FAQ
What is “brown sauce”?
HP sauce, or “brown sauce” as it’s commonly known in the UK, is a popular condiment found throughout the British Commonweath of Nations like as Canada & Australia.
What the official definition of “brown sauce”?
brown sauce
n.
“A sauce made from butter and flour browned together and stock.”
??? Perhaps this is why it’s not imported to the United States?! *confused look*
I’ve heard of HP Sauce, but not “brown sauce”. Are they the same thing?
Yes, “brown sauce” is a generic term for HP Sauce (the brand) and are essentially interchangable with each other. The use of the term “brown sauce” isn’t widely used outside the UK.
What do you use HP Sauce with?
It depends! The official wordage on the bottle (original variety) changes, depending on which country you’re in!
In Canada for example, wordage on the bottle says: “Steak Sauce & Baste for Meat” whereas in the UK it states “Everything goes well with HP Sauce. Great for spicing up chips, bacon sandwiches, sausages and snack such as jacket potatoes and baked beans.”
I consider these good starting points - use it with anything you like!
If you have a creative use for HP Sauce, or if you like to make your own - Write Me with the recipe and I’ll post it to the recipe section for all to enjoy!
What does HP Sauce taste like?
HP Sauce has a rich and unique spicy/tangy flavour to it which makes it hard to make comparisons with other steak/bbq sauces. It’s very good, put it that way. 
Why create a site based (baste?) on brown sauce?
In the spring of 2004, I was chatting with some online friends from the UK when someone mentioned fish & chips (I loooove english style fish & chips all wrapped up in newspaper & smothered with malt vinegar & sea salt!). As the conversation progressed, one of my friends mentioned how good brown sauce was on chips. As the term brown sauce isn’t commonly used where I live (Canada), I was curious and before long, one of my friends had produced a recipe for the stuff so I could make some myself.
A week or two passed before I had acquired all the necessary ingredients to make my very own brown sauce and one evening I decided to make a batch. By about 9:30pm it was done, and I had just started to give it a taste test when my wife came home from work. I scouped up some sauce on a wooden spoon and and ran down the stairs to give her a taste. Her response: “It tastes just like HP Sauce!”. I was shocked! All this time, I could’ve simply opened the fridge and sampled from the ever present, yet anonymous bottle of HP sauce and had the same experience!
Like many Canadian households, we’ve always kept a bottle of HP in the fridge, but rarely did it come out except for spicing up the occasional roast 2 - 3 times a year. It was an anonymous condiment, taken for granted and to be honest not very well understood either. Surprisingly, the net seemed to reflect this state of anonymity. The very same references to “Wilson’s Gravy” kept popping up here and there, and there was the occasional posting of “I love HP Sauce” and other expatriots (UK mostly) looking to buy HP Sauce in the United States. Beyond this, it seemed this wonderful condiment remained very much ignored. This is why the site exists.
As a side note, my UK friends were absolutely horrified to learn that we would use HP Sauce on a roast. For me and others that I’ve asked locally, that’s been it’s traditional usage as far back as we can remember. Is this a uniquely Canadian thing?
What are the ingredients of HP Sauce?
Here are the ingredients as listed on the bottle (original variety). Of course the actual process is secret.
- Water
- Vinegar
- Dates
- Glucose-Fructose
- Black Strap Molasses
- Tomato Paste
- Modified Cornstarch
- Salt
- Orange Juice Concentrate
- Onion
- Spices
- Tamarind Extract
- Apple Juice Concentrate
- Garlic
- Chili Peppers
- Mustard Flour
Where do the pictures come from?
From site visitors like you!
Who contributes to this site?
Brad is the primary contributor, however anyone is welcome to submit content and become involved with the site.
How do I contribute my own HP sauce pictures?
Is this site affiliated with HP and/or it’s parent company?
No. This site is in no way affiliated with HP Foods, Danone or Heinz.
Who’s Adham?
Adham is a wonderful person.
Are you Adham?
How did Adham become the site’s mascot?
When the site was restyled, I chose Adham’s submission as the new title picture. The photograph’s abstract nature fit perfectly with the design I had in mind. There’s an endearing quality to that contented stare isn’t there!
Who runs this site?
I do. My name is Brad. I like HP Sauce!
Isn’t Adham supposed to be spelt “Adam”?
You’ll have to talk to Adham’s parents about that!
How is “Adham” pronounced?
It is pronounced “ah-DAHM”.
