The HP Sauce logo

HP sauce

HP Sauce is a condiment; a popular brown sauce formerly produced in Aston, Birmingham, England, by HP Foods but now produced by H.J. Heinz in Elst, the Netherlands. It has a malt vinegar base blended with fruit and spices and is usually eaten as an adjunct to hot or cold savoury food, or used as an ingredient in soups or stews. It is the most well known brand of brown sauce in the United Kingdom as well as the best selling, with 71% of the UK market.^[1] HP Sauce logo This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... HP Sauce logo This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... HP Sauce bottle. ... HP Sauce bottle. ... Salt, sugar and pepper are the most essential condiments in Western cuisine. ... Two types of steak sauce A bottle of brown sauce, as defined by British cuisine In the United States, steak sauce is a generic term used for various premade meat sauces. ... Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. ... This article is about the British city. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... HP Foods Limited, based in Birmingham, UK is best known as the producer of HP Sauce. ... H. J. Heinz Company, commonly known as just Heinz, famous for its 57 Varieties slogan, was founded in 1869 by Henry John Heinz in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. ... Elst is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland, situated in the Betuwe, between the cities of Nijmegen and Arnhem. ... Vinegar is sometimes infused with spices or herbs—as here, with oregano. ... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Spice (disambiguation). ... Savoury () denotes a broad band of flavour which is characteristically salty or spicy. ... For other uses, see Soup (disambiguation). ... Beef Stew A stew is a common dish made of vegetables (particularly potatoes or beans), meat, poultry, or seafood cooked in some sort of broth or sauce. ...

Early history

The original recipe for HP Sauce was invented and developed by Frederick Gibson Garton, a grocer from Nottingham. He registered the name H.P. Sauce in 1896. Garton called the sauce HP because he had heard that a restaurant in the Houses of Parliament had begun serving it. For many years the bottle labels have carried a picture of the Palace of Westminster. Garton sold the recipe and HP brand for the sum of £150 and the settlement of some unpaid bills to Edwin Samson Moore. Moore, the founder of the Midlands Vinegar Company (the forerunner of HP Foods) subsequently launched HP Sauce in 1903. For other uses, see Nottingham (disambiguation). ... This may refer to the: British Houses of Parliament. ... HP Foods Limited, based in Birmingham, UK is best known as the producer of HP Sauce. ...

Some stories suggest that the name HP was derived from the name Harry Palmer.^{[citation needed]} Palmer was said to have invented the recipe and sold the product as "Harry Palmer's Famous Epsom Sauce". The story then goes that Palmer, an avid gambler at the Epsom Races, was forced to sell the recipe to Garton to cover his debts. However, there is no evidence in the official history of the brand to show Palmer existed, or had any claim to the development of the recipe. It also seems unlikely that Garton, a grocer from the Midlands would have come in contact with a gambler from the South of England. Epsom Downs is a grade-one racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, United Kingdom. ...

For many years the description on the label was in both English and French. During a 1960s, BBC radio broadcast Marty Feldman sang the French version in the style of Jacques Brel. Whether or not the BBC performance has been archived is not known, but the song was also included on Feldman's 1969 album I Feel a Song Going Off. The sauce gained brief fame when it was reportedly used by pagans during solstice celebrations. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Martin Alan Marty Feldman (8 July 1934[1] – 2 December 1982) was an English writer, comedian and BAFTA award winning actor, notable for his bulging eyes, which were the result of a thyroid condition known as Graves Disease. ... Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (French IPA: ) (April 8, 1929 – October 9, 1978) was a Belgian French-speaking singer-songwriter. ...

The Aston factory (at 52°29′56″N 1°53′06″W / 52.4989, -1.8849) was once bisected by the A38(M) motorway and had a pipeline, carrying vinegar over the motorway, from the Top Yard to the main Tower Road factory site. The Top Yard site was subsequently closed, and vinegar was not brewed on the Aston site during the last few years of production there. Ansells' brewery was adjacent to the factory. The A38(M) is a short motorway in Birmingham, England, opened on May 24, 1972. ... Vinegar is sometimes infused with spices or herbs—as here, with oregano. ... Ansells was a brewery in the Aston area of Birmingham, England. ...

Wilson's Gravy

HP Sauce became known as "Wilson's Gravy" in the 1960s and 1970s after Harold Wilson, the Labour Prime Minister. The name arose after Wilson's wife, Mary, gave an interview to the Sunday Times in which she claimed "If Harold has a fault, it is that he will drown everything with HP Sauce". In 1975, when Wilson addressed a banquet to celebrate 100 years since the formation of the Midlands Vinegar Company, he admitted that it was not HP Sauce that he was partial to, but was in fact Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... Mary Wilson (born 1918) is a British poet, best known as the wife of former British prime minister, Harold Wilson. ... The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ... 1900 advertisement Lea & Perrins is a United Kingdom food company, originating in Worcester with a subsidiary in the United States which manufactures Lea & Perrins in New Jersey. ... 1900 advertisement Worcestershire sauce (IPA: (wuster-shur or wuster-sheer)) is a widely used fermented liquid condiment originally manufactured by Lea & Perrins, in Midland Road, Worcester, England. ...

Private Eye's Parliamentary news section is called "HP Sauce". Private eye may mean: Look up Private eye on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Private Eye a fortnightly British satirical magazine-newspaper, edited by Ian Hislop (as of 2005) A private investigator, a private detective for hire (see also crime fiction and detective fiction) Private Eye, a song by Alkaline Trio... Private eye may mean: Look up Private eye on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Private Eye a fortnightly British satirical magazine-newspaper, edited by Ian Hislop (as of 2005) A private investigator, a private detective for hire (see also crime fiction and detective fiction) Private Eye, a song by Alkaline Trio...

Varieties

HP fruity sauce

HP has many varieties of its sauce – some more like the original than others. They are all sold under the main HP brand and in the same bottle and labels. The range of HP Sauces include HP Chilli, BBQ, and Fruity. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (226x940, 56 KB) HP fruity sauce I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (226x940, 56 KB) HP fruity sauce I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ...

Irish imitation

Because of its Houses of Parliament labelling, HP Sauce had colonial connotations for many consumers in both Ulster and the Republic of Ireland. By the late 1940s, Crosse and Blackwell (Ireland) Ltd was marketing a brand called TD Sauce (TD is the Irish equivalent of MP), with the label showing a drawing of the Leinster House, the Irish Parliament building^{[citation needed]}.

Heinz takeover and transfer of production

In June 2005, Heinz purchased the parent company, HP Foods, from Danone.^[2] In October of that year the United Kingdom Office of Fair Trading referred the takeover to the Competition Commission,^[3] who gave the go-ahead for the £440 million acquisition in April 2006.^[4] H. J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ), commonly known as Heinz, famous for its 57 Varieties slogan, is a processed food product company with its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America. ... Danone factory in BieruÅ„, Poland Danone (Euronext: BN, NYSE: DA) (known as Dannon in the United States) is a food-product company with its central headquarters in Paris, France. ... The Office of Fair Trading or OFT is a UK statutory body established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UKs economic regulator. ... The Competition Commission is an independent body responsible for investigating mergers, market shares and conditions and the regulation of UK companies. ...

In May 2006, Heinz announced plans to switch production of HP Sauce from Aston to its European sauces facility in Elst, the Netherlands, ironically only weeks after HP launched a campaign to "Save the Proper British Cafe". The announcement prompted a call to boycott Heinz products. The move, resulting in the loss of approximately one hundred and twenty-five jobs at the Aston factory, was criticised by politicians and union officials, especially as the parent company still wanted to use the image of the House of Commons on its bottles. In the same month, Labour MP Khalid Mahmood brandished a bottle of HP Sauce during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons as part of a protest against the Heinz move. He also made reference to the sauce's popularity with the former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. These plans were confirmed on 23rd August 2006^[5] and the factory at Aston ceased production on 16 March 2007.^[6] A week later a 'wake' was held at the location of the factory.^[7] Elst is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland, situated in the Betuwe, between the cities of Nijmegen and Arnhem. ... Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... Khalid Mahmood (born 13 July 1961) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) (officially Questions to the Prime Minister) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, where every Wednesday when the House of Commons is sitting the Prime Minister spends half an hour answering questions from Members of Parliament (MPs). In Canada, this convention is known as... Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century. ...

Demolition of the factory began in July 2007. It is estimated that it will take 16 weeks to completely demolish.^[8] The tower of the factory, bearing the HP logo, was previously a famous landmark alongside the Aston Expressway leaving Birmingham City Centre. July 2007 is the seventh month of that year. ... The A38(M) is a short, elevated motorway in Birmingham, England, opened on May 24, 1972. ...

See also

• A1 Steak Sauce
• Brown sauce
• Daddies
• Henry Bain sauce
• Tabasco Sauce

A.1. ... A bottle of brown sauce, as defined by British cuisine Brown sauce can refer to one of two different sauces: In French cuisine and other cuisines based on it, it generally refers to a meat stock-based gravy-like sauce. ... Daddies is a popular brand of brown sauce in the United Kingdom. ... Henry Bain was the head waiter at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky when in 1881 he created his famous sauce for cooking local game animals in. ... The classic Tabasco red pepper sauce Tabasco sauce is a brand of hot sauce made from tabasco peppers (Capsicum frutescens var. ...

References/External links

• BBC News - Final Bottle of HP
• Official HP Sauce website
• Everything brown sauce!
• Coverage of planned closure of Aston factory

Footnotes