Worcestershire Sauce

[pretty in paleo]

Hey I am wondering if there is a healthy version of Worcestershire sauce out there. I am making a liver pate that calls for it but all the brands had a lot of HFCS and mystery ingredients like "natural flavors". Well I couldn't find a good one so I'm going to sub Organicville BBQ sauce in the recipe. But for future reference it could be good to know, thanks!

[kareng]

I like lea and Perrins. It's gluten-free in the US. No HFCS.

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[Lisa]

Hey I am wondering if there is a healthy version of Worcestershire sauce out there. I am making a liver pate that calls for it but all the brands had a lot of HFCS and mystery ingredients like "natural flavors". Well I couldn't find a good one so I'm going to sub Organicville BBQ sauce in the recipe. But for future reference it could be good to know, thanks!

I'm not sure what you criteria is for "healthy" worchestershire sauce is, but Lea & Perrins is gluten free (In the US - not in Canada, unless ingredients have changed).

 

(Posted the same time as Karen, but she's quicker on the draw than I )

[psawyer]

Lea & Perrins has malt vinegar (gluten) in Canada and the UK. The US version has distilled white vinegar and is gluten-free.

 

The sweetener in both versions is sugar. Remember sugar, from before the corn industry pushed so many manufacturers to use HFCS instead of sugar? Some products still have it.

 

ETA: "Natural flavors" are often proprietary, almost certainly gluten-free, and not a cocktail of synthetic chemicals. Not a worry for me.  

[pretty in paleo]

Thanks but Lea & Perrins was the one I looked at lol. And natural flavors is far from harmless. In fact it is a blanket term for anything manufacturers don't want to be seen on the label, including: common allergens, MSG, corn syrup and castoreum.

 

Lea & Perrins has malt vinegar (gluten) in Canada and the UK. The US version has distilled white vinegar and is gluten-free.

 

The sweetener in both versions is sugar. Remember sugar, from before the corn industry pushed so many manufacturers to use HFCS instead of sugar? Some products still have it.

 

ETA: "Natural flavors" are often proprietary, almost certainly gluten-free, and not a cocktail of synthetic chemicals. Not a worry for me.

[kareng]

Thanks but Lea & Perrins was the one I looked at lol. And natural flavors is far from harmless. In fact it is a blanket term for anything manufacturers don't want to be seen on the label, including: common allergens, MSG, corn syrup and castoreum.

Lea & Perrins has malt vinegar (gluten) in Canada and the UK. The US version has distilled white vinegar and is gluten-free.

The sweetener in both versions is sugar. Remember sugar, from before the corn industry pushed so many manufacturers to use HFCS instead of sugar? Some products still have it.

ETA: "Natural flavors" are often proprietary, almost certainly gluten-free, and not a cocktail of synthetic chemicals. Not a worry for me.

Not sure where you are getting your " facts". But L& P does say gluten-free on it. Perhaps they know what is in the ingredients?

Along your line of thinking, I'm surprised you would use that BBQ sauce as it has " smoke flavoring". That's another ingredient people on the Internet think contains " hidden" gluten. ( I'm not saying it has gluten, it just goes along the same lines as thinking L& P is " hiding gluten and MSG)

[pretty in paleo]

Part of the other poster's message got copied to the end of my reply making it look confusing. Natural flavors definition is here Open Original Shared Link (it is so long and all inclusive that I won't take up 10 lines to post it lol).

[psawyer]

Thanks but Lea & Perrins was the one I looked at lol. And natural flavors is far from harmless. In fact it is a blanket term for anything manufacturers don't want to be seen on the label, including: common allergens, MSG, corn syrup and castoreum.

Common allergens? Oh, come on. In the US, federal law requires the top eight allergens to be explicitly disclosed by name--they can not be hidden. This includes wheat, eggs, milk, peanuts, soy, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. The last three must be named by exact source--you can't just say "fish"--you have to name the fish, e.g. anchovies (found in L&P Worcestershire Sauce).

In Canada, the list of allergens that must be explicitly disclosed is longer, and also includes barley, rye, oats, mustard and sulfites.

MSG is a funny thing. Every protein, both animal and vegetable, is made up of a long chain of amino acids. One of those is glutamic acid. As protein breaks down, free glutamate radicals form. If they come into contact with sodium (found in great abundance chiefly in salt), they bond to form monosodium glutamate (MSG). So there is "hidden" MSG in just about every ingredient that is not artificial or a refined extract. It is in wheat flour, for example, as a component of the gluten in it.

[psawyer]

As noted, Title 21, Section 101, part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations applies to this discussion. But it is only part of the story.

The Food Allergy Labeling and Consumer Protection Act 2004 (FALCPA) is an important factor that, as legislation enacted by Congress, supersedes that FDA regulation.

The top eight allergens must be clearly disclosed. They can be in the ingredients list, or in a "Contains" statement following the list. Either one meets the legal requirement, but many companies do both.

[Cookingpapa]

I was looking for the same thing as well for shepherds pie and found a brand that I like:

 

Edward & Sons Organic Vegan Worcestershire Sauce. It's really good. I found it in a local organic food store, but you can also find it online. Just google the name.

[NorthernElf]

I'm in Canada - I use Heinz worchestershire safely.

[nvsmom]

I like Wizard's worchestershire sauce. It's labelled as organic labelled as gluten-free. A bit pricey but I don't use a lot.  

 

This is in Canada.

[VeggieGal]

I prefer Henderson's relish..really nice in bolognese etc. Unfortunately its just in the uk (can be ordered via website and even has recipe if you want to make it yourself). Doesnt contain anchovies and is gluten free/suitable for veggies.

[Cookingpapa]

Yes I like the fact that it is organic as well. I make a gluten free version of Pork Katsu and the sauce that goes with it needs worcestershire sauce.

 

I didn't realize I could use regular Lea Perrins. How about malt vinegar? My wife loved dousing and fries in it, but she is certain that it contains gluten.

 

Does it?

 

 

I like Wizard's worchestershire sauce. It's labelled as organic labelled as gluten-free. A bit pricey but I don't use a lot.  

 

This is in Canada.

[psawyer]

Cookingpapa, in the US, where you are, Lea & Perrins is gluten-free.

Vinegar is gluten-free, with the exception of malt vinegar. Malt vinegar will always be labeled as just that--you don't need to worry if you see the single word "vinegar" in the ingredients list. Malt vinegar, unlike others, is not distilled and is made my malting something--invariably barley--and thus contains gluten.

[Juliebove]

Part of the other poster's message got copied to the end of my reply making it look confusing. Natural flavors definition is here Open Original Shared Link (it is so long and all inclusive that I won't take up 10 lines to post it lol).

I am confused.  Is your concern that the natural flavorings might contain something that is not vegetarian or vegan?  Because I think there is fish in all Worchesterchire sauce.

 

As for the natural or even artificial flavorings, those are not a concern to me unless they contain one of my food intolerances.  Some people do avoid artificial ones and they have their reasons but I see no reason to avoid natural ones just because...  I'd need a more specific one than that.  Like, that it contains butter.