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The History of A.1. Steak Sauce

A.1. Steak Sauce was invented by King George IV’s personal chef, Henderson William Brand, during his tenure working for the king from 1824 - 1831. Reportedly, King George declared the sauce "A1" and the name stuck. Brand opened a shop in London in 1835. Then in 1862, was appointed the cook and "manager of cuisine" at the 1862 International Exhibition in London, where he debuted Brand's International Sauce. This appears to have marked the start of the commercially available A1 Sauce we know today. While some ingredients have changed since then, many have remained the same. For example, Brand famously used raisin paste in his sauce to help mask the taste of sub-par beef and slow down the decay of aging meat; this ingredient is still present today and helps give the sauce its unique flavor. He also used malt vinegar to help tenderize the meat (today distilled vinegar is used) and orange marmalade for taste (today, orange puree is used). Over time, A.1. became a popular sauce in the United States and the UK. It reached its heyday in America in the 1960s, when beef became popular but the meat's quality was still below today’s standards. In fact, the sauce was originally called A.1. Sauce and marketed as an all-purpose condiment, but in the 1960s, the name was changed to A.1. Steak Sauce to take advantage of America’s growing appetite for beef. In 2014, the brand dropped “steak” from the name again, becoming A.1. Sauce. This was done as a reaction to declining steak consumption. Interestingly, starting in the 1970s, A.1. was largely phased out of UK supermarkets and today, competitors like HP Sauce are far more popular across the pond. And while A.1 Sauce is less popular in the U.S. today than it once was, it still has plenty of fans (including a number of celebrities!) who simply love the taste — even though most chefs tend to frown upon it.

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