Worcestershire¹ Sauce has an interesting history. Allegedly it was brought back from India by Baron Sandys, MP, who supposedly gave it to two local chemists, John Lea and William Perrins, with an order for a large batch to be made up from his recipe. A few weeks later he returned to pick up the sauce, only to proclaim upon sampling some that it tasted filthy and was nothing like how it should be, and left in disgust.

Nothing more was thought of this until the chemists discovered it at the back of their stores a few months later, and they decided to give it just one more try before tipping it down the drain. To their surprise, the foul-tasting anchovy broth, after being left to ferment, had matured into an interesting spicy condiment, and they immediately purchased the recipe from Baron Sandys.

So thanks to this chance re-tasting, 1838 saw one of the UK's best-known sauces launched, and the name of Worcestershire Sauce (originally called just Worcester Sauce), has spread to be mispronounced by many a foreigner in every corner of this spherical world.

The rest, as they say, is history (or legend, whatever you care to believe). However fishy its history, it's a favourite condiment of many and makes the Lea & Perrins company a handsome profit each year.

(Oh yes, and to the best of our knowledge it does not have any mystical properties when accidentally used instead of embalming fluid.)