Ah-So Sauce | What’s Sticky, Sweet, and Red All Over? In New England, It’s Ah-So
Sticky, sweet, and neon-red, Ah-So Sauce has long been a staple for New England fans of American-style Asian cuisine.
By Aimee Tucker|Mar 08 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanSticky, sweet, and instantly recognizable thanks to its neon-red hue, Ah-So Sauce has long been a staple for New England fans of American-style Asian cuisine. Sold in both traditional jars and modern handy squeeze bottles, the garlicky sauce-meets-marinade with the green and white label has been adding Asian-inspired zip to Yankee dinner tables and barbecues for decades with its signature appearance and flavor.
Are you as surprised to learn about the Ah-So/New England connection as I was? To help grow these classic New England foods-related posts, we often ask our Facebook fans which New England-made food brands they can’t live without, and the answers are always an entertaining mix of predictable and surprising. We know, for example, that our fans (whether born here, living here, or Yankee in spirit) love their lobstah, New England Clam Chowder, baked beans, and the New England hot dog bun, but we also hear from transplanted New Englanders about brands they miss. Having lived here my whole life, I’m often blissfully unaware of what doesn’t exist on store shelves outside of southern New Hampshire. Maybe you are, too.
One of those brands is Ah-So Sauce. It claims to be “New England’s Best-Selling BBQ Sauce,” but Ah-So isn’t made in New England (it’s manufactured by Allied Old English, Inc. which is based in New Jersey). Still, the sauce’s primarily northeastern distribution puts it on the list of foods associated with the region, and enough folks mentioned it by name as something they can’t get in Georgia or Colorado (but wish they could) that we thought it deserved a spot on the list.
Never had Ah-So? The contents of each jar are shockingly red, achingly sweet (the top two ingredients are high fructose corn syrup, followed by corn syrup), and flavored with a touch of garlic, but that’s all part of Ah-So’s retro charm. It’s not classy and it’s not trying to be. Just slather it onto your meat of choice (ribs, pork, chicken, meatloaf, etc.), bake or grill low and slow so the sauce won’t burn, then get the stack of napkins ready.
As you can see here, I went with chicken wings.
After an hour in the oven, with several pauses to flip the wings and baste them with a little more sauce, things were looking good. The sauce cooks down to a thick glaze, which might not be fun for the dish-washer (which is a person in my house), but lends an addictive texture and flavor to the meat.
Are you a fan of Ah-So Sauce? If you’ve moved away, do you miss it? And what’s the best way to use it? Let us know, and happy finger-licking and dish-washing!
This post was first published in 2014 and has been updated.
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When I moved to Florida, I almost gave up finding many of the brands of food that I was used to. However, thanks to online shopping I was able to find Ah So Sauce and many other New England treats. One such site is famousfoods.com, it has been my saving grace.
I moved to San Francisco 25 years ago and the 2 things I miss most from the Boston area are Ah-So sauce and Fluff. Both bring such happy memories. I know I can find these items on line but I love when my family sends me these in a care package. And I do miss lobstah and steamahs too but I found a place that serves this close to my home!
I also moved to Fl, they sell it in Publix in the deli.
I live in Texas now no AH-SO here, or Moxie, have been able to find “snap dogs”, but not as good as Schonlands.
If you’re near a Spec’s liquor store,
they often have Moxie. It’s been my saviour a few times!
Love our Ah-So sauce! I take 1 cup Ah-So sauce and 1/4 cup honey. Marinate steak tips overnight and grill. There are never any leftovers.
I moved away over 39 yrs ago and couldn’t find Ah-So anywhere. It was even hard to find on trips home for a while. And then I searched the Internet and was delighted to find it on Amazon. I get a regular shipment now of both Ah-So and marshmallow Fluff!!
Ah-So sauce is definitely of New England origin, devised by a dear friend and Yale College classmate, Harvey Edlin. He was a New Haven CT native and distributor of supermarket barbecue equipment in the early days of that development. He sold the sauce business to a NJ company.
I moved to Tennessee and my relatives back in New England send us care packages now and then consisting of: Fluff, Devil Dogs, White Polar Birch Beer, Moxie, and Pure Maple Syrup. Now the Devil dogs are made in Tennessee, but I have to get them from New Hampshire… go figure…
I live in Ca. now. Originally from Boston. Of all places wal mart just started stocking Ah So at some of their stores!
Ah-So has been sold here in Florida at Publix for at least 7 or 8 years @ $4.99 per jar … at first … but they have since lowered the price because Wal Mart started carrying it in greater Orlando for about $3.49.
Back in the mid 1980s I left Boston and headed out West to Utah and Idaho for college and other things. I grew up with Ah-So sauce and was shocked to discover nobody had even heard of it out there. When I came back home for break, the first thing I did was grab a jar and check the label, at which point I swear I read that it was made (or, at least, distributed by a company) in Waban, Massachusetts.
I eventually made it back to the Boston area and now happily keep my cabinet stocked with the heavenly glow-in-the-dark elixir of all that is tasty. In fact, I just grilled some ribs slathered with the stuff and my taste buds are in full orgy mode right now.
Life without Ah-So sauce truly isn’t worth living.
i live in Ocala Florida,the public here doesn’t have it,can anyone tell me where I can find the ah-so sauce PLEASE
I first found this when I lived in West Palm Beach, FL! I’m now in Eastern PA and NO stores had it here. I called ShopRite and they ordered it for me and are now carrying it on the shelves. Yay! But you can always buy it online. Amazon has it, and AhSo probably has a website. Love this stuff!!
Publix in Viera, FL carry Ah-So. You may want to request your local Publix to do the same.
Amazon has it in several sizes and bottle types.
Sure if you want to spend $8 a jar
I grew up in NH. Lived there all my life until a year and a half ago when I moved to Grand Island, FL. I buy Ah So sauce at either Publix or Winn Dixie in Eustis…one of them usually have it….
Publix on 441, Eustis I’m going down this week. Hanniford in the Villages, Now gone, use to carry good hot dog rolls in the bakery, Moxie, Polar Beverage and Friendly’s Ice Cream. Boy I miss that.
Ooh. I am doing that tonight! I never mixed honey with it.
Since I have move to Cincinnati OH, motto far from me in Fairfield there is this awesome grocery store named Jungle Jims. They have been featured on tv as a wild and crazy grocery store. Well a long story short, Ah-So is stocked and I grab it whenever I need a taste of home……
Huh. I think I live in the southwestern New England. LOL. I’m in AZ, about 30 miles or so east of Phoenix, and am able to purchase Ah So, and fluff. I know a store used to carry devil dogs, but I am not sure if they still do.
My friends send me jars. Just got 2 jars and 2 cans of BnM brown bread. I miss home
I love the stuff but have not found it in the Phoenix/Tempe area yet
Market Basket now carries it at two for five dollars
Pare boil chicken wings first? I’m using Ah-So sauce
No need to parboil wings. Put them in the oven for 25 minutes, skin side down, then turn and put back in for 20 min or so.
Just recently moved to MD from MA, and I couldn’t find this at my new local Walmart or grocery stores. Darn shame too, since I don’t generally use anything else when doing up some pork chops.
I lived in Mew England my who,e life…..born in NH, but moved to RI when I was 14. I met my husband when I was in my early 30’s, and we moved to NJ where he was stationed at McGuire AFB. I wasn’t able to find Ah-So sauce, devil dogs, and Habitat Pea Soup. Every time we came back home for holidays, I stocked up on all 3. We just moved back to NH, built our dream house, and never plan on leaving. New England is the best!!!
When you live out of the region……This is where you say “Thank God” for Amazon
I bought some to try… Other than chicken wings any other good recipes/ideas to share? LMK
I Put it on ribs in a crock pot on low for about 8 hours, basting and turning them occasionally. Then I put them on the grill for just a few minutes and you will have ribs line those you get in a Chinese restaurant in Boston. I use either baby back or St Louis styles ribs
Grew up in Salem Ma, we always had Ah-So on chicken and also used it to “paint” steaks before putting on the BBQ. Yum!
There’s a roadhouse restaurant in West Wareham on rte 28 called Vel’s ,and their house dressing is Ah-So mixed with white vinegar and spices. Try it at home.
Devour the Ah-So pork on the Pu-Pu platter at Singapore in Fitchburg, MA. Yum! Note: Singapore has been in business serving its iconic Pu-Pu platter for at least forty or fifty years. What a great restaurant to profile in New England Today *hint, hint, nudge, nudge. 😉
I have devoured Ah-So sauce my entire life and currently have a bottle in my fridge, which is a “mandatory supply” to have on hand. I like the squeeze bottle!
Born and raised in Boston. You can now order Ah So sauce from Amazon.
I’ve lived in California for the past12 years and cannot find it anywhere. Was telling my friends about it and we just happen to be going to a cook out this weekends! It has been pretty expensive to order online on Amazon but I found it this week on Walmart.com $20 for 6 bottles!! Came in 3 days with no shipping cost since is spent $40 total getting some other New England Classics (B&M Brown bread in a can and some Baked Beans) I’m so excited to throw on the grill this weekend!
Football Sunday tradition Pork chops & AH-SO sauce in a crock pot. Set it & forget it then enjoy the games.
Butchers Blockrib sauce is better, and made in Boston
I live in Alabama now and can find Ah-So in Publix..which makes me happy because I use to have to order it off Amazon. Country Style Ribs marinated over night with Ah-So, then cooked on grill. I love when they get a little burnt, cause it’s delicious!
Moxie is my absolute fave and I used to have to order it straight from company.. expensive!! But it is a guilty pleasure and I wanted it. I found that Cracker Barrel here in my town sells Moxie in the bottles!! So I got and buy out their stock every once in a while to keep my addiction satisfied.
I grew up in Waltham in the 60s. My Dad always used this on chicken wings, at that time the cheapest part of the bird. Back then it was made in Waban, a village of Newton, Mass.
Does anyone remember that it came with a brush attached to the jar by its wire handle wrapped around the lid?
My mother could not get a handle on low and slow so she was way ahead of the trend with her blackened chicken.
Yes, I do recall the brush attached. Brings back memories of sumptuous, sticky goo! Put it on country-style spare ribs. Had it with potato salad and B & M beans.
I DO remember when it came with the little wire brush around the rim of the jar !! Miss those days !!
I have friends that look for a visit that brings them Ah-So Sauce, Cain’s Mayo and Salada tea. They have been down there for over twenty years and still miss the hometown favorites.
Oh, how I miss Cains mayo!
Jennifer have you tried Dukes? I’m a southern transplant from Mass and I love Dukes Mayo.
DUKES MAYO IS CLOSE TO CAINS.
Seeing the first two ingredients HFCS & CORN SYRUP, both unhealthy. Research the health probs with HFCS, scary. Any food / sauce item with these ingredients is a no-no on my shopping list. There are other less problematic sugar products that can be used. I’m not a health nut, just informed and research what I’ll consume.
Like anything in life . Moderation is important. Having grown up in western Mass Ah- So was a family favourite. I’d cover everything I could in it when it was being served. And I’d wash it down with a cold glass of Coke. Obviously my diet growing up was not based around these products. And as a perfectly healthy adult with all my teeth , im glad i was aloud to enjoy this. Just reading this article brought back memories of my backyard, the grill, and our old picnic table. I havnt seen it in Delaware though. Maybe there’s no room for it with all the scrapple. I will be ordering it online, and making some new Ah- So memories with my own kids.
I avoid HFCS and CS in general at all costs. I eat primarily Organic and NON-GMO and read every product label. BUT growing up in NE, Ah So Sauce on Pork Ribs is something I indulge in maybe 2-3 times a YEAR. Moderation is key to enjoying a few foodie guilty pleasures.
And I bet you are from the SF bay area, right? If not, you’d get along great in Marin.
I didnt mean to be rude. I just miss those favorites from my childhood. There just not as much heart and soul out here as back in New England.:(
HA! Nailed it! I detected posturing, so you were not wrong!
I’m from Maine, can’t stand Ah-So products, but then again many of the things mentioned here are gag worthy including B&M Baked beans. I grew up on all homemade homegrown food.
Lucky you! I am in the Orlando area now and have to settle for what comes close. I have purchased Ah-So at Walmart and must settle for it and what is a “close proximity”!
I just found it in our local Stop and Shop.
They have it in Georgia at Publix, my local store has it in the Deli section near the cold prepared food. Wings & tater salad & such. What a find! They also have Gaspar’s Linguica near the hot dogs.
I LEFT BOSTON IN 97 (SAUGUS) TO FLORIDA, MY BONES JUST COULDN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE. I WAS SHOCKED TO FIND THAT SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS WEREN’T HERE SO I WENT TO THE STORE MANAGER (PUBLIC’S) AND ORDERED FLUFF AND BIRCHBEER. I THINK I BROUGHT FLUFF TO FLORIDA BECAUSE NOW IT’S EVERYWHERE. NOT SO WITH THE BIRCHBEER, I GUESS I WAS THE ONLY ONE BUYING IT SO THEY STOPPED STOCKING IT. I GUESS WHAT I’M SAYING IS THAT JUST GO TO STORE MANAGER AND HE WILL ORDER IT. BUY THE WAY, SAUGUS HAS THE KOWLOON CHINESE RESTAURANT THAT WAS VOTED # 1 AT ONE TIME IN THE STATES AND THEY USE AH-SO SAUCE ON THEIR BONELESS RIBS, SPARE RIBS, AND PORKSTIPS.
There are so many things you just can’t get when you leave this area. Makes the taste buds long for good old New England (SAUGUS!!!! YA) I’m still here in Saugus and love it. We are so close to everything and so much great food.
Does anyone who lived in the RI, (Falls River area) remember a Chinese restaurant that had a very plain looking stone front, glass door entrance but once you opened the front door and went inside it was like walking into a highly ornate wooden Chinese pagoda. I was taken there many years ago, but can no longer find anyone who knows about it. The food was delicious. Sadly, in the NE area there aren’t any Chinese restaurants that cook in the Cantonese style. All you get now is this limply steamed Asian food covered with highly spiced thin sauce that you can’t tell what your eating. None of the proprietors even know what you’re talking about when you ask for Cantonese cooking. Most of our Greek diner are gone too. Please bring back decent tasting foods.
Would that be China Royal here in Fall River Ma ? No longer in business. Building is gone to provide space for a CVS and a bank.
I think you are referring to Mee Sums restaurant on South Main St in Fall River. The best chow mein sandwiches. It’s still good there but tall the original elders are gone. Regina runs it now. Say hello if you visit!
I think I have a bottle in Fridge from 70’s! Actually it is from 2015….it smells and tastes same as when it was bought it. I use this for grilling…always loved it. This past summer has been too hot to cook indoors out outside! I am in RI and this has always been on shelves here since I was a kid in 50’s. The little store near me has an Asian section, with 5 items. Ah-So Sauce, La Choy aka..Chun King Chow Mein in 3 flavors beef, vegetable and chicken, Chun King “sticks” fried noodles, La Choy Soy Sauce, and Hoo Me Chow Mein. I love the Hoo Me, it comes with a gravy packet and the fried noodles. Tastes like RI Chow mein.
If you’re a New England ex-pat and AH-SO products are scarce in your new location, you’ll find them available on Amazon, along with marshmallow fluff and other brands. I’m not an Amazon fan, just passing that along…..
Living in Newfoundland and from the Boston area every year I bring home 5 jars of Ah-So. Of course I share and have won over a few fans. I also bring home B&M beans, canned beans here really suck. Natural casing hot dogs,not heard of here. The list is endless. Been all over the world and nothing beats New England Chinese food. 5 weeks I’ll be home
Ah-so also makes a wonderful duck sauce. Very similar to the kind I had as a child at the old Dragon Seed in Kittery Maine. I miss it all!
I grew up in Kittery ME and now live in CA. My Dad owned warren’s Lobster House. I never went to the Drahon Seed, but we always went to Richie Ng’s China someting or other in Portsmouth. Miss those Pu Pu Platters! I was back there 2 weeks ago for a wedding in Newport RI and stopped at a Market Basket and got 2 jars of Ah-So dipping sauce for $4 ea. Have already use one jar. The only way is for my friend in Boston is to buy them and ship to me. Otherwise, it’s $12/jar on Amazon.
Live in NC now and they don’t know what it is. I drive to Boston 1 to 2 times a year and stock up on that and Pantene kitchen ready tomatoes. How do these people live…lol also steak tips are a new England thing too you won’t find them here or if you do it’s not flap meat it’s some nasty Denver cut. They are useless lol
I TOO MISS KITCHEN READY. I LIVE NW FLORIDA. I FOUND IT IN SPECIALTY STORES BUT PAID $5. A CAN. NOW I BUY PEELED TOMATOES AND CRUSH THEM MYSELF. I MISS NE FOOD SO MUCH.
I also am a transplant to NC,, my daughter still in NH keeps me supplied with this wonderful Ah So Sauce. So many things I yearn for that we grew up with that I have had to sacrifice moving south. Does anyone have any idea what has happened to Diamond Crystal Table Salt ???? Used to be able to find it at Market Basket when we would return home however this last visit I left empty handed and can’t find it anywhere ??????
Diamond still makes it. You can find Diamond Crystal Iodized Salt online on Amazon.com.
Stop and shop
As I have said before in previous comments. Many products that we were once so used to do not exist outside of New England! I miss New England chinese restaurants! Nothing here comes close! There are so many, many other products that you once had that are no longer available here!
So much this! You ask for duck sauce at any restaurant in the mid-Atlantic, south, or Pacific Northwest and they give you these gross orange packets. I cannot at all find a recipe close to it online. I even started a Facebook group looking for recipes.
The one favorite Chinese restaurant sells their proprietary duck sauce, so they won’t give out the recipe!
I love pork strips served with this sauce and the hot mustard sauce. The only place I have ever been able to get them is in Boston. Sigh. I wonder why?
Don’t forget Moxie !
My Bostonian husband craves Ah-So on our baked hams, but in Virginia it is not easy to find so I make my own with red plum jelly and a jar of maraschino cherry juice (save the cherries to decorate the outside of the ham with pineapple slices) a bit of soy sauce, a pinch of either Chinese 5 Spice or ground cloves and lots of garlic.
Sacrilegious! Lol. I love Ah So sauce but to put it on a country ham? I used to go to Culpeper to get a ham any time I was in Virginia.
AHSO WINGS ARE MY FAVORITE and yes I lived down south for many years and I use to have my family send me ah-so sauce AND nutritional yeast!! I could never find it in GA,LA,TENN No where!! Lol
Does anyone have the recipe for the marinade the New Bridge Café in Chelsea Ma. Users
I’ve been looking for that too
OMG yes! I would kill for that recipe and their house dressing!
I think it is something simple like a Coke and ketchup mix if I remember correctly. Or maybe just coke.
If ah so sauce is to salty or you think it doesn’t quite tast like real spareribs for mass Chinese then get the butcher block Rib sauce it’s a game changer
I love Ah-So Sauce! I moved to Florida from New Hampshire in the 80’s and missed it. Several years later Publix started selling it. My southern husband, who never had it until he met me, loves it too, especially on grilled pork chops.
There is no ah-so sauce in Arizona. WE COULD PAY AN ARM & A LEG AT AMAZON. MISS brown bread and moxie also
I will send you a can of brown bread.
I would be happy to send you some! I lived in California for 10 yrs & my Mom would ship me AhSo, Pasteur tomatoes & stuffing seasoning ????
12 ounces Wishbone Italian dressing
12ounces Coca-Cola
12 ounces Heinz Chili Sauce
1 1⁄2cups cranberry juice
5lbs beef tips
we all know what this is…floramos/new bridge steaktip marinade.
here you go people homemade ah so sauce.
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup honey, *see Notes below if using this recipe as a marinade
3 tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup Hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons 5-spice powder
2 tablespoons red food color
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
¼ cup dry sherry
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons corn starch *see Notes below if using this recipe as a marinade
See note below about optional white miso
INSTRUCTIONS
If using as Marinade*:
Place half the honey, brown sugar, Hoisin, 5-spice powder, red food coloring, vegetable oil, sherry, tomato paste and soy sauce in a medium sauce pan. Heat to hot, simmer three minutes then cool and marinate your meat or fish.
Once the meat is done marinating, pour marinade into a sauce pan, add in the remaining honey and in a small bowl, stir in the corn starch with a little of the cold marinade then add to the sauce pan. Heat at a medium simmer for three minutes. Brush on your marinated meat or fish before and after cooking.
Sauce:
If using strictly as a sauce, heat honey, brown sugar, Hoisin, 5-spice powder, red food coloring, vegetable oil, sherry and tomato paste in a medium sauce pan until hot. Mix the soy sauce with the corn starch and once dissolved, add to the sauce pan and heat until thick. Use to bush meat or fish before roasting or grilling.
NOTES
*If using for a marinade, use half the amounts of honey and corn starch as listed in the ingredients.
One ingredient intentionally left out is white miso. Miso (fermented soy beans) can be added to this recipe in small quantities before using as a marinade or sauce. It changes the flavor enough that it no longer tastes like the jarred version so we left it out intentionally, but please feel free to add. I would use two tablespoons in the recipe if you chose to use.
I think there is to much Hoisen sauce there is to much of something in it and it is really dark not that nice pink
I love ah so sauce! I cook the wings so the outside is blackened to delicious crispness! Nothing worse than rubbery wings!
I left Gloucester & Newburyport for Seattle and have missed it like crazy since. I always stay stocked up on Ah So, it’s so good! What I do miss are clams casino. Does anyone have a recipe for them? Scandia in Newburyport made the best I’ve ever had and have long since closed.
That Pyrex dish looks discouraging to any dishwasher. I like to use Open Pit Barbecue Sauce and after the first time soaking and scrubbing the Pyrex dish, I line the dish with HD aluminum foil. Just pick up with the sticky, greasy mess and toss.
LONG TIME AGO A BOUGHT MENNY JARS OF AH SO DARK BROWN SAUCE,LOVED IT CANY FIND IT ANYMORE DO YOU STILL MAKE IT OR DOE;S ANYONE MAKE SOMETHING LIKE IT. IT WAS TO KILL FOR .
Check Amazon. A friend of mine that grew up in NE just told me about it, and I’ve never heard of it (grew up on the west coast). Just found it there to try out.
I find it at stop and shop, market basket. Try Walmart or Amazon too.
Use foil to line pan or use disposal
Ah-So sauce doesn’t compare to Butcher Block Rib Sauce which looks similar but has better flavor, and is made in New England. They used to operate a meat company in the North End, but now only makes sauces. Their teriyaki sauce is great as a marinade.
I always do a half and half of ah so sauce with open pit bbq sauce and then slather your pork, chicken or what ever. Yum!
Why is the sauce so dark i went by the recipe it’s not even close to being pink can someone tell me why and it’s very strong tasting
Clam casino steam clams to open, use italian crumbs,
chopped Italian parsley 3 Tbs
with grated romano cheese, chopped fine garlic mixed with a little olive oil. Crumbs should be fluffy . Loosen clam put light amount of crumbs. On top, add a small
piece of bacon. Bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes.
Check.out Martha Stewart Recipe!
stuff
I grew up on it, with my father grilling with it on an old charcoal grill. It is with out a doubt my favorite memory of grilling with my father from the late sixties and seventies. To this day it is by far my favorite grilled meal. I don’t have it often enough. I’m surprised by how many younger people that have not been introduced to this product. I often ask about it when I’m at a barbecue. Oh-so should do more marketing. I’m just glad it’s still around, so thank you.