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Gentlemans Relish

Recreating a 198-Year-Old Icon
With the shocking news that Patum Peperium (the original Gentleman’s Relish) has ceased production, a British culinary icon is vanishing from our shelves. As I film this, tiny 42g plastic tubs are selling for over £60 on eBay.But we can't let a 1828 legend die that easily.In this video, I’m trying to recreate the original relish as closely as possible with clues from the tub, the internet and people who have mentioned things when working for Elsenham foods. I make some mistakes along the way. Particularly in not blending the rusk after it has hydrated with that wonderful anchovy goodness, but after tasting, I dont think I am too far off. One of the main points I found was that Gentlemans Relish had a 25% filling point salinity. Seems a lot, but it works perfectly as a preservative.
Course Snack
Cuisine British
Keyword Anchovies, Paste, Relish, Salt
Prep Time 2 days
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 65 % Salted Anchovies Use salt packed, not ones in oil
  • 10 % Unsalted Butter
  • 10 % Rusk
  • 10 % Salt
  • 1 pinch Nutmeg
  • 1 pinch mace
  • 1 pinch white pepper
  • 1 pinch English mustart
  • 1 whole bayleaf

Instructions

  • Remove backbone from the salted anchovies
  • soak the anchovies to remove excess salt
  • melt butter in pan with spices
  • in a blender add the anchovies and spice butter and blend
  • Add the rusk to the anchovie mix. A quick blend, but not too much
  • Leave the mixture overnight to allow the rusk to soak up the juices
  • reblend the mixture and then put into pots or jars.
    The mix tastes better after a few days

Video