Best Before dates Lea and Perrins

Ted_Hutchinson

Radio Four Food Programme today had an item on Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce.

The presenter Sheila Dillon owned up to having several mature bottles from various sources lurking in the cupboard and the Lea and Perrins rep said they are required by law to put a best before date on but really it should be a best after date.

Although the ingredients are matured separately for some years before the sauce is prepared and then matured for some time before bottling they have recently brought out a special edition which is extra matured and anyone who has a bottle of Lea and Perrins lurking in the back of the cupboard, will find the older it is, the more mature it becomes.

Penelope_Penguin

Hi, Ted! I heard this yesterday, and was heartened to hear both Sheila Dillon and Nigel Slater admitting to being cavalier about sell by dates, and living to tell the tale

Penny. x

thriftlady_2

You must have heard the story about how the famous sauce from Worcester came about Apparently Lord Sandys (I think) came back from India(I think) and asked his local chemists Mr Lea and Mr Perrin to make him a spicy sauce he had tasted there. He gave them the recipe and they made a it up, but it tasted like.... well it wasn't very nice;) So they sealed it up and put it away in the cellar (or somewhere like that) and forgot about it for 10 years (or a long time anyway) and when they found it again and tasted it -it was delicious :j So they made lots more and left it for 10 years and then flogged it and made their fortune.

Until a few years ago it was still being made in Worcester, I used to enjoy smelling it when I parked my car by the cathedral. No more though, I think it is made in Brum now -where I'm from so I still feel an affinity with the lovely stuff.

I should check on Google to get a more accurate version of that story though as I've probably got most of it wrong. I'm right about the maturing process though

MushyPeas

Use by dates? Pah

Yesterday I had a lovely hot chocolate sachet....sell by date....May 2006 :eek:

thriftlady_2

Looks like I've got my facts right, well according to Wikipedia anyway.

mrbadexample

That's funny. I made a stew at the weekend, and put some Lea & Perrins in. The best before date was July 07. Pretty recent for the stuff in my house.