Fortnum and Mason \'Gentleman\'s Relish\' Pot Container & Lid Patum Peperium Empty for Sale

On eBay Now...

Fortnum and Mason \'Gentleman\'s Relish\' Pot Container & Lid Patum Peperium Empty For Sale

$Fortnum and Mason \'Gentleman\'s Relish\' Pot Container & Lid Patum Peperium Empty$
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Fortnum and Mason \'Gentleman\'s Relish\' Pot Container & Lid Patum Peperium Empty:
$40.00

This pre-owned cleaned and emptied \"Gentleman\'s Relish\" Pot from Fortnum& Mason (London) was made by Patum Peperium Ltd, (meaning \'pepper paste\' in Latin), the sole manufacturer of the relish. This little gem of a white ironstone pot has a black transferware logo on the top of the lid which reads: “Fortnum & Mason. Spice Importers, Tea Dealers & Grocers,” while on the inside of the lid is written “Especially made for FORTNUM & MASON by Patum Peperium, Ltd.”

Created in 1828 by an Englishmannamed John Osborn, an expatriate living in Paris, Gentleman’s Relish is a special type of anchovy pasteor butter. When Osborne unveiled it at the Paris Food Show in 1849 and again in 1855, the relish won a “Citation Favorable.” It is a savory, butter-like spread with a salty and slightly fishy taste, and contains salted anchovies(minimum 60%), butter, herbs and spices. Gentleman\'s Relish is traditionally eaten very thinly spread on slices of hot buttered white-bread toast, either on its own, or with cucumberor \"mustard and cress\" sprouts. This toast was classified by the Victorians as a “savory” which were small dishes served alongside or after the dessert course at dinner. Today, the only remnant of this tradition is the cheese option one sometimes finds on the dessert menu at very upscale restaurants or on cruise ships.

Osborne’s son brought the product back to England where it was an instant hit in the London Clubs and the Military Officers’ Mess. For over a century during the period of family control, the secret formula was known only by the most senior member of the Osborne family.

Traditionally, \'Gentleman\'s Relish\' was sold in these reusable and decorative ceramic pots. Today, special ceramic pots are brought out occasionally from time to time, but the product is now sold mainly in plastic containers to the dismay of its faithful consumers. For a final disillusionment, the actual relish is now made in Poland! The sun has truly set on the old Empire.