Is Worcestershire sauce vegan?

Anchovies are in the recipe

Traditional Worcestershire sauce has contained anchovies since the 1830s. They ferment in the barrel alongside malt vinegar, molasses, tamarind and spices, and the savoury depth people use the sauce for comes substantially from them.

They are listed on the label, because fish is a declared allergen. This is not a hidden ingredient. It is just one most people have never thought to look for.

What to buy instead

Supermarket own-brands. Several UK own-label Worcestershire sauces are made without anchovies and are marked suitable for vegetarians. Check the bottle each time, because it varies by retailer and recipes change.

Named vegan versions. Biona, Free and Easy and Wizards Cauldron all make anchovy-free Worcestershire-style sauces that are widely stocked.

Make the flavour yourself. Soy sauce or tamari with a little tamarind paste, a splash of malt vinegar and a pinch of sugar gets close enough for a shepherds pie or a bloody mary. A spoon of miso does similar work.

Where it hides

This is the real reason it is worth knowing. Worcestershire sauce turns up in plenty of dishes where nobody would think to check for fish:

Shepherds and cottage pie, bloody marys, Caesar dressing, many marinades and barbecue sauces, some baked bean recipes, cheese on toast, devilled anything, and a great many pub gravies.

If you are eating out and something savoury has an unexplained depth to it, this is one of the usual suspects — along with fish sauce, oyster sauce and chicken stock.

Recipes that use the alternatives

• Miso soba noodle bowl18 min · serves 2
• Peanut noodle bowl18 min · serves 2
• Tofu poke-style bowl25 min · serves 2

Keep reading

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• Is pasta vegan?
• Is sugar vegan?