For many households the bottles of Heinz tomato ketchup and HP Sauce are a must. Whether it is to add to fish and chips or a bacon sarnie we often have our preferences.
And for some, a sausage sandwich is not the same without a good dollop of HP Sauce. But while it is a store cupboard staple, many of us have never given it a second thought as to what the name actually means.
And despite there being a massive clue on the label, many of use don't know what lies behind the name. The brand was launched back in 1895 and has been on the supermarket shelves ever since.
But while at first glance its name might stand for the name of the man who invented it that is far from the true reason, reports The Mirror. For the man behind the unique blend is Frederick Gibson Garton - so neither an H or P in sight.
Some think it is based on Heinz which bought the brand in 2005 - but again that's a million miles off target. The truth is a lot more simple - and the label gives it away.
No, the truth is much more simple than either of those solutions, as HP Sauce is actually named after the Houses of Parliament - and the news has been blowing the minds of people online who had no idea of the brand's origins. According to the Museum of Brands, Frederick Gibson Garton - who was a grocer from Nottingham - registered the name HP Sauce in 1895 after hearing that a restaurant in the Houses of Parliament had begun serving it.
And if you've ever looked at a bottle of HP Sauce, then the secret to the meaning behind the letters has been staring you in the face the whole time. For there's even a picture of the Houses of Parliament on the label.
But although the fact might seem obvious once you've connected the picture to the initials, many people online had no idea until the origins of the name were discussed in a Reddit post uploaded to the Casual UK forum, as one person shared a picture of the sauce bottle alongside the caption: "Who knew that 'HP' from HP sauce stood for Houses of Parliament? I mean it does have it on the front."
Commenters were stunned by the news, with many admitting they had no idea what HP stood for before stumbling across the post. One person wrote: "What? Does it really mean that?"
While another said: "I never knew that!" And a third added: "I didn't know that. It seems obvious now, but also incredibly weird as a brand name."
Others, however, were less impressed by the fun fact, as some said they had been aware of the sauce's real name for years. Someone posted: "It's one of those things that I knew, then forgot. You just reminded me again."
As someone else sarcastically quipped: "The word 'Sauce' on the front also means that there is sauce in the bottle. Madness."
