Cutting the mustard

It might look brown and raggedy before it's harvested, but a crop of white mustard seeds in Cambridgeshire is about to be turned into one of our hottest and best loved British condiments, as Harry Wallop reports

-  Harry Wallop

TO the uninitiated, the field in does not T northern Cambridgeshire look very promising. I think, for a moment, it is full of weeds-3ft high, brown and raggedy. However, this plot in Thorney represents a minor miracle of British farming. The crop is Sinapis alba or white mustard and the 10 hectares (just under 25 acres) are in the process of being turned into about 25 tons of mustard seeds, which will be ground into a very fine powder before ending up in a pot of Colman's.

James Burgess, who has been driving the vast Claas 780 Lexion combine harvester down the field, is on a break. He pops open one of the inch-long dried seed pods and six tiny seeds roll into his hand. We try them: at first, you get no more than a mild pepperiness, but then, the distinctive kick hits the back of your tongue. It is unmistakably mustard and pretty much the only spice that Britain grows commercially.

Mr Burgess insists he is a fan. 'Oh, yes! I love it on a ham sandwich and if I'm having roast beef, it's got to be on the side of the plate.' I'm tempted to think his endorsement is because Colman indirectly pays his wages, yet his fondness for the yellow stuff is reflected across the country. Last year, 9.7 million jars and 1.5 million tins of Colman's were sold: it is estimated that two out of every five households have the distinctive packaging in their pantry or fridge.

Colman's is one of the very oldest brands in Britain, older than rival store-cupboard staples Cadbury's drinking chocolate, Tiptree jam, or Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. Founded in 1814, the year before the Battle of Waterloo, it seems as British as the Duke of Wellington himself. Yet only a few years ago, there was a strong possibility that Colman's of Norwich -as the company proudly brands itself might no longer have been made using any English mustard seeds.