The original sauce upon which A.1. is based was created in 1824 by Henderson William Brand, a chef to King George IV of the United Kingdom. A popular myth has it that the king declared it "A.1." and the name was born.
It went into commercial production under the Brand & Co. label in 1831, marketed as a condiment for 'fish, meat and fowl', and continued production under this label after bankruptcy forced ownership of Brand & Co. to be transferred to W.H. Withall in 1850.
It was renamed A.1. in 1873, after a trademark dispute between creator Henderson William Brand and Dence & Mason, who had since purchased Brand & Co. from Withall. It continued to be produced by Brand & Co. until the late 1950s at the firm's factory in Vauxhall, London.
It was introduced to the United States in 1895 under the ownership of G.F. Heublein & Brothers and marketed as "A.1 steak sauce". In 1931, A.1. was introduced to Canada.
Heublein was acquired by R. J. Reynolds in 1982, which merged with Nabisco in 1985 to form RJR Nabisco.
Ingrediants
125 ml. cold water
150g (a full tube) of tomato puree
15/20 raisins
125ml. balsamic vinegar
65ml. worcestershire sauce
65ml. ketchup
65ml. dijon mustard (don’t substitute or you won’t get the same product)
a pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon salt
125 orange juice
250ml prepared tamarind (Either already mixed or create this from a dried block)
Method
1. Prepare the containers you intend to decant the finished sauce into. Steralise jars / bottles (there are a number of ways todo this; boil, heat in the over to 130C for 35 mins etc) not forgetting the lids - boil these to kill and bacteria or fungus that may be on them and would ruin the sauce whilst in storage.
2. Put all of the ingredients into a medium saucepan. Give this a good mix.
3. On a medium heat, simmer sauce for about 15/20 minutes minutes until you achieve the desired thickness.
4. Blitz the mixture with a hand blender or in a food processor.
5. Decant into hot sterilised containers and seal. The sauce will store in a cool dry place for 3 months - 2 weeks in the fridge once opened.