HP Sauce
Encyclopedia
HP Sauce is a popular brown sauce
originally produced by HP Foods
in the UK, now produced by H.J. Heinz in the Netherlands.
It is the best-known brand of brown sauce
in the United Kingdom
and Canada
as well as the best selling, with 71% of the UK market.
HP Sauce has a malt vinegar base, blended with tomato, dates, tamarind
extract, sweetener and spices. It usually is used as a condiment with hot or cold savoury food, or as an ingredient in soup
s or stew
s.
. He registered the name H.P. Sauce in 1895. Garton called the sauce HP because he had heard that a restaurant in the Houses of Parliament had begun serving it. For many years the bottle labels have carried a picture of the Houses of Parliament. Garton sold the recipe and HP brand for the sum of £150 and the settlement of some unpaid bills to Edwin Samson Moore. Moore, the founder of the Midlands Vinegar Company (the forerunner of HP Foods
) subsequently launched HP Sauce in 1903.
For many years the description on the label was in both English
and French
. During a 1960s BBC
television broadcast Marty Feldman
sang the French version in the style of Jacques Brel
. This performance is included in the DVD "The Best of Marty Feldman", and the song was also included on Feldman's 1969 album I Feel a Song Going Off.
cn
The Aston
, Birmingham
factory (at 52.4989°N 1.8849°W) was once bisected by the A38(M) motorway
and had a pipeline
, carrying vinegar
over the motorway, from the Top Yard to the main Tower Road factory site. The Top Yard site was subsequently closed, and vinegar was not brewed on the Aston site during the last few years of production there. Ansells' brewery was adjacent to the factory.
, the Labour
Prime Minister
. The name arose after Wilson's wife, Mary, gave an interview to The Sunday Times
in which she claimed "If Harold has a fault, it is that he will drown everything with HP Sauce". In 1975, when Wilson addressed a banquet
to celebrate 100 years since the formation of the Midlands Vinegar Company, he admitted that it was not HP Sauce that he was partial to, but was in fact Lea & Perrins
Worcestershire Sauce
.
Private Eye
s Parliamentary news section is called "HP Sauce".
ic 9oz or 255 g glass
bottle
, squeezy plastic
bottle, and TopDown bottle.
Also the ingredients vary markedly: In 2007 for example the varieties from USA and Canada were less concentrated and more fruity.
In addition, a number of other products exist under the HP brand.
Consumers report that the taste is now more sour than the traditional recipe and the shelf life is shorter.
purchased the parent company, HP Foods
, from Danone. In October of that year the United Kingdom
Office of Fair Trading
referred the takeover
to the Competition Commission
, who approved the £440 million acquisition in April 2006.
In May 2006, Heinz announced plans to switch production of HP Sauce from Aston to its European sauces facility in Elst
, the Netherlands
, ironically only weeks after HP launched a campaign to "Save the Proper British Cafe
". The announcement prompted a call to boycott Heinz products. The move, resulting in the loss of approximately one hundred and twenty-five jobs at the Aston factory, was criticised by politicians and union
officials, especially as the parent company still wanted to use the image of the House of Commons
on its bottles. In the same month, local Labour MP Khalid Mahmood
brandished a bottle of HP Sauce during Prime Minister's Questions
in the House of Commons as part of a protest against the Heinz move. He also made reference to the sauce's popularity with the former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson
. These plans were confirmed on 23 August 2006 and the factory at Aston ceased production on 16 March 2007. A week later a "wake"
was held at the location of the factory.
The factory was demolished in the summer of 2007. The tower of the factory was a famous landmark alongside the Aston Expressway. one of the giant logos from the top of the tower is now in the collection of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery.
HP Sauce for the Canadian market is manufactured for H.J. Heinz of North York, Ontario
.
Steak sauce
Steak sauce —brown sauce —is a generic term for a dark brown sauce commonly served as a condiment for meat.The two terms are similar but not identical...
originally produced by HP Foods
HP Foods
HP Foods Limited, formerly based in Birmingham, United Kingdom was best known as the producer of HP, Lea & Perrins and Daddies sauce brands. It was also the UK licensee of Chinese food and condiment brand, Amoy Food....
in the UK, now produced by H.J. Heinz in the Netherlands.
It is the best-known brand of brown sauce
Steak sauce
Steak sauce —brown sauce —is a generic term for a dark brown sauce commonly served as a condiment for meat.The two terms are similar but not identical...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as well as the best selling, with 71% of the UK market.
HP Sauce has a malt vinegar base, blended with tomato, dates, tamarind
Tamarind
Tamarind is a tree in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic .-Origin:...
extract, sweetener and spices. It usually is used as a condiment with hot or cold savoury food, or as an ingredient in soup
Soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
s or stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
s.
Early history
The original recipe for HP Sauce was invented and developed by Frederick Gibson Garton, a grocer from NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. He registered the name H.P. Sauce in 1895. Garton called the sauce HP because he had heard that a restaurant in the Houses of Parliament had begun serving it. For many years the bottle labels have carried a picture of the Houses of Parliament. Garton sold the recipe and HP brand for the sum of £150 and the settlement of some unpaid bills to Edwin Samson Moore. Moore, the founder of the Midlands Vinegar Company (the forerunner of HP Foods
HP Foods
HP Foods Limited, formerly based in Birmingham, United Kingdom was best known as the producer of HP, Lea & Perrins and Daddies sauce brands. It was also the UK licensee of Chinese food and condiment brand, Amoy Food....
) subsequently launched HP Sauce in 1903.
For many years the description on the label was in both English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. During a 1960s BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television broadcast Marty Feldman
Marty Feldman
Martin Alan "Marty" Feldman was an English comedy writer, comedian and actor who starred in a series of British television comedy shows, including At Last the 1948 Show, and Marty, which won two BAFTA awards and was the first Saturn Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Young...
sang the French version in the style of Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
. This performance is included in the DVD "The Best of Marty Feldman", and the song was also included on Feldman's 1969 album I Feel a Song Going Off.
cn
The Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
factory (at 52.4989°N 1.8849°W) was once bisected by the A38(M) motorway
A38(M) motorway
The A38, also known as the Aston Expressway, is a motorway in Birmingham, England. It is long and was opened on 24 May 1972. It forms part of the much longer A38 route....
and had a pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
, carrying vinegar
Vinegar
Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
over the motorway, from the Top Yard to the main Tower Road factory site. The Top Yard site was subsequently closed, and vinegar was not brewed on the Aston site during the last few years of production there. Ansells' brewery was adjacent to the factory.
Wilson's gravy
HP Sauce became known as "Wilson's gravy" in the 1960s and 1970s after Harold WilsonHarold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. The name arose after Wilson's wife, Mary, gave an interview to The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
in which she claimed "If Harold has a fault, it is that he will drown everything with HP Sauce". In 1975, when Wilson addressed a banquet
Banquet
A banquet is a large meal or feast, complete with main courses and desserts. It usually serves a purpose such as a charitable gathering, a ceremony, or a celebration, and is often preceded or followed by speeches in honour of someone....
to celebrate 100 years since the formation of the Midlands Vinegar Company, he admitted that it was not HP Sauce that he was partial to, but was in fact Lea & Perrins
Lea & Perrins
Lea & Perrins is a United Kingdom based food division of the H.J. Heinz Company, originating in Worcester, England, with a subsidiary in the United States which manufactures Lea & Perrins in New Jersey...
Worcestershire Sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce , or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment; primarily used to flavour meat or fish dishes.First made at 60 Broad Street, Worcester, England, by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, the Lea & Perrins brand was commercialised in 1837 and...
.
Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
s Parliamentary news section is called "HP Sauce".
Varieties
HP Sauce is available in a range of formats and sizes, including the iconIcon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
ic 9oz or 255 g glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
bottle
Bottle
A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft...
, squeezy plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
bottle, and TopDown bottle.
Also the ingredients vary markedly: In 2007 for example the varieties from USA and Canada were less concentrated and more fruity.
In addition, a number of other products exist under the HP brand.
- HP Fruity is a milder version of the Original brown sauce, using a blend of fruits including orangeOrange (fruit)An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
s and mangoMangoThe mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
to give a milder, tangier taste. This variety has been renamed "HP Chicken & Rib" in Canada and the US (though it can be found in some stores with the original name). - HP Bold is a spicier variant in Canada.
- HP BBQ Sauce is a range of BBQ Sauces, and is the UK's best selling BBQ Sauce product.
- In March 2008, HP also announced the launch of HP Steak Sauce.
- HP Guinness is a limited edition recipe which includes the famous Irish Stout.
- In the summer of 2008 a version with less salt (25%) and sugar (30%) than the original HP Sauce was released.
- Since 2011 HP sauce has been manufactured with a new reduced sodium recipe 0.8mg per 100ml, the traditional recipe was 1.2mg sodium per 100mls. This was a direct result of Government policy with regard to salt levels in food.
Consumers report that the taste is now more sour than the traditional recipe and the shelf life is shorter.
Heinz takeover and transfer of production
In June 2005, HeinzH. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
purchased the parent company, HP Foods
HP Foods
HP Foods Limited, formerly based in Birmingham, United Kingdom was best known as the producer of HP, Lea & Perrins and Daddies sauce brands. It was also the UK licensee of Chinese food and condiment brand, Amoy Food....
, from Danone. In October of that year the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Office of Fair Trading
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...
referred the takeover
Takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...
to the Competition Commission
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
, who approved the £440 million acquisition in April 2006.
In May 2006, Heinz announced plans to switch production of HP Sauce from Aston to its European sauces facility in Elst
Elst (Overbetuwe)
Elst is a town in the municipality of Overbetuwe in the Dutch province of Gelderland. Elst is situated in the Betuwe, between the cities of Nijmegen and Arnhem. Elst has 19,743 inhabitants....
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, ironically only weeks after HP launched a campaign to "Save the Proper British Cafe
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
". The announcement prompted a call to boycott Heinz products. The move, resulting in the loss of approximately one hundred and twenty-five jobs at the Aston factory, was criticised by politicians and union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
officials, especially as the parent company still wanted to use the image of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
on its bottles. In the same month, local Labour MP Khalid Mahmood
Khalid Mahmood
Khalid Mahmood is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Perry Barr since 2001.-Political career:...
brandished a bottle of HP Sauce during Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
in the House of Commons as part of a protest against the Heinz move. He also made reference to the sauce's popularity with the former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
. These plans were confirmed on 23 August 2006 and the factory at Aston ceased production on 16 March 2007. A week later a "wake"
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
was held at the location of the factory.
The factory was demolished in the summer of 2007. The tower of the factory was a famous landmark alongside the Aston Expressway. one of the giant logos from the top of the tower is now in the collection of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery.
Canada
North York, Ontario
North York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...
.
See also
- A1 Steak SauceA1 Steak SauceA1 is a steak sauce and condiment for use with meat or game dishes. It was developed in the United Kingdom as a brand in the year 1831 and was later introduced to the United States by G.F...
- Brown sauceBrown sauceBrown sauce may refer to:* Brown sauce , in French and Scandinavian cuisines* Steak sauce, a spiced condiment containing fruits and vinegar** A1 Steak Sauce, an American brand of steak sauce** HP Sauce, a British brand of sauce...
- DaddiesDaddiesDaddies is a brand of ketchup and brown sauce in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The brown sauce is similar to HP Sauce, but without tamarind, without tomatoes and with less malt vinegar but more spirit vinegar.-History:...
- Henry Bain sauceHenry Bain sauceHenry Bain was one of the first employees and eventually a legendary head waiter at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky, which was founded in 1881. He created his famous sauce for both steaks and local game animals...
- Major Grey's ChutneyMajor Grey's ChutneyMajor Grey's Chutney is a type of chutney, reputedly created by a 19th century British Army officer of the same name who, though likely apocryphal, presumably lived in Colonial India...
(another condiment with tamarind) - Tabasco SauceTabasco sauceTabasco sauce is the brand name for a hot sauce produced by US-based McIlhenny Company of Avery Island, Louisiana. Tabasco sauce is made from tabasco peppers , vinegar, and salt, and aged in white oak barrels for three years. It has a hot, spicy flavor...
- Worcestershire sauceWorcestershire sauceWorcestershire sauce , or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment; primarily used to flavour meat or fish dishes.First made at 60 Broad Street, Worcester, England, by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, the Lea & Perrins brand was commercialised in 1837 and...