On 2015-03-02 17:21:04 +0000, James Silverton said:

> I have two bottles of "brown" sauce sitting in front of me, both of
> which claim to be the "original".

Do either of them mention what the originality refers to? The sauce,
the taste, the bottle, the usage?

> A1 says "established 1862"...

Wiki points out that it "It went into commercial production" in 1831.

> ...and HP claims that it has "set the standard for quality since 1899".
> I suppose various interpretations of the words are possible.

"Setting 'quality' standards" is certainly different from "original
recipe" or "first producer" or "first commercial producer". The
inventor registered the name initially in 1895 (wiki).

> Both sauces show the usual creative packaging; A1's bottle is 10 oz and
> HP's 9 oz. A1 belongs to Kraft and HP is a "product of Holland" but
> claims to be British (and has a royal appointment to support that).

Wiki says it was originally a British product, purchased by Heinz in
2005, and is currently manufactured and bottled in Elst, Netherlands.

> The ingredient lists of both sauces are very similar but I prefer the
> more acidic A1, even if I like either on steak. I wonder does anyone
> have strong opinions?

I've only rarely tried HP sauce so hardly remember it. I eschew A1 on
steak as I avoid ketchup on meat or meatloaf, just a
socially-inculcated limitation. Ten or 15 years ago I turned down the
A1 bottle, as did all my companions, at a conference where most of us
were served steak, and a pitiable steak at that. One guy used the A1
and stated the steak was "almost edible". One by one everybody at the
table then used it. Since then I've considered it critical to use on
poor quality meats wherever I go.

I just remembered that in my youth I ran out of Worcestershire sauce
which I used, with some diced onions, to make burgers. I had an
ancient bottle of A1 in the fridge and used that instead and thought it
was great. Then I forgot about it.
--
Food good! Fire BAD!! - Frankenstein's Monster