This is probably the most common ingredient to be found in kitchens throughout the English-speaking world. We use it for everything it seems--to add flavor to burgers and meat loaf, in sauces and by itself as a flavor enhancer.
I never even thought about where it came from until I read Lizzie Collingham's wonderful book,Curry.
I think this is a fascinating bit of food trivia.
"In India, catsups were the inspiration for the piquant shikari sauces that the Anglo-Indians enjoyed with their game and it was one of these sauces that eventually became one of the best-known British flavorings. Sometime in the 1830s, Lord Marcus Sandys, the former governor of Bengal, drove into Worcester from his nearby country estate to visit Lea & Perrins, his local chemist-cum-grocer. The shop on Broad Street sold foodstuffs, cosmetics, and all sorts of medicines and was known for its supply of spices and dried fruits specially imported from Asia and the Americas. Lord Sandys arrived with a recipe on a scrap of paper and requested Lea & Perrins to make up his favorite Indian sauce. The mixture that Messrs. Lea and Perrins duly concocted was so fiery that it made their eyes water. . . . Sandys was delighted with the results. But the chemists were disgusted withe mixture. They put the extra barrels that they had made up for themselves in the cellar, where they were forgotten. During a spring clean, however, it was noticed that an appetizing aroma was rising out of the abandoned barrels and on tasting the contents Lea and Perrins, discovered that the concoction had matured into a pleasing spicy sauce The enterprising pair went into immediate production. By 1845 they had set up a factory in Worcester, and by 1855 were selling over 30,000 bottles a year. Worcestershire sauce as even exported back to India." (p. 149)
Collingham's book should be required reading for every lover of Indian food. She shows how the cuisine we know today has resulted in from the fusion of ingredients and spices brought into India from invaders and traders throughout the centuries. Hot peppers, for example, weren't used in India cooking until the Portuguese introduced them. She goes on to describe how Indian food has spread throughout the world and provides recipes for curries as they have been made at different points in history. This is a well-researched and well-written book that will please cooks and historians alike.
(Lizzie Collingham. Curry. A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006)
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