When I first moved to the suburban Detroit, Michigan area, the "The Original ZipSauce" bottle was a common sight at the local specialty markets. Being from the West Coast, Zip Sauce was something new to me, specifically to the southeast Michigan region. Besides being a steak sauce, Zip Sauce is an option at local Detroit area steakhouses and at local taverns for burgers. It is sometimes called Detroit Zip Sauce, a savory, buttery, flavorful sauce that compliments beef.

The bottles label ingredients of "The Original ZipSauce"

Reviewing the bottle label, I found key ingredients that make "The Original ZipSauce" achieve a savory flavor profile boost for beef.

• Hydrolyzed Soy Protein is a flavor enhancer. It is part of the Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) family. It contains glutamate, which adds savoriness to food without excessive salt. HVPs contain glutamic acid, which imparts a savory or "Umami" flavor to food.

•  Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate are well-known flavor enhancers. Combining these two ingredients enhances or "amplifies" the savory flavors glutamate imparts to food.

The sauce's three key ingredients synergize to enhance flavor. Essentially, "The Original ZipSauce" is a form of Umami Sauce.

Zip Sauce originated during the 1940s in Detroit; I doubt it is the recipe it started out as based on the ingredients listed on the label. However, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) has existed for over 100 years.

Uses For "The Original Zip Sauce"

The bottled Zip Sauce has a place in my pantry. You can use it to amplify the savory flavor of foods other than steaks and burgers. I like to use it in soups; you can add 1/4 cup of Zip Sauce to 6-8 quarts of vegetable beef soup to boost the savory flavor. This works well if you use other glutamate-rich ingredients in the soup, such as tomato paste and peas. The best is to add the ZipSauce to your soup at the end of cooking when it is at a low simmer. The Zip Sauce can bring back lost flavor from a lack of salt if you use low-sodium broth or stock in your soup. A bottle of "The Original ZipSauce" on hand is a convenient, quick way to boost savory flavor, combine it with butter on a steak or burger, or add it as is to a soup. The easiest way to buy the bottled, premade Zip Sauce outside of Southeast Michigan is through Amazon.

Customized Zip Sauce

It is simple to customize a Zip Sauce and butter combination. You can alter the sauce flavor by adding one or more other ingredients, such as thyme, rosemary, parsley, garlic, mustard, onions, or shallots.

Zip Style Sauce Recipes

Various Zip Sauce-style sauce recipes use Worcestershire Sauce and butter as the main ingredients, which can lead to a distinct Worcestershire flavor. "The Original ZipSauce," on its own, has what I would call a mild Soy Sauce-type flavor. It has a less distinct flavor but a savory profile when mixed with other ingredients or added to soups. It subtly adds a background savory flavor to foods. ATK has an informative video on how they make a Zip-Style Sauce.