Worcestershire Sauce from Scratch

I've really been into making my own ingredients from scratch lately. I got inspired by the homemade mustard and the homemade butter, so I decided to try to make a vegetarian version of worcestershire sauce that leaves out the anchovies.

I found a recipe online that I decided to try. It turns out to be somewhere between A-1 steak sauce and worcestershire sauce. It is a wonderful marinade for tofu and tempeh. I'm sure I'll use it a lot for grilling this spring and summer.

I've used it for 2 different recipes now, both of my own devising. (This is a big step for me!) The first was vegetarian Rueben Sandwiches, which was super tasty. The second was marinated tofu cubes served warm over greens with a chipotle dressing. It was one of the best salads I've ever had.

Here's the link to the worcestershire sauce recipe, although if you're a friend of mine, come get some from me before you make some of your own. This made over a half gallon of sauce! It keeps really well and freezes well, too, but it will take me years to use it all. Good thing I really, really like it!

http://www.foodista.com/recipe/3FNMGZFY/worcestershire-sauce-from-scratch

This was the first time I've ever worked with tamarinds, which are an Asian dried pod. Inside is this sticky fruit with several hard stones inside the sticky stuff. I bought a one pound box at my local Asian market for a little over $3. The recipe also calls for 10-12 medium apples, so I may try this again when the apples in my orchard are in season. It also uses a lot of vinegar, loads of spices, coffee (that was a surprise), and a bunch of salt. It called for corn syrup, but I used agave nectar instead. The recipe doesn't say how much apple cider vinegar to use. I used 4 cups and that worked out ok.

Special thanks to my friend Carla for supplying me with a quart of malt vinegar, which she made from scratch. I used almost all of it in this recipe.