HP Original Sauce Top Down (450g) - Pack of 2

I am american an' 'ad never 'ried 'his befawe, bu' i am very in'erested in bri'ish cuisine so i gave i' a 'ry. I fink I''s fan'astic. I' is kind ov like a 'angy a-1 sauce. Grea' on all 'ypes ov mea', eggs, e'c. I' is expensive, bu' defini'ely waw'h 'ryin.

My wife and I both grew up in Great Britain and like in many British homes, this sauce was a staple item in our pantries and probably more popular than ketchup. Its a savoury, but mild, brown sauce that's made from a malt vinegar base, thickened with tomatoes, dates, tamarind, and other spices. It's delicious as a condiment to either hot or cold foods - we particularly like it on sausages (bangers), bacon or chips (fries), but it also makes a really good spread to liven up cold cheese or ham sandwiches. Its a bit similar to a brown steak sauce such as 'A1', but has a thicker, less runny consistency that clings better to food, like a good ketchup does.My kids have grown to love it and frankly, a bottle doesn't seem to last for very long in our house! So the 425g (about 15 oz) size is best for us - plus, we prefer it in the squeeze bottle, which reduces that annoying little amount that usually gets stuck in the bottom of a sauce bottle! You can find this on the shelf at some U.S. grocery stores and pay more, but given this is imported, these seem to be a really good prices here for the quantities. If you shop around, you can also find variations from this 'original' flavour - such as 'HP Fruity' (sweeter, which I don't think is quite as good), 'HP Bold' (spicier) and 'HP BBQ'.I noticed that some folks have complained that the expiration (or 'sell by') date on the bottle has passed, or is very close. Don't forget that Brits use a 'DD-MM-YYYY' format, not the 'MM-DD-YYYY' format used in the U.S. so that may be the reason. My recent order had an expiry date of'08-01-2016', but whether that means August 1st or January 8th is a moot point in my house, as it will never last until either one!A bit of trivia - as the image on the bottle suggests, the 'HP' stands for Houses of Parliament, where it was supposedly served since its introduction around 1900. And in the 1960's, it had a nickname of 'Wilson's Gravy' in Britain, as the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson apparently doused everything he ate with it!So, are you buying a traditional, authentic British product here? Well not really any more, as HP Foods is now owned by Heinz and this sauce is made in the Netherlands. But fortunately, they don't seem to have messed with the recipe and it still tastes as good as ever to me!

Love HP sauce. Brings back memories of home

Husband loves it! No more ketchup for him.😊

I've used this steak sauce for 35 years, and it's by far my favorite. The 450gr bottles came in good shape, but the use by date is only 6 months on both bottles. I purchased qty 2 because it's hard to find in stores, and so I had a back up on hand. The problem is; the 2nd bottle will probably be expired by the time I use it. So be careful how much you purchase, depending on your use.

this is an excellent sauce

Tastes good. First time user, great on sausages and ham/ eggs.

I love this sauce. I put it on everything. It's really great on Fried egg sandwiches but I also use it as a dipping sauce and sometimes add a little ketchup with it to make it go further.