jars were stored in the cellar and forgotten. When rediscovered months later, fermentation had mellowed and blended the flavours, resulting in a complex, savoury sauce. And so, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce was born in 1838.
There is, however, one major issue with this anecdote. Arthur Marcus Cecil Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys, the eponymous “Lord Marcus Sandys” from the origin story, was never a Governor of Bengal. He may have travelled to India with the East India Company, but there’s no record of his journeys. Nonetheless, despite this historical discrepancy, there is good reason to believe that the original recipe for Worcestershire sauce did indeed originate in India.
Although the recipe is famously secret, Worcestershire sauce includes tamarind paste and fermented anchovies — two key ingredients in Indian cuisine. From imli ki chutney (tamarind chutney) in North India to puli kuzhambu or vatha kuzhambu (tamarind-based stews) in South India, and ngari (fermented fish) in Manipur or shutki maach (sun-dried, salt-cured fish) in Bengal, provincial Indian cuisines have many potential precursors to Worcestershire sauce. It is likely that colonial-era imports of these spices, condiments, and flavours inspired the eventual creation of Worcestershire sauce.
The truth is, Worcestershire sauce is a textbook example of how Britain absorbed and repackaged India’s culinary knowledge during the colonial era. Tamarind, the key souring agent, was central to Indian chutneys, curries, and pickles long before Lea and Perrins laid claim to it. The British found Indian food “too strong”, yet couldn’t resist its boldness, so they refashioned it into forms palatable to European diners.
This was not limited only to food. The Empire’s appetite for Indian ideas stretched from the kitchen to the closet: paisley shawls from Kashmir, calico textiles from the Coromandel coast, and indigo dye all became staples of Victorian Britain. Even household condiments — like curry powder and mango chutney — were standardised and commodified for export, stripped from their regional origins. Tea, which India produced for the British market, became a “quintessentially English” drink.
Worcestershire sauce is more than a 19th-century accident of fermentation. It is a bottled reminder of colonial-era cultural appropriation: an Indian condiment rebranded, sold, and globalised under an English name. Today, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce may claim to be the 'original', but the condiment’s true origin lies thousands of miles east, in Bengal and South India’s spice markets and home kitchens.
If you enjoyed reading this, here’s more from Homegrown:
Sips Of Nostalgia: The Legacy Of India's Most Iconic Homegrown Beverages
Kasundi: The Layered History Of Bengal's Best-Kept Secret Sauce