Ethan Trex
Where Are These Thousand Islands? The Origins of 7 Condiments & Sauces
by Ethan Trex - June 18, 2009 - 12:08 PM

We’ve looked at the origins of a few of our favorite condiments on the blog before, but that didn’t quite answer all of our questions about the namesakes of our favorite spreads, sauces, and dressings. Here are a few stories that you can use to regale your friends the next time you chow down.

1. Thousand Island Dressing

thousand-island.jpgIs the delicious dressing that gives a Reuben its tanginess named after an actual chain of islands? You bet it is. The Thousand Islands are an archipelago that sits in the Saint Lawrence River on the U.S.-Canada border, and there are actually 1,793 of them, some of which are so small that they contain nothing more than a single home.

So why is the dressing named after an archipelago? No one’s quite sure. Some people claim that early film star and vaudevillian May Irwin, who summered on the Thousand Islands, named it, while others contend that George Boldt, the famed proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria, gave the dressing its name because of his own summer place in the region. No matter who named it, it’s tough to beat on a sandwich.

2. Ranch Dressing

ranch-light.jpg
Yep, the beloved dressing and dipping sauce actually got its start on a real ranch. When Steve and Gayle Henson opened a dude ranch in California in 1954, they had an ace up their sleeves: a delicious dressing that Steve had concocted while the couple was living in Alaska.

The couple did a nice business at their Hidden Valley Ranch, but guests were always flipping out over just how tasty Steve’s dressing was. Eventually, the Hensons started bottling the stuff, and the popularity grew so quickly that they had to hire a twelve-man crew just to help mix up each batch. Steve’s culinary creativity turned out to be lucrative; in 1972 Clorox forked over $8 million for the recipe.

3. A1 Steak Sauce

According to the brand’s website, A1 has been around for quite a while. Henderson William Brand worked as the personal chef for King George IV from 1824 to 1831, and at some point during this employment mixed up a new sauce for the king to use on his beef. George IV allegedly took one bite of Brand’s creation and declared that it was “A1.” Brand then left the king’s employ in order to go peddle his new sauce.

4. Worcestershire Sauce

lea.jpgWorcestershire sauce was invented accidentally in England by Brits trying to ape what they thought was authentic Indian food. In this case, the demanding diner was one Lord Marcus Sandy, a former colonial governor of Bengal. Having grown attached to a particular flavor of Indian sauce, he recruited two drugstore owners, John Lea and William Perrins, in hopes that they could recreate it based on his descriptions. Lea and Perrins thought they’d make a profit by selling the leftovers in their store, but frankly, the sauce they created had a powerful stench – so they stashed it in the basement and forgot about it for two years while it aged into something that tasted much better. (We suspect that in a similar manner, we are harboring the next big culinary phenomenon in the back of our fridge.)

Lea and Perrins sold the stuff to a boatload of customers, literally; they convinced British passenger ships to carry some aboard. Presumably they didn’t mention the way they’d come across their secret recipe since it probably would have made most people seasick.

5. Heinz 57

HEINZ.jpgLegend has it that Heinz 57 takes its name from H.J. Heinz’s company formerly marketing 57 products at once, and except for the number, the story holds up. Heinz’s website tells a story that Henry John Heinz was riding a train when he saw a billboard advertising 21 varieties of shoes. He so liked the idea he wanted to try it with his own condiment company. Thus, he started touting Heinz’s 57 varieties.

There was only one catch: Heinz marketed well over 60 products at the time. So where did the 57 come from? Heinz thought the number was lucky. Five was Heinz’s lucky number, and seven was his wife’s. He mashed the charmed digits together, got 57, and never looked back.

6. Tartar Sauce

Fish’s best friend is named after an alternate spelling of the word “Tatar,” which was how Western Europeans once referred to almost anyone of Mongolian or Turkic descent. Many of these Tatars/Tartars ran roughshod over Europe in the time of Genghis Khan, but they knew how to cook. One of the dishes they left behind, beef tartare, came back into fashion in 19th-century France. These helpings of steak tartare came with a number of garnishes, including the creamy white stuff that eventually became generically known as tartar sauce.

7. Hollandaise Sauce

Hollandaise, the lemon-butter-and-egg yumminess that Eggs Benedict can’t live without, isn’t actually Dutch. Instead, it’s one of the most well known French sauces. The sauce first appeared in French cooking in the 17th century, and is apparently named both because it somewhat resembles an old Dutch sauce and because the Dutch had such thriving butter and egg industries that provided two of the sauce’s main ingredients.

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Comments (40)

  1. Somewhere between the ranch dressing and A1 sauce, I decided what I’m having for dinner tonight: steak on the grill and a nice fresh salad!

    posted by Yum on 6-18-2009 at 2:08 pm

  2. I don’t know how everyone else feels, but a good steak should never need A1 and if it does then the cut of meat is crap or the cook didn’t prepare it properly. Give me a good medium-rare steak with ample marbling and it won’t need that cover up!

    posted by JW on 6-18-2009 at 2:36 pm

  3. Having been to the Thousand Islands many times of the decades I thought you would like to know what is considered an island in this archipelago. The island, no matter what size it is, must have a tree growing on it. One island that can be seen on the boat tour is one that is 3′ x 3′ and has 1 tree growing out of the rocks.

    posted by Owen on 6-18-2009 at 2:48 pm

  4. Right on, JW. Good steak needs nothing but a fork and a knife.

    posted by DYMongoose on 6-18-2009 at 2:54 pm

  5. For some, it’s not that the steak requires sauce, they just prefer it with sauce. Surely it’s ones personal preference as to how to have their food. There is no right way to eat anything. There is only the way you like it. Right??

    posted by alice on 6-18-2009 at 3:36 pm

  6. I’m with JW and DYM. A1 sauce should be left on the tables of the Golden Corral. The only thing a good steak needs for company is a loaded baked potato and a cold beer.

    posted by TXCherokee on 6-18-2009 at 3:40 pm

  7. Jeez, who the heck vacations, over the summer, on the U.S.-Canadian border? Eskimos? What kind of respite is that from the cold?!!

    posted by Bubba on 6-18-2009 at 4:26 pm

  8. Bubba, I don’t know if that was supposed to be funny, but it sure was ignorant. Right now where I am in Regina Saskatchewan, (4 hours from the US border) it’s 29 degrees Celsius, which is 82 Fahrenheit.

    posted by Caitlin on 6-18-2009 at 4:43 pm

  9. A1 is so good. I like to eat it on chicken. And it is especially good on potatoes.

    posted by Nicole on 6-18-2009 at 4:44 pm

  10. If you live in a very hot climate, traveling to a colder climate is a very welcome respite. Not everyone vacations to get away from the cold…

    posted by esther on 6-18-2009 at 4:46 pm

  11. Good lord, Esther and Bubba, I don’t know what your definition of “Colder climate” is, but The thousand islands in the summer is not exactly my idea o f it.

    It can range from comfortably mild to downright hot! You think it snows here in the summertime or something??

    posted by TheBear on 6-18-2009 at 4:58 pm

  12. DW got it right. If it needs sauce, then I don’t want it. Steak is the perfect food all by itself.

    Thousand Island Dressing is nothing but Mayo, Ketchup, and finely chopped pickles.

    posted by PartiallyDeflected on 6-18-2009 at 5:00 pm

  13. Me too Nicole! I don’t even eat beef but it is great on chicken and potatoes!

    posted by Nik on 6-18-2009 at 5:04 pm

  14. I know my steaks as well as any of the pompous beef purists who think only they “do it up right”. A1 makes everything better. If A1 doesn’t fix it, then Tobasco will.

    posted by Hillbilly on 6-18-2009 at 6:38 pm

  15. personally, i don’t care for A1 on my steak. for those who claim its some sort of blasphemy though, i assume you feel the same about all condiments… dressing shouldn’t be used on a good salad? tartar sauce ruins fine fish? this whole article offends the delicious taste of pure foods? to each his own, some prefer the taste of A1, even on a deliciously prepared steak.

    posted by tiffany on 6-18-2009 at 7:47 pm

  16. I was always under the impression that Thousand Island Dressing got its name from all the tiny bits of pickle floating in it.

    posted by Richard on 6-19-2009 at 8:17 am

  17. I applied for a job at McIlhenny’s (where Tabasco is made) right out of college. It’s 15 minutes from my hometown of New Iberia, and about 40 minutes from my new home in Lafayette.

    I didn’t get hired. Sad face.

    posted by Fuseliter on 6-19-2009 at 10:09 am

  18. It kind of cracks me up how wound up people get over food and how to eat it. Funny thing to put that much passion into (at least the passion/ vitriole for other people not liking their food the way you do). It’s just food. Eat it how you like it.

    posted by Hyacinth on 6-19-2009 at 10:35 am

  19. No love for Worcestershire sauce?

    posted by Steven on 6-19-2009 at 12:38 pm

  20. Richard…
    That was so childlike and whimsical…
    Very cute. Something a parent would tell their kid when asked why?

    posted by Chrystani on 6-19-2009 at 4:29 pm

  21. “[B]ut they knew how to cook. One of the dishes they left behind, beef tartare, came back into fashion in 19th-century France.”

    Except that beef tartare isn’t cooked at all. It’s raw meat.

    posted by Jan on 6-21-2009 at 11:46 pm

  22. A Correction:

    This Mental Floss article states that Tabasco brand pepper sauce inventor E. McIlhenny, “imported peppers from the Mexican state of Tabasco”.

    While it is possible that tabasco peppers (Capsicum frutescens v. tabasco) ultimately came from the Tabasco region of Mexico — about this, however, we are unsure — McIlhenny himself never imported his peppers from anywhere. Rather, he grew all his peppers on Avery Island, Louisiana, where our company is still headquartered today.

    Sincerely,

    Shane K. Bernard, Ph.D.
    Historian & Curator
    McIlhenny Company Archives
    Avery Island Louisiana

    posted by Shane K. Bernard, Ph.D. on 7-6-2009 at 10:07 am

  23. I love A1. I won’t eat steak without steak sauce. It’s like eating a peanut butter sandwich with no jelly. Some things just go together.

    posted by Hannibal Schlechter on 7-8-2009 at 12:43 pm

  24. Have spent a lot of time at cottage in 1000 Islands: arrive in JUN, leave in SEP. Currently 72F and the river is “refreshing”. Can’t beat a shore dinner after fishing for bass or walleye. Great sunsets and sleeping weather.

    posted by OJ on 7-9-2009 at 1:57 pm

  25. All this arguing about A1 on steaks and whether the Thousand Islands are fun to vacation on. Did’t anyone else notice that CLOROX bought the Hidden Valley Recipe? Yuck!

    posted by Nina on 7-9-2009 at 6:00 pm

  26. Spoiler Alert: Thousand Island dressing is the ‘special sauce’ on McDonald’s Big Macs; and Big Macs are exactly the same thing as Bob’s BigBoy hamburgers…

    sigh…there’s nothing new under the sun

    posted by DixonSteele1on1 on 7-12-2009 at 2:31 pm

  27. Never had A1 sauce, but I’m willing to bet that no-one in the reign of King George IV, let alone the monarch himself, would use the expression ‘A1′ to describe anything outside of shipping insurance. It was used by the Lloyds Register to indicate that a vessel was equipped to the highest standard. Oh, and another thing. Its first know figurative use as meaning ‘first-rate’ was in 1837, seven years after King George died.

    posted by Chris Moran on 7-17-2009 at 3:59 am

  28. Note to self:probably shouldn’t let Thousand Island Dressing set out for a couple of days & then use it on that salad you got from McDonald’s.
    I’m just sayin’.

    posted by Paula on 8-12-2009 at 5:58 pm

  29. To Caitlyn, Esther, Bubba, and The Bear,

    “Hot” is definitely a relative term. Here in south Texas, it was only 82 degrees F yesterday for the first time in about 5 months, and I had to wear long sleeves!

    Those 1000 islands sound like a pretty magical place to me…

    posted by Erin on 9-15-2009 at 10:10 am

  30. Does anybody else remember “Sizzle-burgers”? L&P had ads and commercials for how to cook a burger in butter and worchestershire sauce.

    I had one just the other night. Yummy!

    posted by Michael on 10-1-2009 at 12:59 pm

  31. Thousand Island IS the U.S. version of the very old Marie Rose Sauce

    posted by VoodooChef on 10-7-2009 at 10:08 pm

  32. I love the food articles. Keep ‘em coming.

    And there’s no accounting for taste!

    posted by ac on 10-20-2009 at 4:26 pm

  33. A proper Reuben has Russian, not Thousand Island dressing.

    And only mouthbreathers put sauce on steak.

    posted by tunaman on 1-23-2010 at 4:11 pm

  34. The story I heard was that
    \Worcestershire sauce\ is British for
    \What’s this here sauce\.

    posted by roger on 3-15-2010 at 7:24 pm

  35. I wonder if the originators of Hidden Valley Ranch included ingredients like Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate, Dried Garlic, Dried Onion, Phosphoric Acid, Monosodium Glutamate, Xanthan Gum, or Calcium Disodium Edta, or was that something Clorox just decided to throw in there?

    posted by Jane on 6-18-2010 at 4:16 pm

  36. Damn copy/paste, I meant to delete the onion & garlic offa there :P

    posted by Jane on 6-18-2010 at 4:16 pm

  37. I just want to put this out there: I eat A1 by itself, all alone, with a spoon. I tried for years to fight the temptation to enjoy that spicy, vinegar-y treat by its lonesome, alas, temptation won the battle. Am I alone?

    posted by Am I Crazy on 7-20-2010 at 12:04 pm

  38. “And only mouthbreathers put sauce on steak.

    posted by tunaman”

    Hahaha – “only mouthbreathers put sauce on steak” – no kidding – if you actually chew with your mouth closed (and be able to smell,) you can actually taste stuff!

    posted by Kelly on 8-26-2010 at 8:18 pm

  39. From Wikipedia:
    A fishing guide’s wife, Sophie Lalonde, made the dressing as part of her husband’s shore dinner. She shared the recipe with an actress, who requested it after enjoying the unique dressing. The actress in turn gave it to another Thousand Islands summer resident, George Boldt, who was building Boldt Castle in the area. Boldt, as proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, instructed the hotel’s maître d’hôtel, Oscar Tschirky, to put the dressing on the menu.

    As a “living Heir” to this story, these are the facts. No actresses involved.
    The Thousand Islands ARE indeed a magical place, indeed. Google “Boldt Castle” for images.

    posted by cheap sniveler on 11-1-2010 at 12:28 pm

  40. You know, I never put A1 or any other sauce on steaks (even the Golden Corral steaks taste good on their own!), but A1 is absolutely delicious on burgers. I like to serve cheeseburgers (the cheese being aged cheddar) with caramelized onions and A1 sauce, an idea I stole from Whataburger. OMG SO GOOD.

    Worcestershire sauce is also a must in my kitchen, and for one primo reason: it’s the most important flavoring agent in my late father’s recipe for beef stew, the best beef stew you will ever have. Actually, there are two dominant flavorings — beef bouillion (sp?) and Worcestershire sauce. I’ll add soy sauce to amp up the umami flavor of the beef stew, instead of salt. But it has to have Worcestershire sauce.

    Also, I must be the only person in the world who doesn’t like thousand island or ranch dressing on my salad. I prefer vinagrettes or green goddess dressing or even honey mustard. But I’m totally pro-thousand island dressing on a delicious Big Mac. Damn. Now I have to get a Big Mac for lunch tomorrow.

    posted by Diane on 1-20-2011 at 1:39 am

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