Читать книгу The Taste of Britain - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Страница 194

Tewkesbury Mustard was famous in the 1500s, so famous that it was a byword for a particular kind of stupidity - ‘His wit’s as thick as Tewkesbury Mustard!’ exclaimed Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV. The mustard seed was ground in a mortar or crushed with a cannon ball, sifted, combined with an infusion of horseradish, well mixed for at least an hour, made into balls and dried. It was sold and kept until reconstituted with various substances - vinegar, verjuice, cider and red wine are all quoted. No trace of this early industry has remained in Tewkesbury; only the name recalls the association (Man and Weir, 1988).

A habit of mixing horseradish and mustard persisted. References can be found in a recipe by John Nott (1726), and Eliza Acton (1845) gave instructions for making ‘Tartar Mustard’, a mixture of mustard powder, horseradish vinegar and chilli vinegar. These compounds were made at home, instead of being dried and marketed. Increased interest in the production of speciality foods by small independent producers led to the revival of Tewkesbury mustard in the late twentieth century.