Those who are partial to Worcestershire sauce have revealed their horror after learning how the liquid is made.
A Reddit post featuring a video of the process has sent particularly picky eaters into a spiral after re-emerging online after it was first shared eight years ago.
The video captures the manufacturing process of Lea & Perrins’ Worcestershire Sauce – and users are shocked at the ingredients used to make it.
Original poster Quick2822 references the clip as a snippet from Discovery Channel series “How It’s Made,” a show about how common, everyday items such as food, clothing and industrial products are created.
The two-minute video begins by showing multiple blue barrels filled with onions and garlic, which have been pickled in malt vinegar between one to two years.
Anchovies are cured in salt for months – producing an unappealing layer of brown sludge at the top of the barrel
The unsightly process then moves on to reveal another barrel of sludgy anchovies – cured in salt for several months.
A shovel is then used to transfer the fishy fusion into an industrial mixer, where other ingredients such as sugar, white vinegar, malt vinegar, tamarind concentrate and molasses are added.
The video ends with a perfectly produced product of Worcestershire Sauce – bottled, packaged and ready to hit supermarket shelves for the unsuspecting consumer.
Reddit users responded to video with a variety of reactions, with most disgusted at what lies behind the tangy-tasting condiment.
Vegetarians who have eaten the sauce for years were not best pleased to learn of what they had truly been eating the whole time, mainly because the recipe contains fish.
One said: ‘So erm, turns out I’m not a very good vegetarian….’
A second wrote: ‘I literally held my nose while watching this.’
Another said: ‘Gotta love it when something edible is made using a shovel.’
However, some users found watching the process rather intriguing, and only increased their appetite for the sauce.
One wrote: ‘Mmm, the most delicious of sauces. My mouth was watering even as that guy shoveled salted anchovies into that giant tub.’
A slew of onions and garlic pickled in vinegar are used at the beginning of the process, before being mixed in with anchovies
The anchovies, onions and garlic are churned into a pulp, with sugar, vinegar and other ingredients added
The result of the unique process are delicious, CAD/CAM fresh bottles of the iconic sauce ready to be distributed nationwide
The famous sauce is used in everyday snacks and dishes – from cheese-on-toast to spaghetti Bolognese
Another user named responded to the comment by saying: ‘I love Worcestershire sauce and will put it on any number of foods, but this video made my stomach churn.’
Since 1837, Lea & Perrins have been producing their famous sauce, and it certainly has become one of the nation’s most beloved condiments.
Worcestershire Sauce has been used over the years as an accompaniment to cheese-on-toast and sandwiches, and to jazz up other dishes such as spaghetti Bolognese and casseroles.
According to Lea & Perrins, the condiment is made using ‘an expert blend of ingredients that take a full 18 months to mature to give us that unique full flavour that enriches your meals.’
It comes after fans of crabsticks also vowed to ‘never to eat them again’ after finding out how they’re made, when a factory in Thailand revealed the unexpected process.
A Reddit user posted a clip of the process on the site, showing how a factory in Thailand creates the sticks – which have a red dye casing and white ‘meat’ inside.
Those who viewed the footage admitted they were baffled after seeing the process – with one dubbing them ‘fish hotdogs.’
Foodies were disgusted at the video and did not hesitate in sharing their opinion, with many baffled at how the flavour is produced
Grey slabs of frozen fish meat travel up a conveyer belt and into a machine, where it is crushed.
A huge rotating disk is then put into the machine, which prompts a thick, beige mixture – reminiscent of slime – to come out.
The fish meat is then pureed and blended and rolled into a long, continuous strip, where it is then encased in it’s distinctive orange coating, which is naturally pigmented surimi.
Surimi is a paste made from fish or other meat and it can come in many different shapes and textures – often used to mimic lobster, crab, grilled Japanese eel or shellfish.
The crabsticks are then wrapped in plastic and frozen as they are stuffed in boxes by employees, ready to be distributed to shop floors.
Reddit user one100eyes remarks: ‘Watching processed food being made really puts you off.’