The bottles first appeared in UK shops in 1975

IT was a recipe that blended the fiery zing of scotch bonnets and habanero peppers with traditional island spices – and when it was launched in 1975, Encona’s hot pepper sauce not only gave the UK’s Caribbean population a taste of home, it introduced a flavour to a generation of Londoners and has become a British foodie favourite.

This year, Encona’s West Indian Original Hot Pepper Sauce – the first authen­tically Caribbean sauce to appear on our supermarket shelves – celebrates 50 years of spicing up meals. Jamaican-based food firm Grace Foods was founded in 1922 and in the post-Windrush years, the sauce, which launched in the UK in 1975, became a staple in kitchen cupboards.

Fast forward 50 years, and there are now eight chilli sauces made with inspiration from not only the Caribbean but also from India, the Far East and the USA.

Chef and food writer Melissa Thompson says Encona brought to Londoners a key plank of Anglo-Caribbean culture – and that as well as making a huge impact culturally through the arts and music, the Windrush generation has helped shape the food we eat today.

She added: “Encona’s roots lay in the Windrush story, the migration of people from the Caribbean by invitation from the British government to help rebuild the post-war nation. Their numbers included my grandparents, who travelled from Jamaica to support Britain. In turn, Encona began importing ingredients sought by the Caribbean diaspora in the UK, and in 1975 the West Indian Pepper Sauce was released. Life was never the same again.”

Encona – it is iconic square shaped bottle – has long been a must-have in the New Journal’s offices: our late editor, Eric Gordon, dashed it across everything he ate and introduced generations of young reporters to a sauce that made the Camden Town sandwiches eaten at our desks, late on press night, all the more palatable.

And Encona has been trailblazer, today the hot sauce market in the UK is booming: it remains a much loved go-to for foodies who want to give their meal a Caribbean kick.

Kimberley Lue Lim of Grace Foods UK said: “Brits have a passion for hot sauce. Encona is still a top ranked hot pepper sauce in the country, and we are very proud of that.” She said the hot sauce craze shows no sign of abating and added: “This is due to the globalisation of food, to social media, but also to people just realising that hot sauce can change the game in terms of eating quick, healthy, non-expensive food that is also phenomenally tasty.”

Marking their 50th anniversary, Encona fans can keep an eye out for a special, limited-edition packaging, while the firm is also launching Hot Sauce Summer – a series of brand collaborations highlighting Encona recipes, one of which will be resident at Between The Bridges on the South Bank between Waterloo and Westminster bridges.