Worcestershire Sauce

Fermentation; makes food last much longer, makes it easier to keep at room temperature and lets face it, makes the original food item taste a heck of a lot better! Examples: Sauerkraut and Kimchi (Sauerkraut- Is a Special shredded cabbage dish from Germany that has been fermented by many different types of lactic acid bacteria causing the dish to have a long shelf-life and a very distinctive sour flavor that is produced by the combination of the bacteria and sugar.) Kimich on the other hand is (a traditional fermented Koren cabbage dish made up of a variety of vegetables with varied seasonings. There are hundreds of variations of kimchi made with a main vegetable ingredient such as nappa cabbage, radish, cucumber or green onions.) Fermentation not only makes food taste better, but also makes it safer for consumption. the crossing between fermentation and rotting lays a fine line between them; however rotting foods smell and taste horrible and are most definitely not safe to eat, where fermentation makes food taste good, some people believe it smells fantastic and its most definitely safe to eat. There are so many foods that people eat every day that don't even realize that it items in that specific dish has fermented food or liquids in it. Some examples: Pepperoni Pizza 'its crust is made from a bacteria called yeast, the cheese was left in a warm room to ferment and the same goes for the pepperoni'. Blue cheese, wine, beer and yes today's subject of the day Worcestershire Sauce.
Worcestershire sauce is a fermented fish sauce. This sauce can be traced back to the 17th century. The Worcestershire variety became popular in the 1840's and is a legacy of the British rule of the Indian Subcontinent.
Basically the sauce is made up of anchovies that have been soaked into white vinegar and other various ingredients and left there till the entire fish has been dissolved, bones and all. its then strained and poured into jars for consumers like you. This specific sauce enhances flavors in the dishes you choose to cook it with, it causes your meats to have an even more distinct flavor, creating a greater aroma and really getting those salivary glads blasting off ready for consumption!
If you have the time and will here is a fantastic recipe for you to be able to make your very own Worcestershire sauce. Not that fermentation is a long processes, but its worth your time and effort. You also can change up some the seasoning ingredients, make a Worcestershire sauce of your very own! That no one else has!

2 cups of distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons yellow mustard seed
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorn
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
5 smashed cardamon pods
4 chopped chilies of your choice
2 smashed garlic cloves
1 1" stick of cinnamon
1 chopped white onion
1 1/2" peeled and crushed ginger
1/2 cup of white granulated sugar

Add all ingredients, except sugar to a pot and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and hold it there for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the sugar in a separate pot, cook for about 5 minutes or until the sugar has turned from a clear white to a dark amber. Add the caramelized sugar to the vinegar mixture and whisk well till its combined, cook the sauce for an additional 5 minutes, then transfer into an air tight container or jar and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 weeks. After 3 weeks you can strain your sauce and use at will. you can keep this sauce up to 8 months. It makes about 2 cups worth."make sure not to burn the sugar, if you add burnt sugar to your sauce the time you will have put into it would not have been worth it."
Thank You for taking the time to read this hope you enjoyed it, and hope you have the time to make this incredible enhancing sauce!

-Ioanna and Raven
Pique Season Cuisine
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