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.
Denne historien er fra August 17, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 17, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds