Customer Reviews

Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce-10 OZ

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

The above delightful reviews are sadly recalling a different product. The Lea & Perrins that is sold in the US now uses high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar (which is what is still in the UK version.) This may not matter to some but it definitely detracts from the authentic clean spicy taste by making it more sickly sweet which the original is not. It really becomes apparent in Bloody Mary's and also in scrambled eggs or toasted cheese (Welsh Rarebit.) Bring a bottle back from the UK and compare the difference. A pity because it must mean only a cent or so difference in the manufacturing cost.

HFCS - High Fructose Corn Syrup - is processed differently by your body than sugar and is considerably worse. Do not trust the propaganda of the subsidized Big Ag in America for your truthful info on food.

You can get an organic version from Annie's.

Frankly, this isn't worth the bottle it's put in. Heinz have really screwed the pooch on a wonderful, traditional product. Not only were the sugars replaced by HFCS, but the wonderful malt vinegar has been substituted with a more generic (read: cheaper) distilled vinegar. These two things alone result in a product that not only lacks the subtlety and spice of the original, but one that leaves a nasty, cloying aftertaste. I'n not even going to get into the potential health risks of HFCS--if the stuff tasted good, I probably wouldn't care, considering the small amount used. But, it does NOT taste good, and as a life-long Lea & Perrins devotee, I feel completely ripped off by Heinz's cost-cutting measures. Maybe some people can't tell the difference, but I'm betting a lot more can.

My question to Heinz would be, why the hell buy a company, just to completely ruin up its flagship product? Or, is it that they didn't want competition for their third-rate "Worcestershire sauce?" Now that I think about it, the new L&P tastes a lot like the rubbish in the Heinz bottle. Maybe one and the same? Gak.

Fortunately, as others have mentioned, you can still get something that more closely resembles the real thing from both Europe and Canada. Do your homework. It's worth the couple extra pence to get the real thing.

The american and european (UK, Canada, etc) market products are very different. Heinz messed things up for us americans by replacing genuine sugar and molasses with "high fructose corn syrup" which leaves aslippery gumminess on the tongue and a basically slimy aftertaste. The "other" (UK, Canada)sauce is clean, sharp with distinct flavor layers and a beautiful, long-lasting aftertaste. Sorry. I order my product from Canada for the same cost, and hope Amazon soon offers the "foreign" product.

I've always avoided the Lea&Perrins brand due to using hfcs but today I was in the store and I was happy to find Lea&Perrins "all natural" it uses sugar instead. Seek it out if you want the true original.

The true "original" is the UK version, which contains malt vinegar and spirit vinegar. This product is the US version, which contains distilled white vinegar instead. I've compared both versions side by side and found that it's even possible to _smell_ the difference. As you may well imagine, the difference in taste is considerable.

Please note that this issue is entirely separate from the matter of the high-fructose corn syrup mentioned in so many other reviews. The US version no longer contains HFCS, but it's still not the "original" -- and it's not as pungent and strongly flavored as the true UK original.

Use the UK version (with the orange label) and accept no substitutes. Especially when they lie and claim to be "original."

As other reviewers have noted, this version of Lea & Perrins' "original" Worcestershire sauce is far from the traditional recipe that's been used since 1838. As mentioned in the product description above, this product contains high fructose corn syrup. I hear Heinz has finally gone back to using sugar in the recipe this year (see the ingredients listing for the US version on the L&P website), but unless and until this product information is updated, I'll assume what's being sold here is old inventory containing HFCS. If in doubt, stick with the bottles with orange labels if you can find them - that is the imported British Worcestershire sauce, and will most definitely be HFCS-free.

Good on Heinz for listening to the opinions of their customers, though!

Despite being sold under the same label, the Lea & Perrins available in the U.S. is NOT the real thing - as others have noted, it contains high fructose corn syrup. Aside from high fructose corn syrup being ridiculously bad for you, it does change the flavor. Not to mention, it's a false claim, as the American version is not 'the original'. See if you have any friends in England to send you the real stuff :)

While this kind does have high fructose corn syrup, Lea & Perrins offers an "all natural" variety which does not. That one has good ingredients and I recommend seeking that out instead of this one. I found it at the grocery store, but I don't see it on Amazon.

Not Genuine! High Fructose Corn Syrup in this one. You are buying a Heinz knock off. For the Genuine sauce you need the one still made in England called "Original and Genuine." See wikipedia for more info.