Very British Sauces and Spreads
Britain is known for having some very unusual sauces and spreads that you will not really find anywhere. Some of these sauces and spreads are associated with a particular brand and others are not.
One of the most famous of British spreads is Marmite. This is a dark brown savory spread that is made with by-products of the brewing industry. The British eat this spread on toasted buttered bread. It is dark brown in color and rich in niacin, riboflavin and Vitamin B. British cooks also add it to soups. A similar product is Vegemite which is made by Kraft foods.
An unusual sauce that is quite popular on steak in Britain is called Parsley sauce. It is creamy with powdered parsley in it and served mostly with fish.
Most people in Britain love to go to the pub and enjoy a pint of Guinness. HP Guinness Sauce is an unusually heavy and spicy sauce that tastes a bit like the beer. It is the perfect complement to steaks and sausages.
Yet another common spread is lemon curd. Served mostly with toast or on the side with cakes or Devon cream this curd tastes a lot like lemon meringue pie. Most jam and jelly manufacturers in Britain make lemon curd.
Lemon marmalade is also very popular, especially a brand called Robertson’s Silver Shred which is a very tart translucent mix of lemon jelly and lemon peels. Marmalades in England can be shredded (contain peel) or unshredded (contain no peel.
Red currant and black currant jellies are also more prevalent in Britain than n in the Americas. It is also not uncommon to find Lime marmalade on grocery shelves as well.
Exotic spreads also appeal very much to British tastes. You see unusual flavors of jelly at Tea Time such as Orange and Malt Whiskey Marmalade, Orange with Ginger, Gooseberry, Quince, Rhubarb and Ginger and Strawberry and Champagne jam.
Roast onion gravy is a popular flavor of gravy and available in powdered or canned versions. Mushroom, beef and chicken gravy are popular as well but onion gravy is rarely seen in North America.
An example of a very popular sauce is actually more of a pickle spread. Both Heinz and Haywards make a sauce called Piccalli. These are young cut up gherkins and cauliflower in bright yellow mustard sauce. As far as British foods go it is actually quite healthy with hardly any fat and only 1% salt.