The King Of Sauces (Heinz HP Sauce)

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	Heinz HP Sauce
Date:	10/02/08 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The flavour

Disadvantages: None

HP 'Original' Sauce has been part of my life as far back as I am able to remember, and is routinely placed on our table every mealtime, in much the same way as the salt and pepper. The "Original" tag is a relatively new invention, in order to distinguish it from the 'fruity' and other varieties of sauces that HP Foods in Birmingham now manufacture.

This brown sauce has been around since the turn of the 20th century, (1899 to be exact) and is liable to still be around at the turn of the 22nd, such is its popularity in the hearts and minds (not to mention the palates) of the average person in the British Isles. (Not to mention Ireland!!)

It was first made by a local Nottingham grocer, a Mr. F.G.Garton, as a way to try to extricate himself from some financial difficulties, and later the recipe and rights were bought by the Midland Vinegar Company, one of his main suppliers, in lieu of the monies he owed them.

So why is it still so popular, especially in the face of fierce competition these days from all quarters?
That's an easy one to answer really; it's quite simply that it tastes so damned good. Let's have a wee look at what it says on the four-sided glass bottle. (Or even the squeezy plastic bottle) Here's the blurb from the company.

"HP Sauce is the only genuine and original brown sauce, which since 1899 has set the standard for quality. Everyone's favourite, this legendary and uniquely distinctive taste sensation is the result of HP's dedication to sourcing the highest quality ingredients and using a closely guarded secret recipe"

Now I don't know about all of that. It seems like a fairly fancy way of saying it tastes lovely. But the secret recipe part must be the truth, as I've yet to taste another brown sauce that even comes close to the unique flavour of HP. It then goes on.

"Everything goes well with HP Sauce. Great for spicing up chips, bacon sandwiches, sausages and snacks such as jacket potatoes and baked beans."

Now isn't that the truth! You betcha.
For this guy at least, my breakfast fry just wouldn't be the same without the old HP, and as for a bacon, fried egg, or sausage sarny. Well, simply forget it. And chips wouldn't be the same at all without lashings of the old brown stuff. I've even been known to resort to desperate measures if the bottle is running low, and to add a small amount of boiling water to eek out the last remaining drops of flavour.

Here's the (fairly ordinary) ingredients.

Malt Vinegar (from barley)
Tomatoes
Molasses
Spirit Vinegar
Dates
Glucose Syrup (from wheat)
Sugar
Salt
Modified Starch
Rye Flour
Tamarinds
Spices (unspecified/maybe this is the "secret" part)
Onion Extract

Now that can't be bad in my book, when these days you sometimes wonder if it's food at all you're putting into your mouth, or some sort of chemical concoction dreamed up by some mad scientist somewhere! It also has the "By Appointment To Her Majesty The Queen" endorsement on the bottle, so at least I know I'm in esteemed company when I spread this on my grub.

Here in Ireland it comes in 425 gram bottles, at a cost of Euro1.99. So it isn't expensive by any stretch of the imagination.

Oh. And it has a picture of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben on the front of the bottle, which is presumably what the "HP" actually stands for.

If I could give this product six stars in the dooyoo ratings, then I would!

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© KenJ

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Summary: Tasty brown sauce that is one of the most popular in the UK & Ireland.