HP Sauce is a British Institution!

HP Sauce deserves particular mention when it comes to talking about all things British. In case you are wondering what the HP stands for it is House of Parliament.

The famous sticky brown sauce was invented in 1911 by Frederick Gibson Garton, who was a chemist who lived in Nottingham.  It is an especially favourite sauce of those who live in the North of England.  It goes well with all meats but especially well with meat pies.

The sauce itself has a very strong pungent taste. It is a mix of prunes, cayenne pepper, onions and ginger. The joke in South of England was that it could be spread on any type of cooking that didn’t taste quite right.

The recipe was recently changed to reflect the health concerns of today’s consumers.  HP was especially high in sodium and now it’s salt content has been reduced from 2.1 percent to1.3.  Purists think this healthy change may have adjusted the condiment’s flavour a bit too much. Devotees of the sauce now add extra sauce so that it tastes like it used to.

Another thing that this quintessentially British sauce is famous for is being sticky. Part of the ritual of using it is trying to get it out of the bottle. There is never any pouring involved when it comes to HP sauce. The stuff is just too thick. Most English people simply give the bottle a good smack out the bottom until it explodes out of the bottle.  British people talk fondly about how half the time, the stubborn sauce explodes all over the table cloth.

The city of Birmingham where it was first made used to reek of the odour of HP until the Cadbury chocolate factory also made its home there. Then the area smelled like a mix of both chocolate and HP sauce together.

Sadly the HP sauce company was moved from Birmingham to England in 2005 after it was bought out by an American company. Despite the fact that it is not made by British people or owned by a British company anymore  or that it does not even taste how it used to years ago it is still seen an absolutely British condiment.  It even still boasts the drawing of the British Parliament on its smart looking red and blue label along with the description “A blend containing vinegar, Oriental Fruit and spices.”