MOO Grandma’s Worcestershire Sauce — An Old-Fashioned Pantry Favourite
Some of my favourite recipes aren't really my recipes at all. They've been handed down, scribbled into old recipe books and made so many times that they simply become part of the family.
This Worcestershire Sauce recipe came from my mother's recipe book. It was originally written in pints and ounces, and when I started making it myself I converted the measurements to metric.
And it really is one of the easiest sauces you can MOO.
There is no complicated cooking, no fancy equipment and no hard-to-find ingredients. You simply mix everything together, let it steep, strain it, bottle it and give it time to mature.
That's it.
Better still, it is inexpensive to make, particularly if you already have some of the ingredients in the pantry — and cheaper again if you're lucky enough to have a lemon tree.
This Worcestershire Sauce recipe came from my mother's recipe book. It was originally written in pints and ounces, and when I started making it myself I converted the measurements to metric.
And it really is one of the easiest sauces you can MOO.
There is no complicated cooking, no fancy equipment and no hard-to-find ingredients. You simply mix everything together, let it steep, strain it, bottle it and give it time to mature.
That's it.
Better still, it is inexpensive to make, particularly if you already have some of the ingredients in the pantry — and cheaper again if you're lucky enough to have a lemon tree.
Grandma's Worcestershire Sauce
Ingredients
2 litres vinegar
30 g chopped garlic
30 g cayenne pepper
30 g whole cloves
30 g salt
1 tin treacle
2 large lemons
I use brown malt vinegar, although Mum's original recipe simply says “vinegar”. Given the age of the recipe, I've always assumed brown malt vinegar was what she used.
For the treacle, I use the standard 850 g CSR treacle.
Method
Put the vinegar, garlic, cayenne pepper, whole cloves, salt and treacle into a clean plastic bucket.
Stir well to dissolve the salt and distribute the treacle.
Chop the lemons into pieces — skin, pith, flesh and all — and add them to the mixture.
Cover the bucket with a clean tea towel or cheesecloth.
Leave the mixture to steep for six days, stirring it well once every day.
After six days, strain the sauce.
I line a colander with cheesecloth and strain it into a large bowl. This catches the cloves, lemon, garlic and other little bits and gives you a lovely smooth sauce.
Pour into clean bottles and seal.
Put the bottles into a cool, dark cupboard and leave the sauce for at least two weeks to mature before using it.
Then comes the difficult bit — leaving it alone!
The flavour improves as it matures, and I've always found that the longer it sits, the stronger the bite becomes.
Ingredients
2 litres vinegar
30 g chopped garlic
30 g cayenne pepper
30 g whole cloves
30 g salt
1 tin treacle
2 large lemons
I use brown malt vinegar, although Mum's original recipe simply says “vinegar”. Given the age of the recipe, I've always assumed brown malt vinegar was what she used.
For the treacle, I use the standard 850 g CSR treacle.
Method
Put the vinegar, garlic, cayenne pepper, whole cloves, salt and treacle into a clean plastic bucket.
Stir well to dissolve the salt and distribute the treacle.
Chop the lemons into pieces — skin, pith, flesh and all — and add them to the mixture.
Cover the bucket with a clean tea towel or cheesecloth.
Leave the mixture to steep for six days, stirring it well once every day.
After six days, strain the sauce.
I line a colander with cheesecloth and strain it into a large bowl. This catches the cloves, lemon, garlic and other little bits and gives you a lovely smooth sauce.
Pour into clean bottles and seal.
Put the bottles into a cool, dark cupboard and leave the sauce for at least two weeks to mature before using it.
Then comes the difficult bit — leaving it alone!
The flavour improves as it matures, and I've always found that the longer it sits, the stronger the bite becomes.
How Much Does It Make?
Because the lemons, garlic and whole cloves are strained out, the finished amount will vary slightly depending on how thoroughly you drain the mixture.
Using 2 litres vinegar and an 850 g tin of treacle, I would allow for approximately 2.5 litres finished Worcestershire sauce
You may end up with a little more or a little less.
That also explains why my 3-litre Ocean Spray cranberry juice bottles are just about perfect for storing a batch.
I pour the main batch into one of those lovely glass bottles with the sealable lid, then decant a smaller amount into a bottle to keep handy in the kitchen.
Because the lemons, garlic and whole cloves are strained out, the finished amount will vary slightly depending on how thoroughly you drain the mixture.
Using 2 litres vinegar and an 850 g tin of treacle, I would allow for approximately 2.5 litres finished Worcestershire sauce
You may end up with a little more or a little less.
That also explains why my 3-litre Ocean Spray cranberry juice bottles are just about perfect for storing a batch.
I pour the main batch into one of those lovely glass bottles with the sealable lid, then decant a smaller amount into a bottle to keep handy in the kitchen.
What Does It Cost?
Buying all the ingredients from the supermarket, I've calculated that one batch of Grandma's Worcestershire Sauce costs approximately:
$16.35 for around 2.5 litres.
That works out to approximately:
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce costs around $5 for a 290 ml bottle, which works out to approximately $17.24 per litre.
So the comparison looks like this:
Buying all the ingredients from the supermarket, I've calculated that one batch of Grandma's Worcestershire Sauce costs approximately:
$16.35 for around 2.5 litres.
That works out to approximately:
- 65 cents per 100 ml
- $1.64 per 250 ml
- $3.27 per 500 ml
- $6.54 per litre
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce costs around $5 for a 290 ml bottle, which works out to approximately $17.24 per litre.
So the comparison looks like this:
Quantity |
MOO Worcestershire Sauce |
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce |
100 ml 250 ml 500 ml 1 litre 2.5 litres |
$0.65 $1.64 $3.27 $6.54 $16.35 |
$1.72 $4.31 $8.62 $17.20 $43.10 |
The MOO Saving
Making Grandma's Worcestershire Sauce saves approximately $10.70 per litre or an impressive $26.75 on a 2.5 litre batch.
That's a saving of around 62 per cent compared with buying the commercial sauce.
And naturally, if you already have salt, cloves, garlic or cayenne in the pantry — or lemons growing on your own tree — your actual cost will be even lower and your saving even greater.
That's one of the things I love about MOOing. We often don't need to buy everything on the ingredient list because so much of it is already sitting in the pantry.
And with this recipe, you're not just saving a few cents. One very easy batch puts around 2½ litres of Worcestershire sauce into the pantry and keeps more than $26 in your purse.
Not bad for mixing a few ingredients in a bucket and stirring them once a day!
Making Grandma's Worcestershire Sauce saves approximately $10.70 per litre or an impressive $26.75 on a 2.5 litre batch.
That's a saving of around 62 per cent compared with buying the commercial sauce.
And naturally, if you already have salt, cloves, garlic or cayenne in the pantry — or lemons growing on your own tree — your actual cost will be even lower and your saving even greater.
That's one of the things I love about MOOing. We often don't need to buy everything on the ingredient list because so much of it is already sitting in the pantry.
And with this recipe, you're not just saving a few cents. One very easy batch puts around 2½ litres of Worcestershire sauce into the pantry and keeps more than $26 in your purse.
Not bad for mixing a few ingredients in a bucket and stirring them once a day!
Why Treacle?
I only use treacle in this recipe.
I've been asked whether golden syrup could be substituted, but I wouldn't.
Treacle is darker, thicker and has a much deeper flavour. It helps give this sauce its rich, almost black colour and balances beautifully with the vinegar, cayenne and spices.
Golden syrup would make a much lighter and sweeter sauce, and it simply wouldn't be Grandma's Worcestershire Sauce.
Fresh Garlic or Jarred?
Either will work.
I generally use fresh garlic, but jarred chopped garlic is perfectly practical for this recipe because all the solids are strained out at the end anyway.
That's useful if you're making a batch from pantry ingredients and don't happen to have fresh garlic available.
No Anchovies Required
One of the things I've always liked about this particular family recipe is that there are no anchovies in it.
You still get a strong, savoury sauce with plenty of bite from the vinegar, garlic, cloves, cayenne and treacle, but using very ordinary pantry ingredients.
It is wonderful splashed into casseroles, gravies, soups and stews; added to mince dishes, meatloaf or rissoles; stirred through marinades; or simply used anywhere you'd normally reach for Worcestershire sauce.
And because one batch makes around 2½ litres, it lasts a very long time.
The Secret Ingredient is Time
There really isn't much work involved in this recipe.
Mix.
Stir once a day.
Strain.
Bottle.
Then let time do the rest.
Don't judge it the day you bottle it. Give it those first couple of weeks to settle and mature.
And if you find a forgotten bottle tucked away at the back of the cupboard months later, don't be disappointed. This is one of those recipes where age develops the flavour beautifully.
That's another reason I love these old recipes.
They weren't designed around specialty ingredients or expensive convenience foods. They were designed to use what was readily available, make a generous quantity and sit happily in the pantry ready to be used.
Grandma's Worcestershire Sauce
Approximate yield: 2.5 litres
Cost to make: $16.35
Cost per 100 ml: approximately 65 cents
Cost per 250 ml: approximately $1.64
Cost per 500 ml: approximately $3.27
Easy to make, inexpensive and made from ordinary pantry ingredients.
Sometimes Grandma really did know best.
I only use treacle in this recipe.
I've been asked whether golden syrup could be substituted, but I wouldn't.
Treacle is darker, thicker and has a much deeper flavour. It helps give this sauce its rich, almost black colour and balances beautifully with the vinegar, cayenne and spices.
Golden syrup would make a much lighter and sweeter sauce, and it simply wouldn't be Grandma's Worcestershire Sauce.
Fresh Garlic or Jarred?
Either will work.
I generally use fresh garlic, but jarred chopped garlic is perfectly practical for this recipe because all the solids are strained out at the end anyway.
That's useful if you're making a batch from pantry ingredients and don't happen to have fresh garlic available.
No Anchovies Required
One of the things I've always liked about this particular family recipe is that there are no anchovies in it.
You still get a strong, savoury sauce with plenty of bite from the vinegar, garlic, cloves, cayenne and treacle, but using very ordinary pantry ingredients.
It is wonderful splashed into casseroles, gravies, soups and stews; added to mince dishes, meatloaf or rissoles; stirred through marinades; or simply used anywhere you'd normally reach for Worcestershire sauce.
And because one batch makes around 2½ litres, it lasts a very long time.
The Secret Ingredient is Time
There really isn't much work involved in this recipe.
Mix.
Stir once a day.
Strain.
Bottle.
Then let time do the rest.
Don't judge it the day you bottle it. Give it those first couple of weeks to settle and mature.
And if you find a forgotten bottle tucked away at the back of the cupboard months later, don't be disappointed. This is one of those recipes where age develops the flavour beautifully.
That's another reason I love these old recipes.
They weren't designed around specialty ingredients or expensive convenience foods. They were designed to use what was readily available, make a generous quantity and sit happily in the pantry ready to be used.
Grandma's Worcestershire Sauce
Approximate yield: 2.5 litres
Cost to make: $16.35
Cost per 100 ml: approximately 65 cents
Cost per 250 ml: approximately $1.64
Cost per 500 ml: approximately $3.27
Easy to make, inexpensive and made from ordinary pantry ingredients.
Sometimes Grandma really did know best.