I would agree that hot spice has been added to so much! I was talking about this with a group of friends just recently. We were at a 70 year old 'old school' very, very popular Italian restaurant, and several of us ordered the minestrone soup. Chiles had been added! The waiter told us they were trying out a new version to appeal to a younger generation of diners. But, the complaints were rolling in fast and furious, so it was probably a no-go. I now just question the spice level of a dish before I order.

You shouldn't assume that different brands of a particular product type have the same characteristics and flavor. I find they're more often different than not.

That's one reason (not the only one, perhaps the rational one) that people have brand preferences.

Worcestershire sauce (Pronounced Wooster for the sauce woostersher for the county) sauce is absolutely not meant to be hot. Note that Lea & Perrins is owned by Heinz.

Ps the anchovies are vital

I’ve only used L&P’s Worcestershire. I’m just guessing Heinz might have upped the spice level. My mouth is crazy sensitive to heat. What most people say isn’t spicy will do a real number on my mouth.

Found this online. Note the chili pepper extract in #5.

Commercial Worcestershire sauce is typically made with:

1. Vinegar: The original Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce recipe was made with barley malt vinegar. Today, most Worcestershire sauce is made with white vinegar.

2. Molasses: This contributes to the sauce’s dark brown color and rich sweetness.

3. Sugar: Some commercial versions use white sugar, while others use high-fructose corn syrup to sweeten the sauce.

4. Alliums: Worcestershire sauce is traditionally made with shallots and garlic, and many contemporary recipes call for onion and garlic powder.

5. Spices: Cloves, celery seed, and natural flavorings give Worcestershire sauce its characteristic spiciness—in some cases with the addition of chili pepper extract.

6. Tamarind: Worcestershire sauce may include tamarind extract to add sour flavor.

A quick online shows L&P contains chili pepper extract but not Heinz.

“The ingredients in the US version of Lea & Perrins also differ somewhat, in that the US version (which include distilled white vinegar, molasses, sugar, water, salt, onions, anchovies, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, and chili pepper extract[20]) replaces the malt vinegar used by the UK and Canadian versions with spirit vinegar.[21]“

Wiki^^^

The ingredients listed on my Canadian bought bottle of L&P is the same as floral’s bottle.

It does state that it is prepared for Heinz and is a product of England.

I inadvertently came upon a Youtube video once from a guy who I think presents himself as a Cajun and cooks outdoors making large batches of what strikes me as not particularly appealing food.

Anyway, I think his pronunciation of this product is definitive. He calls it "Wash your sister" sauce.

Yes, anchovies are vital, to add glutamates to boost the umami sensation. Yes, the feared item contained in MSG. There are many good sources of glutamates for cooking, depending on what's being made. A bit of anchovy paste, ultimately flavorless but umami rich. A small dash of Asian fish sauce (made from fermented anchovies) is a bit more potent than Wash Your Sister sauce, also without adding any flavor. Mushrooms. Sauteed tomato paste. Etc.

“Anyway, I think his pronunciation of this product is definitive. He calls it "Wash your sister" sauce”

I was taught ”what’s this s@%t sir” sauce.

I bought a bottle of Lea & Perrins last year and I it wasn't spicy hot. I hope they didn't mess with it.

Elmer, my mom kept a small shaker bottle of Msg to cook with by the stove, just like salt & pepper. I knew it by its Japanese name of Aginomoto. I didn't realize it was the same as msg until I googled it one day quite a few years ago. Probably during the start of everyone freaking out about it.

I remembered something about the creation of L&P Worchestershire being unintentional. I had to go check. Glad about the accident since I love the stuff!

“Worcestershire sauce has its roots in India but was actually created by accident in its namesake town of Worcester, England in 1835. The Lea & Perrins company says Lord Sandys (whose identity is disputed) had returned home to England to retire after successfully governing Bengal, India for many years. He so missed his favorite Indian sauce that he commissioned drug store owners John Lea and William Perrins to come up with a reasonable facsimile.The original intent of the chemists was to keep some of the batch to sell in the store, but the fish and vegetable mixture had such a strong odor that they decided otherwise and stored it in the cellar. It lay forgotten for two years until it was rediscovered during a clean-up mission. The batch had aged into a wonderfully flavored sauce which was bottled and quickly became a hot item with customers.”

Amusing that the label, kindly provided by floral_UK, feels it necessary to add (Fish) to the Anchovies ingredient.

I'm trying to remember something I read about an ingredient that's supposed to cause a person to want more of some dish. I don't think it was MSG, but maybe...

" during the start of everyone freaking out about it. "

kathsgrdn, that was as irrational and baseless as anything could be. Like shouting "Fire" ina theater". Crowd panic.

Good cooks and those who develop recipes know very well how to add glutamates (and so umami) to dishes without causing anyone to go crazy. Parmesan cheese, soy sauce, tomatoes, and other things, along with items I mentioned above. Think of all the recipes that include these items with subtle flavors added in small amounts. Now you know why.

My favorite recipe developer, Kenji Lopez-Alt, has a great recipe for Beef Stew on the Serious Eats site. I may have mentioned it before. He unabashedly explains that some of the seemingly random things he includes are to create an "Umami Bomb". What's needed for the recipe includes tomato paste, anchovy filets (or fish sauce as a substitute), soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms and frozen peas (also a good glutamate source).

I'll bet your mother was a good cook. The specific discovery of umami as a flavor element was made by a Japanese researcher. Dashi, a fixture of Japanese cooking, is high in glutamates.

“What’s this here” sauce.

Wooster sheer

I've never bought any that was hot, I wouldn't have expected hot at all. Strange!

Elmer, she was a great cook.

Petalique, that's how I say it too. Lol. My mom used a few more syllables when she said it. ( :

Arkansas girl, very strange. Luckily was going to my daughter's in the morning anyway and she said she'd take leftovers and the bottle so no waste.

I use the Heinz brand Worcheshire sauce. Its not spicy at ALL. Maybe it was something else in the recipe? I actually do not care for worchesire sauce but my SO does. I put it in salmon cakes and when I make him a cheesesteak sandwich I season the meat with it. He hates heat in food. And i have never gotten spice out of it when I eat the things I put it in...

“Worst-for-sure” sauce as our son still calls it. Off topic but our kids would alway say ”Jimmy-Shirley” for the Chimichurri I make.

Kathsgarden, my mother also used MSG in cooking. I don't know how she used it except that I think she put it in long-cooked greens such as collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, and mixed greens. Most people would have cooked those with pork, but we did not often have meat, so maybe the MSG stood in place of the meat juices. Mom came from from generations of rural and small town Arkansas life. At the table, we might sprinkle vinegar on cooked greens.

I never use enough of it at a time to notice that it has any heat. I use it mainly for making Caesar salad, and that only requires 1/4 teaspoon and has additional Tabasco sauce for heat.

One bottle lasts me about a decade, I think.

The umami "flavor' or sensation is described sometimes oddly with not wholly satisfactory words - savory is one, meaty is another and perhaps a better one. Why use glutamate, umami adding ingredients to beef stew? To make it all the more meaty tasting. It does make a big difference.

matthias, I've never put vinegar on cooked greens but I and I'd bet most everyone else do so all the time on uncooked greens (salad), so I can see where it would go well.

Amylou, no, it just had a little oil, veggies and Yakisoba noodles and the Worcestershire sauce.

There is only one ”h” in Worcestershire. I remember watching a TV series where they showed how different popular British food products were produced, and Worcestershire sauce was one of them. They had humungous barrels of the different ingredients fermenting away for years in a kind of bond store and would blend them together after they were sufficiently fermented.

Putting vinegar on greens is a healthy move as while greens such as spinach have a lot of iron in them, your body can’t absorb it without the assistance of an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice.

I was just going to say, what is this Worchestershire? There's no such place or word. The county is Worcestershire, pronounced, roughly, Woostersher. The county town is Worcester, pronounced approximately Wooster. The oo is said like the oo in book. Strangely, the sauce although labelled Worcestershire sauce, is often called Worcester sauce. That's what my family has always said.

I chuck the sauce in anything that needs some extra depth of flavour. Stews, soups, gravy, toasted cheese, tomato juice...

Always called Worcester Sauce here too . . . we live very near the Worcestershire county border but not near enough the factory to smell it! We add it to all the dishes mentioned by floral and my Father always splashed a few drops onto poached eggs.

I fixed the spelling. I blame my old age and laziness. Can't spell anymore and was too lazy to google it or go look at the bottle.

I too have noticed an uptick in the number of foods with added spiciness. I make a soup that contains several different beans. One can I typically buy now has a version with jalapenos added and it isn’t obvious on the can. Of course I picked up one that had the jalapenos and didn’t notice it until I opened it. I tried to pick out all the peppers but it was still very hot.

I also use L&P and hope they don’t start messing around with the original recipe.

My Heinz Worcestershire has never been hot so not sure what's happening.

FWIW, things other than hot peppers can make someone's mouth burn. What were the veggies?

carolb, carrots, okra, onions, Swiss Chard, eggplant, mushrooms and kale. None of those are spicy.

This is why I always buy the EXACT same brand names. If a sotre is out, I go to another store. I NEVER buy store brands, because they change who is making their brand.

Yes, sometimes the brand changes thier ingredients, but is=t is not as othen as buying a different brand or a store brand.

I agree not hot, but some people can experience a burning sensation from some veggies. Did you taste the Worcestershire by itself?

And i didn't know that was an ingredient in yakisoba...?

carolb, my mom was Japanese and that's what she used. I've had prepackaged Yakisoba noodles from a Japanese company, with the spice packets and the flavor tastes the same. I didn't try the Worcestershire sauce on it's own. It may just be me. I do sometimes feel like things are overpeppered when I go out to eat but my kids tell me it's not, so who knows?

People do have varying levels of sensitivity, I know. I don't think of my cooking as so very spicy, but it used to be too much for my WI raised mom.