Dark Chocolate Is A Seriously Unexpected Substitute For Worcestershire Sauce

Running out of Worcestershire sauce can put a serious damper on dinnertime. While there are plenty of ingredients that can potentially be substituted (everything from balsamic vinegar to soy sauce with a dash of hot pepper sauce is recommended online), many lack the full breadth of flavors found in the iconic Worcestershire. Of course, you can always make your own. Instead, though, you could save yourself all of that work and whip out some dark chocolate!

It might sound a little strange, but think about it. Worcestershire sauce does have a sweet, almost chocolatey richness among its complex flavors. Additionally, dark chocolate has a bitter quality similar to the sauce's sharper notes. As food scientist Christina Marsigliese tells the chocolatier Lindt, "The flavors will mimic the sweet, tangy, and savory combination found in this popular sauce." While dark chocolate is an unconventional replacement for Worcestershire sauce and isn't a perfect match for its distinctive taste, it does a wonderful job of imitating some of its most important aspects. So what else do you need to make it work?

Surprisingly, the only other ingredient you'll need is vinegar, according to Christina Marsigliese. Since Worcestershire sauce has a malty flavor to it, malt vinegar is the perfect choice here, but just about any type of vinegar will add that acidic sharpness that you're looking for. That means you can go ahead and experiment with balsamic, red wine, white, or apple cider vinegar too. Since you're only using a tiny amount, their specific differences shouldn't pull through in the final meal too much.

It's also important to be careful not to overdo it with either the chocolate or the vinegar, as both have a stronger flavor than the original sauce you are substituting for, which can easily overpower a dish. It's a good idea to add a little of each at a time and taste as you go along. After all, it will be really hard to course-correct if you end up with too much of either ingredient in your dish.

While dark chocolate can make a great substitute for Worcestershire sauce, it's not going to work in every situation. You definitely don't want to add it to your Bloody Mary, that's for sure. It's not going to make a very good steak sauce either. Just imagine dipping your steak in melted chocolate and vinegar — no thanks! Obviously, you'll want to go with one of the other possible substitutes for situations like these.

Instead, dark chocolate will work well as a substitute for Worcestershire sauce in the kind of recipes where its flavors will blend and join forces with the other ingredients. You can try it in meatloaf, beef stroganoff, or a meaty casserole, for example. Additionally, it can work in sauces where it's one of many ingredients — just avoid it as a substitute where Worcestershire is a main component. 

As you can see, there's more to dark chocolate than dessert recipes. It's certainly one food that never ceases to amaze.