I ate Henderson’s Relish on everything for a day

If you haven’t heard of Henderson’s Relish, clearly you’ve never been to Sheffield.

Henry Henderson created the Steel City’s favourite sauce in the late 1800s, and since then it’s been a staple in the diet of any true Yorkshire lad or lass.

Even the likes of KT Tunstall, Sean Bean and The Arctic Monkeys are fans – and if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.

So, in true Yorkshire spirit, I decided to try it in everything for a whole day.

The sausage sandwich

I eased myself in gently and tried a sausage sandwich with Henderson’s Relish. It turned out to be really tasty, of course.

The flavour of the sausages was emphasised by the tones of caramel in the relish, although the sauce turned the bread into a brown, soggy mush in the end. It didn’t quite beat HP, but definitely not bad.

The cup of tea

Your first cup of tea in the day should be a sacred event, so adding Henderson’s Relish to the mix distressed me to say the least.

It took a lot of building up to, and I bottled it (pardon the pun) so only tried it in the dregs of the tea. It was revolting. Imagine if you put pickled onion Monster Munch into a smoothie – this would be the result. Ew.

The salad

It was actually quite a nice vinaigrette to go with my salad, and it complimented the beetroot quite nicely. It didn’t, however, look the nicest when the left over lettuce leaves at the bottom were wilting in the brown juice.

All in all, one to try tentatively.

The Tunnock’s Teacake

I should receive an OBE for my bravery when trying this one. Like the tea, it took me a while to build up to, and the thought made me wretch.

I ate the chocolate off the top first, and then shook the Henderson’s into the marshmallow centre. It bled into the cloud-like middle, looking like a spider’s web at first, and then a massive pile of dog poo in the end.

I licked a small noggin of the marshmallow off the top, and allowed it to dissolve in my mouth. Then I promptly spat it out again.

Forget life imprisonment, this should be the punishment criminals get for heinous crimes.

The pasta dinner

I’d had a hard day of work, and all I wanted was a delicious dinner of my favourite carb: pasta. I’d heard that Henderson’s relish worked especially well in a bolognese sauce, so I reluctantly added it to my tomato and cheese sauce.

Well, it was a taste sensation. It really brought out the flavour of the tomato, and the saltiness of the cheese with the tang of the relish was delicious. Move over Nigella, there’s a new domestic goddess in town.

So yes, having Henderson’s in everything might make you a reyt mardy bum – but you might find you’re pleasantly surprised.