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Lea & Perrins facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1837 |
| Founders | John Wheeley Lea William Henry Perrins |
| Headquarters |
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England
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Condiments |
| Parent | |
Lea & Perrins (also known as L&P) is a company from the United Kingdom. It is part of a bigger company called Kraft Heinz. Lea & Perrins started in Worcester, England, and they still make their famous sauce there today. They are known for making Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. This special sauce was first created and sold in 1837 by two chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins.
The sauce is still made in the same factory in Worcester that Lea and Perrins built a long time ago. The sauce first came to the United States in 1839. Today, a different factory in Pittsburgh makes an American version of the sauce.
Contents
What is Worcestershire Sauce?
Worcestershire Sauce is made at the Midland Road factory in Worcester, England. This factory was built by Lea and Perrins themselves. The road was named after the Midland Railway, because the factory used to have train tracks right next to it. These tracks helped bring in ingredients and send out the finished sauce.
Sauce Ingredients
The Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce made in the UK and the one made in the US are a little different. The UK recipe uses malt vinegar. The US version uses distilled white vinegar. Also, the US version used to have high fructose corn syrup. But in 2011, they changed back to using regular sugar. The UK version has always used sugar.
The UK version of the sauce is sold in places like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. In the UK, people easily recognize the bottle by its special shape and its orange and black label. Since November 1874, the label has included a special Lea & Perrins signature. This was added to help people know it was the real sauce and not a fake one.
150 mL bottle, 2011
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| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 405 kJ (97 kcal) |
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21 g
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0.9 g
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Protein
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0.8 g
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per 100 mL; serving size is 5 mL
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| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults. | |
The exact recipe for Worcestershire sauce is a secret. However, an old list of ingredients from the 1800s was found in 2009. It showed that the sauce contains vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies, tamarind extract, onions, and garlic. It might also have other things like cloves, soy sauce, lemons, pickles, and peppers.
The recipe used today includes malt (or distilled white in the U.S.) vinegar, molasses, sugar, water, salt, onions, anchovies, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, and chili pepper extract.
Other Products from Lea & Perrins
In 1846, Lea & Perrins put out an advertisement. It showed that their pharmacy also made other things. These included "Dr. Locock's Lotion for the Growth of the Hair," "Taraxacum" (which is like dandelion coffee), and "Essence of Coffee." Of course, they also advertised their Worcestershire sauce.
Today, in the UK and Canada, Kraft (the company that owns Lea & Perrins) mainly sells just the Worcestershire sauce in different bottle sizes. But in the United States, Lea & Perrins sells a few more products. These include a version of the sauce with less salt, a special steak sauce, and marinades. The marinades come in flavors like peppercorn and vinaigrette.
Images for kids
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This is the first page of an old Lea & Perrins advertisement from 1846. It talks about their hair growth lotion.
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An advertisement for Lea & Perrins from 1875. It says "The Only Good Sauce."
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This shows the new label with the special signature. It was added in November 1874 to stop fake sauces.
See also
In Spanish: Lea & Perrins para niños
- Charles Dyson Perrins
- Henderson's Relish
- HP Sauce
- List of fish sauces