Aunt Nellie's Old Style Sauce?

cullen2384

January 13, 20180 found this helpful

Enjoyed the original for years and actually used to order it by the case direct when the kids lived nearby. Miss it!!

This recipe - Leave out the oregano and its close!! DVC

That is Shedd's old style sauce not Aunt Nellie's

spetrzn

March 31, 20181 found this helpful

That is Shedd's old style sauce. Aunt Nellie's doesn't have catsup or cayenne.

brettcondit

March 29, 20182 found this helpful

This was the most amazing sauce. Especially for beef fondue.
Aunt nellies , coconut and sedate seed. What an amazing taste combo. There is no other horseradish sauce that even comes close to this. I miss it and want some so very badly. I contacted Seneca foods and they said they have no plans to bring it back

foxman_1952

June 26, 20190 found this helpful

I am 67 years old and grew up in Louisville KY where Shedds Old Style Sauce was made for a time. Shedds was acquired by Beatrice, then sold off in pieces. Several mergers and divestitures later, the Sauce ended up being manufactured by Seneca Foods and branded as Aunt Nellies Old Style Sauce, but production was discontinued by Seneca in 2007. The recipe remains the property of Seneca and they consider it an asset that they no doubt carry on their financials as such, and therefore are not going to share without compensation. So, unless a food maker comes along and offers to buy the rights to the recipe, we wont be seeing it again on grocery shelves.

My mother kept Shedds Old Style Sauce in the house from my earliest recollections, (circa 1960) and continued to buy it after it became known as Aunt Nellies. My not insubstantial supply ran out years ago, but on a recent trip back to Louisville to visit family, I dug through my moms extensive (300 square feet) pantry and found two dusty jars lurking in a hidden corner, which again inspired my endeavors to clone the sauce.

I tried several of the recipes that use mayonnaise, horseradish sauce, ketchup and miscellaneous spices. Unfortunately, I found that the ketchup-based recipes taste nothing like the original in direct comparisons of these concoctions to the vintage jar of Aunt Nellies I am hoarding. However, the recipe posted by mattdillon1967 more closely follows the original ingredients and comes very close to the flavor of the original.

A look at the ingredient list on the Aunt Nellies jar is testament to the fact the ketchup-based recipes are not going to work. The ingredients are broken down below and my analysis of them follows:

Soybean Oil, Water, Sugar, Vinegar, Egg Yolk, Salt, SpiceThese ingredients match up very closely to Hellmanns (or Blue Platenot Dukes) mayonnaise, i.e. Soybean Oil, Water, Whole Eggs and Egg Yolk, Vinegar, Salt, Sugar, Lemon Juice. They also match closely the ingredients in Woebers Horseradish Sauce i.e. Soybean Oil, Water, Corn Syrup, Vinegar, Egg Yolks, Modified Corn Starch, Horseradish, Salt, Flavorings, Potassium Sorbate

Dehydrated HorseradishThis is available, but a basic horseradish sauce should work as well.

Modified Food Starchdoes not add flavor so not considered

Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Potassium SorbateThese ingredients are substantially similar to La Choy soy sauce, i.e. Water, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Corn Syrup, Salt, Caramel Color, Lactic Acid, Potassium Sorbate. Gourmet soy sauces such as Kikkoman are missing some of the more questionable ingredients, but the goal is to duplicate the Aunt Nellies flavor, not necessarily to make a healthier version.

Citric Acida flavor additive that probably does add subtly to the profile.

Xanthan Gum, Caramel Color, Calcium Disodium Edta (To Protect Flavor), Artificial Flavorthe last of the ingredients were ignored as not substantially affecting the flavor of the sauce.
The recipe posted by mattdillon1967 more closely follows the original ingredients and comes very close to the flavor of the original.

Using the mattdillon1967 recipe as a base, I am experimenting with various spices in lieu of or in addition to the pepper and cayenne, using dehydrated horseradish in lieu of the Woebers sauce, and using citric acid for the tanginess. Egg yolk is a significant flavor in the Aunt Nellies and I am experimenting with alternatives to adding a hard boiled egg yolk to the recipe, but that may remain the best solution.

In the meantime, the mattdillon1967 recipe would fool most peoples memory and only falls slightly short in a direct taste off.