Brown sauce facts for kids
Brown sauce is a popular condiment (that's a fancy word for a sauce or seasoning) often eaten with food in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It's usually dark brown. This tasty sauce is made from different ingredients. These can include tomatoes, molasses (a sweet syrup), dates, apples, tamarind (a sour fruit), spices, and vinegar. Sometimes, raisins are added too!
Brown sauce can taste a bit sour or sweet. It often has a peppery flavour, a bit like Worcestershire sauce. People usually enjoy brown sauce with meals like a big full breakfast, bacon sandwiches, and chips.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, a mix of vinegar and brown sauce is popular. People there call it "sauce" or "chippy sauce." They often put it on fish and chips. Did you know that a recipe for a similar "sauce for steaks" was found in an 1843 cookbook? It included ale, wine, ketchup, black pepper, and butter.
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Popular Brown Sauce Brands
In the United Kingdom
HP Sauce is the most popular brown sauce in the UK. It's made in the Netherlands and has a spicy and tangy taste. About 75% of all brown sauce sold in the UK is HP Sauce!
Another well-known brand is Daddies, which is made in Poland. Other brands you might see include OK Sauce and Wilkin & Sons. These are made right in the UK. In Scotland, a famous brand is Gold Star. People often call it "Chippy Sauce" because it's a favourite in many chip shops in Edinburgh. It has been around since the 1920s.
In Ireland
In Ireland, Chef and YR Sauce are very popular brown sauce brands. YR Sauce stands for Yorkshire Relish. However, it has been made in Ireland since 1933. It is currently produced in County Donegal. You might also find Kandee, which comes in a larger bottle.
Store Brands
Most big supermarkets in the UK and Ireland sell their own brand of brown sauce. Just like with ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard, you can find brown sauce in small packets or big dispenser bottles in restaurants.
Sauces Like Brown Sauce
Many countries have their own sauces that are similar to brown sauce. They often have similar tastes and ingredients. For example, Japan has Tonkatsu sauce. Jamaica has Pickapeppa sauce. In China, they use a soy-based sauce called "brown sauce" (棕色酱 or "Zōngsè jiàng"). In the United States, "Steak sauce" is a similar product.
How Popular is Brown Sauce?
Between 2013 and 2014, sales of brown sauce in the UK went down a bit. But people still eat a lot of it! More than 13 million kilograms (that's over 28 million pounds!) of brown sauce are eaten every year.
