I remember as a child how Worcestershire didn’t sound like it was spelled. And it seemed to make most icky stuff taste better. (My palate has improved since those days.) Imagine my surprise when I discovered it has anchovies in it … those little fishies that I say I don’t particularly care for but apparently do. Because there’s Worcestershire. And that amazing bread dip oil I used to eat at this Italian restaurant where I gigged as a musician back in Florida. I wonder how many more things I love have in them those things I keep saying I hate? And if I like Worcestershire, why bother with vegan Worcestershire?
Jump to RecipeWhen you have vegans in your life, it matters. And because Worcestershire is a main ingredient in my Red Beans & Rice recipe, I had to figure this out … which is why I was looking at the label of that paper-bag-wrapped bottle to begin with, because “What is in it?” If eating Worcestershire presents a moral dilemma, worry not. Now you have vegan Worcestershire … or as I’ve started calling it, Vegstershire.
Key Changes for Vegan Worcestershire
Eliminating the anchovies was a given. Sugar and molasses presented a possible problem, too. It turns out that some sugar brands use bone ash in part of their processes. Some vegans are ok with this; others, not so much. This issue can affect molasses, too. So … choose products you or your vegan loved ones feel comfortable with. Organic generally seems to be a good choice. In the end, you definitely need the molasses, but you could probably skip the sugar. It was plenty sweet.
Results
This was a great experiment. In fact, I may just make my vegan version and forget that paper-wrapped bottle. Vegan Worcestershire even passed a blind taste test with my meat-eating and anchovy loving husband: he declared the vegan version to be the authentic (and tastier) version. Let the flavors soak in a couple of days and it will taste even better.
“Often, the greater our ignorance about something, the greater our resistance to change.”
― Marc Bekoff
Vegan Worcestershire
Ingredients
- ¼ C white vinegar
- 3 TBSP molasses organic recommended to ensue vegan provenance
- 1 tsp sweetener of choice optional
- 1 tsp water
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp onion, finely minced
- ½ tsp garlic, finely minced
- ¼ tsp tamarind concentrate ensure it does not have fish sauce in it
- ⅛ tsp chili pepper kashmiri preferred
- 2 cloves, ground
Instructions
- mince onion and garlic
- combine all igredients and mix well
