Rich and savoury Gentleman’s Relish is is a paste made from anchovies. It’s a great British spread to serve on toast or add into cooking recipes. A bit like Marmite, love it or hate it, this old fashioned gentleman’s relish recipe is a classic.
What is Gentleman’s Relish
As I’ve said this is very much a British spread. It is also known as Patum Peperium and was first created in 1828 by an Englishman called John Osborn. He even won prizes at Parisian food shows for his spread and it was marketed for gentlemen of some standing.
Gentleman’s relish is a spread made with anchovies, butter, herbs and spices. Actually, the company that makes and sells Gentleman’s Relish since 1971 (Elsenham Quality Foods) keeps the recipe a closely guarded secret.
The inspiration for this recipe
The other day I came across one of the little pots that Gentleman’s Relish traditionally comes in. My Mum used to give both my Dad and my husband a little tub of this tasty paste every year at Christmas.
When you buy it in the fancy ceramic pots it’s a bit of a treat, something special.
Those little pots are collector’s items so it only seemed right to put some of my homemade Gentleman’s Relish into one of the pots that had been given to my Dad oh so many years ago. It brought back so many memories of Christmas in years gone by.
Ingredients for traditional Gentleman’s Relish
Anchovies are the star of the show here. I used two little cans of anchovies in oil. You could use the ones that come in a little jar as well of course. Don’t go for anything that has added flavours like chilli.
Butter is your binding agent here. It brings everything together and makes this spread rich and creamy. Actually, you could say that Gentleman’s Relish is really a sort of flavoured butter rather than a type of spread.
Those all-important spices. While the actual recipe for commercial gentleman relish is a secret we can take a pretty good guess at those spices; mace, cinnamon, white pepper and ginger.
The other ingredients I’ve used are capers and lemon just pack in even more flavour to this tasty spread.
How to make Gentleman’s Relilsh
Quite honestly this recipe for Gentleman’s Relish couldn’t be easier. You want to heat the spices first to really ramp up their flavours, this will take you less than a minute.
Then it’s all about melting butter and whizzing the other ingredients into a paste then mixing it all together.
The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Recipe notes
I got two small 150ml jars of Gentleman’s Relish from this recipe.
If you want to make bigger quantities of the spread (it would make a great foodie gift for Christmas) just multiply the recipe to suit what you need.
You can use Cayenne Pepper instead of white pepper in the recipe. I like the taste of white pepper here as it is softer than cayenne but still packs a punch in the flavour department.
How long will this keep?
Homemade Gentleman’s Relish keeps well in the fridge for up to a month once opened and you can freeze it too for up to 3 months.
How to use this anchovy relish
Don’t just think of Gentleman’s Relish as something old guys in a posh club spread on their toast, far from it. While it does go extremely well spread thinly over unsalted butter on a nice slice of toast it can also be used in other ways.
You can add a little relish into scrambled eggs or even give a Bloody Mary an even bigger flavour hit than usual.
Or I’ll add a little with butter (even though there is already butter in there, you can never have too much butter!) on top of a really good steak and let those flavours seep into the meat.
Finally, serve it is lightly spread under the cheese on a really good toastie.
In cooking
Think of this anchovy butter as an ingredient for making other dishes sing with flavour. Have you ever used anchovies in your cooking? Think of Spaghetti puttanesca, that rich and robust Italian dish of tomatoes, peppers, garlic, chilli and anchovies.
Although being a member of the fish family anchovies don’t actually taste fishy when you cook with them. They melt into your other ingredients and add depth and character to a dish without you even realising a fish had popped into the pan.
So you can use this Gentleman’s Relish in exactly the same way as you would for adding anchovies to your cooking.
I like to add some to minced (ground) beef in a cottage pie or lamb mince in a shepherd’s pie.
I’ve also used it in my Stuffed Peppers Puttanesca With Feta recipe and my Ratatouille Puttanesca.
Add half a teaspoon of this Patum Peperium relish to salad dressings, especially if you’re making a Caesar salad. Or stir some into your gravy instead of using salt. Remember, anchovies are salty little creatures.
This recipe makes a great foodie gift, so why not check out my post on how to make Christmas hampers.
Looking for more spreads to make at home? Then check these out before you go;
Mediterranean smoked mackerel pate
Pear walnut and blue cheese spread/dip
Fromage Fort (French-style potted cheese)
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Gentleman’s Relish
Equipment
- small pan, mini food processor
Ingredients
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp ground mace
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
- 100 g anchovies drained
- 2 tsp capers drained
- 1 lemon (zest and juice)
Instructions
- Heat the spices in a dry pan for about 1 minute then remove from heat and add the vegetable oil to bring the spices together as a little paste
- Add butter to the pan and let it melt into the spice paste and stir to combine
- blitz the anchovies and capers in mini food processor along with the lemon juice and zest and add mixture to the pan with butter and spices and mix thoroughly
- spoon into either one sterilised jar or two smaller jars
- Put the jars in the fridge to set up. There will be a coating of butter on top once it sets, use a small spoon to stir this back through the spread.
- This gentleman's relish will keep in the fridge for up to 2 months
I made this for my Christmas hampers. I found it tasty, but having never tried the original had no point of comparison. My brother said it was delicious and ‘better then the bought stuff’. So – success! Thanks! Making the second batch now, as he pointedly mentioned that he had already eaten all his Christmas supply!
Hi Dot,
Thrilled to hear that my Gentleman’s Relish was such a hit in your Christmas hampers. looks like your brother will have you making this for him on a regular basis!
K
Sorry, I forgot to click on the stars – would have been a 5!
Thanks for the stars Dot!
K
Excellent!!
I have never had the original, so I cannot compare. After no luck trying purchase in the states I came across this recipe. It is Fabulous! Thank you
Hi Carly
Really hope you enjoy this once you’ve made it. Remember it’s great for cooking too instead of using anchovies in a recipe so really useful too.
K
I have a roasted tomato and walnut pesto recipe that calls for anchovies. I can’t wait to replace the anchovies with this favorite.
Hi Joyce
Glad you like the recipe. It is so useful to have around.
K
You haven’t thought this through:given that it’s 50% highly salted anchovies why bother with unsalted butter?
How rude of you to say ‘you haven’t thought this through’. Of course, I am well aware of the salt content in anchovies. I always use unsalted butter in my recipes so that I am in control of the salt content myself. And as for ‘why bother with unsalted butter’ The reason being use unsalted so you are not adding even more salt!
Hi Karon,
Thanks very much for posting this recipe, which I’ve been wanting to take a swing at for quite a while, having delved into collecting ‘pot lids’. You’ve saved me a lot of guessing!
Thanks also, for NOT putting up with the ubiquitous armchair critics, who never seem to exercise their curiosity, intellect, or gratitude!
Hi Lou
Thanks so much for your great comment. I just love those ‘pot lids’, some of the really old ones are incredible. Thanks for the backup on the previous comment. I do get a bit miffed at some people who seem to think it is acceptable to be rude online.
Hope you will make the Gentleman’s Relish and thoroughly enjoy it.
K
I was reading comments and reviews because I’ve never heard of this condiment but read about it in a book and was interested in trying it. I’m a South Carolinian and we put tomatos and mayonnaise or pimento cheese on our bread, but this sounds awesome. Just wanted to say.. good for you putting that jackwagon in his place. Bless his simple little heart. I always see the creators of recipes trying to be polite or neutral in those circumstances and it blows my mind. I will most definitely try this in the next few weeks and leave my review. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Ambre
Thanks for your nice comment, I hope you’ll try this Gentleman’s Relish it really is great on toast. As for the jackwagon, I’m afraid you get used to it in this line of work! Hope you’ll make this.
K
UN-salted butter, not salted butter, as in butter with no salt in, as there is enough in the anchovies.
Hi Alan
Thanks for backing me up. That man’s comment was just rude but alas there is a lot of that on the internet these days.
K
This recipe sounds incredible, i can’t wait to try it…. the possibilities are endless. Buttered noodles, steak butter, sauteed vegetables.
Thank you for posting this recipe!
Hui Dan
Hope you enjoy the recipe when you try it.
K
Slightly amended the recipe based on what I had but my oh my how delicious! This will become a staple in our house, I am so glad I happened across your recipe!
Hi Merce
So glad you liked the recipe so much and that it will become a staple in your house.
K
Hi Karen,
Just a followup comment. I jumped in and made this before I gave you time to answer my last comment and OMG! This is definitely a new favorite!!!! Thank you so so much for posting this and opening my eyes to this incredible new taste!
Hi Scott
Glad you liked the gentleman’s Relish recipe so much.
All best
K
I was introduced to Pecks Anchovy paste in South Africa. This sounds like a step up the flavour ladder. Definitely going to make it and I am sure my wife will love it on her Keto crackers.
Hi Oliver
Hope you make this and it is a hit with you and your wife.
K
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors for fall!
Hi Suzanne
Thanks for the nice comment, it is a good mix of flavours.
K
I’ve been eating a Carnivore diet and can tolerate some spices. I’ve been looking for recipes like this to up the nutrition and add variety. Made this and put it on my steak. It was divine! Gave the men in my house a taste and they all loved it. Big hit here! It’s sad that people don’t give anchovies a fair try unless they are eating a Cesar Salad! What a delicious recipe! Maybe someday I’ll get to compare it to the English version on England! Thank you!
Hi Stephanie
Glad this recipe proved such a hit for you. Totally agree with you about anchovies, so useful.
K
This is a wonderful recipe so much flavour I had it on a country wholemeal sourdough loaf it tasted amazing thank you so much for the recipe.
Hi Rei-Michelle
Thanks so much for the lovely comment, so pleased the recipe worked so well for you.
K