:00:10. > :00:16.We're here to put Britain back on the food map. We're on a mission to
:00:16. > :00:18.save fantastic British produce from extinction. But we need your help.
:00:18. > :00:23.Essential ingredients that have been here for venchries. Are in
:00:23. > :00:29.danger of disappearing. Forever. Together we want everyone to get
:00:29. > :00:36.back to culinary basics. And help us revive our fabulous... Mab any
:00:36. > :00:46.set. Mouth watering, Unique food heritage. Great British Food
:00:46. > :01:14.
:01:14. > :01:18.I'm Gregg Wallace and I want your help to revival a product that we
:01:18. > :01:23.Brits have a very special relationship with. An ingredient
:01:23. > :01:27.that underwent a revival in the UK 130 years ago and needs our help
:01:27. > :01:32.again. In its heyday we in Britain supplied 90% of the world's
:01:32. > :01:38.consumption. That was then. Right now, we pretty much ignore it. I'm
:01:38. > :01:43.talking about the beauty and splendor of rhubarb. In my campaign
:01:43. > :01:48.to help revive this versatile veg, I'll uncover some of the rhubarb's
:01:48. > :01:52.knock-out property. It is a good laxtive as well. Nice! Nice Janet.
:01:52. > :01:56.Meeting a Yorkshireman who is passionate about keeping our
:01:56. > :02:04.heritage alive. These old rhubarb varieties are part of the national
:02:04. > :02:10.treasure trove as Drake and the armada, Lennon and McCartney.
:02:10. > :02:14.the revival kitchen I'll wow you with some of my all-time favourite
:02:14. > :02:21.rhubarb dishes, including an incredible rhubarb meringue tart.
:02:21. > :02:24.That is a great big cuddle off the pudding angel.
:02:24. > :02:30.I'm a greengrocer and I adore rhubarb. I fell in love with
:02:30. > :02:35.rhubarb as a child, as soon as I stuck a spoon into my grandmother's
:02:35. > :02:38.rhubarb crumble and custard. That sweetness with a hint of sharpness,
:02:38. > :02:43.that is rhubarb's unique flavour, sweet-and-sour. You can serve it
:02:43. > :02:46.soft or firm. It's brilliant as a pudding. It can accompany fatty
:02:46. > :02:51.meats. It's versatile, beautiful, British, bring on the rhubarb
:02:51. > :02:55.renaissance. What's the story? Rhubarb was first
:02:55. > :03:01.introduced to Europe in the 13th century and used from medicinal
:03:01. > :03:05.purposes, until it made its crumble debut. During both world wars, the
:03:05. > :03:08.country ate masses of rhubarb, so the Government intervened to make
:03:08. > :03:14.sure prices were kept low and everybody had access to it. Rhubarb
:03:14. > :03:21.became one of the most widely available and cheapest food.
:03:21. > :03:24.Raspberry jam sold during World War II was only 25% raspberry, the rest
:03:25. > :03:29.was rhubarb with wood chips added to lock like seeds that. British
:03:29. > :03:34.love affair with rhubarb was short lived. Post war people wanted
:03:34. > :03:40.sweeter fruits and British forced rhubarb producers dwindled to just
:03:40. > :03:45.11 years from 200. What have we got against home-grown rhubarb. It's
:03:45. > :03:49.not like an apple, you can't just take a stick and bite into it and
:03:49. > :03:54.enjoy it like an apple. Have you to know what to do with it. All I
:03:54. > :03:58.think you can do is crumble. Aind don't make crumble. I think the
:03:58. > :04:04.taste is very sour and it's all strinky and mushy. They do rhubarb
:04:04. > :04:07.pie when it should be apple. It's red and I'm not a fan of it. It's
:04:07. > :04:11.horrible. At school dinner time, they used to give rhubarb and
:04:11. > :04:19.custard. I absolutely hated it. I used to swap with the sponge cake
:04:19. > :04:23.with my friends. You see what we're up against. To kick off my revival
:04:23. > :04:28.I'm on my way to Wakefield in Yorkshire, the home of British
:04:28. > :04:33.forced rhubarb, where hopefully it will receive a warmer reception.
:04:33. > :04:37.The area between Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield became known as the
:04:37. > :04:42.rhubarb triangle. In 1877 growers came up with a very clever way of
:04:42. > :04:47.growing it indoors. This technique became known as forced. It produced
:04:47. > :04:50.a far sweeter rhubarb. That saw farmers turn around 30,000 tons of
:04:50. > :04:57.rhubarb a year, a figure that's plummeted since, leaving rhubarb
:04:57. > :05:01.producers like David Westwood in the cold. He's one of the 11 forced
:05:01. > :05:05.growers left. At this time of year he only has outdoor rhubarb to show
:05:05. > :05:12.me. What are the issues with growing rhubarb? It's a complete
:05:12. > :05:18.mind of its own. That crop can look like that in, let's say, beginning
:05:18. > :05:22.of November and three days later, it will be all dead. But it's all
:05:22. > :05:25.weather related. If it hasn't got the water in spring, it just
:05:25. > :05:29.doesn't survive. This is risking quite a bit isn't it? Risking a
:05:29. > :05:34.heck of a lot. How many people and how long, if we wanted to harvest
:05:34. > :05:39.this now? It would take ten people two week, maybe three week. Is that
:05:39. > :05:44.right? There's no way can you mechanically do it. It's all done
:05:44. > :05:50.by hand. I can't believe rhubarb farmers are using such age-old
:05:50. > :05:54.techniques. I had no idea it was such a labour intensive crop. But
:05:54. > :05:58.what has really struck home is that rhubarb, grown like this, outdoors,
:05:58. > :06:01.it's a summer vegetable. It's available from April through to
:06:01. > :06:09.September. And if we are going to support growers like David, we have
:06:09. > :06:14.to buy it when it's in season. And I have the perfect recipe to show
:06:14. > :06:19.it off, a sweet and tangy starter. It takes full advantage of that
:06:19. > :06:23.marriage made in heaven, rhubarb and cheese.
:06:23. > :06:27.I really did enjoy my time with David. I have never seen so much
:06:27. > :06:30.rhubarb growing in one place. It was like being in a rhubarb jungle.
:06:30. > :06:34.I have David's rhubarb. In celebration of this, I'm going to
:06:34. > :06:38.show the versatility of this product to the full. I'm making a
:06:38. > :06:43.dish which is both sweet and savoury. It's a rhubarb and goat's
:06:43. > :06:47.cheese salad. It confuses people rhubarb. No-one
:06:47. > :06:51.is sure whether it's a fruit or vegetable. It really is a vegetable.
:06:51. > :06:55.Unless you're in the States, where a court ruling in the 1940s said
:06:55. > :07:02.because it was eaten with sugar, that it was a fruit. But they're
:07:02. > :07:07.wrong! About lots of things. Rhubarb and goat's cheese salad.
:07:07. > :07:11.First cut the rhubarb into small batons. Don't worry, you don't need
:07:11. > :07:15.fancy knife skills for this recipe. fancy knife skills for this recipe.
:07:15. > :07:20.It's all about great food cooked simply. I'm looking at about that
:07:20. > :07:25.sort of thickness. Remember, those leaves are poisonous. Don't worry
:07:25. > :07:28.if you nibble a bit. Just don't eat it by the plateful. Rhubarb is one
:07:28. > :07:32.of those ingredients where you really have to taste as you cook.
:07:32. > :07:38.You've got to keep on tasting, because you won't know how sour it
:07:38. > :07:43.is until you start cooking. When you're cooking, taste, taste, taste.
:07:43. > :07:47.( Melt butter in a pan. About 60 grams should do it, along with four
:07:47. > :07:51.tea spoons of caster sugar. The rhubarb laps it up. Then add your
:07:51. > :07:55.stalks, these are small, so they won't take too long to cook. As you
:07:56. > :07:59.can see, as I'm pressing down, the spoon is beginning to change the
:07:59. > :08:05.shape of the rhubarb, that's soft enough. Told you it was easy. So
:08:05. > :08:11.the glaze. The makings of which are right here in the pan. Heat up a
:08:11. > :08:14.little bit. We've got butter, sugar and rhubarb juice in there. Now
:08:14. > :08:20.what we're going to do is add a glug of port. My tipple of choice
:08:20. > :08:26.when it am coulds to cheese and it goes brilliantly -- when it comes
:08:26. > :08:31.to cheese. We want this to become thicker and stickier. While that
:08:31. > :08:34.bubble as way we can make our salad dressing. I use a universal
:08:34. > :08:40.dressing all the time. One dressing for me does everything. It starts
:08:40. > :08:44.with a generous glug of olive oil, virgin is fine. Any olive oil with
:08:44. > :08:48.less than 1% acidity is extra virgin, it's too strong. English
:08:48. > :08:53.mustard. In with the oil. Followed by a squeeze of lemon and plenty of
:08:53. > :08:56.salt and pepper. And what did I tell you at the beginning? Taste,
:08:56. > :09:01.taste, taste! Lovely. That's it. All we need to do now is bring
:09:01. > :09:06.everything together. So first of all, leaves. I'm using rocket
:09:06. > :09:13.because it's peppery and goes perfectly with the sweet-and-sour
:09:13. > :09:18.rhubarb. Little pile of leaves. Rhubarb that took two or three
:09:18. > :09:21.minutes, around the outside. So you can really appreciate that
:09:21. > :09:27.incredible colour. Next its partner in crime, goat's cheese. Try and
:09:27. > :09:31.use a hard one, not a sticky one. You want to crumble it. That sour
:09:31. > :09:35.milkiness you get from the goat's cheese should be lovely with the
:09:35. > :09:40.rhubarb. Not to mention our sweet rhubarb and port glaze. Look at
:09:40. > :09:50.that. Drizzled over David's delicious rhubarb. There you are.
:09:50. > :09:52.
:09:52. > :09:56.Now that's what I call a salad. Right, knife and fork. Mate, I know
:09:56. > :10:00.it's mine, but I love that. I absolutely love that. You've got
:10:00. > :10:04.the leaves, a bit of sharpness on there. The goat's cheese bringing a
:10:04. > :10:08.bit of milky sourness. It's the sharp sweetness of the rhubarb with
:10:08. > :10:13.the port sauce that's the absolute star. This proves the versatility
:10:13. > :10:23.of rhubarb. It can be sweet. It can be savoury. It's down to you. Be
:10:23. > :10:28.
:10:28. > :10:32.rhubarb as a national treasure. I'm off to rodgewell to meet a grower
:10:32. > :10:34.who is as passionate about rhubarb as I am and has been instrumental
:10:34. > :10:44.in putting Yorkshire forced rhubarb in putting Yorkshire forced rhubarb
:10:44. > :10:45.
:10:45. > :10:49.I love forced rhubarb, tender, soft, sweet, bright pink and the chefs I
:10:49. > :10:53.work with simply cannot get enough of it. But in recent years, there's
:10:54. > :10:59.been a rival on the shelf, those naughty, crafty Dutch are trying to
:10:59. > :11:02.pass their off as the hallowed forced Yorkshire. Not right. And
:11:02. > :11:08.the Yorkshire growers weren't prepared to take that lying down.
:11:08. > :11:13.They knew they had a unique product. They were prepared to fight for it.
:11:13. > :11:17.And got news is, after six long years, battling with bureaucrats in
:11:17. > :11:21.Brussels, Yorkshire forced rhubarb has been awarded a protected
:11:21. > :11:25.designation of origin status, a PDO. It's an exceptionally rare accolade,
:11:25. > :11:32.which puts it up there with the likes of champagne and Parma ham.
:11:32. > :11:36.And Janet is the woman who made it all happen. There it is, the beauty.
:11:36. > :11:40.Now your forced rhubarb, fair to say, has been a huge success in the
:11:40. > :11:44.last ten years. I've got to congratulate you on your hard work
:11:44. > :11:49.on getting European PDO status. Thank you. It was hard work. It
:11:49. > :11:53.took six years in total. Now no-one can call it Yorkshire rhubarb.
:11:53. > :11:58.Exactly. Unless it comes from Yorkshire. Yes. Yorkshire forced
:11:58. > :12:02.rhubarb is available for just a few months a year, from January to
:12:02. > :12:07.March. It's first established outdoors. Is this where its life
:12:07. > :12:12.starts? It is. This is a two-year- old root. Then when do you decide
:12:12. > :12:17.to take it in? It has to have two to three years living out here
:12:17. > :12:22.getting stronger and stronger. The root amassing an energy supply.
:12:22. > :12:27.leave it dor mont for over two years, you don't get a penny out of
:12:27. > :12:31.it? It's not dormant, but it's working for the plant. When they're
:12:31. > :12:35.ready the roots are moved indoors to pitch black forcing sheds, a
:12:35. > :12:38.controlled environment that produces sweeter tender stems. In a
:12:39. > :12:43.forcing shed there is no light. Nofrpblgts. What make it's grow at
:12:43. > :12:49.all? In the forcing sheds? Yes. It's looking for light. That's when
:12:49. > :12:55.the scientists have found out it puts out this substance polyphenols
:12:55. > :12:59.that we need in our bodies. They basically clear out your body of
:12:59. > :13:02.pollutants that could cause cancer in your body. Do scientists who
:13:02. > :13:06.found the cancer cure in the rhubarb, could you ask them to look
:13:06. > :13:12.in the beer at rugby matches. I'm sure it has the same preventative
:13:12. > :13:17.medicine in there. It is a good laxtive as well. Nice! Nice, Janet.
:13:17. > :13:22.Would you let me look in one of these sheds. Yes, let's have a look.
:13:22. > :13:26.Nothing's growing, but it will give you an idea. Janet has ten sheds of
:13:26. > :13:30.varying sizes producing around 200 tons of proper Yorkshire forced
:13:30. > :13:33.rhubarb a year. So this is one of the famous forcing sheds. This is
:13:33. > :13:38.the largest one in the country. It's one of the last ones ever to
:13:38. > :13:43.have been built, because they do say today, to build a forcing shed
:13:43. > :13:47.you'd never get your money back, because they're only used for six
:13:47. > :13:53.weeks harvest. When do the roots come in here? Late November, early
:13:53. > :13:57.December. They're ready to be in production straight after the new
:13:57. > :14:01.year. How many plants will we get in here? You'll get between 20,000
:14:01. > :14:08.to 30,000. They need to be kept damp and warm with mist irrigation
:14:08. > :14:13.and propain heaters. Looks like an aircraft engine. Ouf got... Two of
:14:13. > :14:17.them. Do you think I may have learned enough to grow my own on a
:14:17. > :14:20.small scale? I won't bet on it. You're not going to be in
:14:20. > :14:23.competition, I don't think. I've been truly blown away by the hard
:14:23. > :14:29.work and dedication that goes into producing our forced rhubarb and
:14:29. > :14:34.can't believe it's taken this long to give it the recognise -- rois it
:14:34. > :14:37.deserved. It's a piece of our heritage and delicious. For a start,
:14:37. > :14:42.it's amazingly tender. The force of my tongue on it, against the roof
:14:42. > :14:45.of my mouth is enough to make the whole thing dissolve. Yeah. That is
:14:46. > :14:55.just stunning, that's nectar. I'm having that. You don't have to
:14:55. > :15:00.taste it, do you? No. Close your eyes, I'll only be a minute.
:15:00. > :15:04.I'm really impressed. I had no idea how difficult it was to force
:15:04. > :15:07.rhubarb. It's not a scientific process at all. It's completely
:15:08. > :15:12.artisan. Everything depends on the skill and the knowledge of the
:15:12. > :15:16.grower. I'm pleased they've managed to get PDO status, for an industry
:15:16. > :15:19.once in decline has now been recognised for its uniqueness. It's
:15:19. > :15:24.a beautiful product. Now, luckily, it's protected forever.
:15:24. > :15:27.You can do your bit by buying and cooking it, because trust me, once
:15:27. > :15:32.you've tasted it, you'll think it's worth every penny.
:15:32. > :15:35.I'm going to use some of Janet's forced rhubarb now. I think it's a
:15:35. > :15:40.beautiful product. It's without compare. To show you how good it is
:15:40. > :15:43.and how versatile it is, I'm going to make a chutney with it. It goes
:15:43. > :15:46.with cheese, certainly and with other meats. My favourite way of
:15:47. > :15:54.doing it is the way I'm doing it doing it is the way I'm doing it
:15:54. > :15:57.now, rhubarb chutney with gammon. Rhubarb first from the freezer.
:15:57. > :16:02.Yorkshire forced rhubarb has such a short season early in the year, so
:16:02. > :16:08.buy it fresh and freeze it. Then you can eat it all year round. This
:16:08. > :16:12.will freeze beautifully well as long as you can krb cook it first
:16:13. > :16:18.with sugar. You need about a pound of rhubarb for this chutney and a
:16:19. > :16:28.splash of water. And soft brown sugar, quite a bit. It's got to be
:16:29. > :16:29.
:16:29. > :16:34.sharp. It's got to be slightly sweet. Right, we're going to put an
:16:34. > :16:39.onion, tomato and some garlic in there. I put salt on garlic when I
:16:39. > :16:44.crush it. It's abasive and helps to crush the garlic and also, all the
:16:44. > :16:53.garlic juice then gets absorbed by the salt and it helps to keep the
:16:53. > :16:56.chopping board clean. Not just a pretty face, am I?! And wheel --
:16:56. > :17:00.we'll check the rhubarb has softened. It has. That's the colour
:17:00. > :17:06.you get with the forced stuff. Beautiful. All this can go in. We
:17:06. > :17:10.have chopped onion, a rough old garlic paste, chopped tomato and
:17:10. > :17:15.we're infusing all of these flavours together. All this chutney
:17:15. > :17:22.needs now is some time. Plenty of red wine vinegar, followed by my
:17:22. > :17:30.favourite, the spices. Remember, these things are strong, really,
:17:30. > :17:35.really strong. One clove, teaspoon of ginger, half a tea of cinnamon.
:17:35. > :17:39.I tell you I smell cinnamon and it's just like I want to sail away
:17:39. > :17:42.like on a sea of donuts. Zesting this lemon should bring me back to
:17:42. > :17:52.earth. I wants the zest and juice to bring out the sour in the
:17:52. > :17:56.rhubarb and that's it. All you need to do now is let that bubble away
:17:56. > :18:04.gently, while you make yourself a brew. Two hours later your chutney
:18:04. > :18:08.will be ready. That's the consistency I wanted. It's kept its
:18:08. > :18:12.beautiful vibrant colour and the smell coming off the chutney is
:18:12. > :18:16.lovely. The great thing about my chutney is you can eat it straight
:18:16. > :18:20.away. None of this leaving it on the shelf for two months nonsense.
:18:20. > :18:26.Right, gammon next. It goes brilliantly with our tangy chutney
:18:26. > :18:30.and takes minute its to cook. First get your griddle on drve minutes to
:18:30. > :18:33.cook. First get your griddle on. Get a knife or scissors and cut
:18:34. > :18:43.through the fat in a number of places. This will stop the meat
:18:44. > :18:44.
:18:44. > :18:48.curling up when it hits the hot pan. Leave it, don't touch it. Don't
:18:48. > :18:58.keep turning it over. You'll see the colour rising up through the
:18:58. > :18:59.
:18:59. > :19:08.gammon on the thick side. Look at that! That is lovely. Off the heat,
:19:08. > :19:17.on to a plate. Nice little mound of cabbage and the star of our show,
:19:17. > :19:27.forced rhubarb chutney. Right, the proof is in the tasting and I can't
:19:27. > :19:32.
:19:32. > :19:36.bit of seasoning, but it's that chutney that is delightful, the
:19:36. > :19:46.sweetness of that forced rhubarb, picking up a bit of spice, also a
:19:46. > :19:48.
:19:48. > :19:54.bit of acidity. It is perfect. I want you to fall back in love
:19:54. > :19:58.with British rhubarb an ingredient we were once world famous for. I'm
:19:58. > :20:03.heading to Clumber park, a National Trust property with a kitchen
:20:03. > :20:09.garden that dates to 1772, to rediscover some of our long lost
:20:09. > :20:13.varieties. There's no doubt that our taste for
:20:13. > :20:19.rhubarb has diminished. It is an industry in decline, which has
:20:19. > :20:23.meant we've lost touch with many of our heir loom varieties. It's not
:20:23. > :20:27.commercially viable for growers to produce them. It's a sad state of
:20:27. > :20:32.affairs. But people are out there doing their bit to preserve our
:20:32. > :20:38.heritage varieties, like the head gardener Chris Margrave, whose love
:20:38. > :20:42.of rhubarb has led him to create a living museum. This place is
:20:42. > :20:46.stunning. That's very kind of you to say so. Absolutely beautiful.
:20:46. > :20:52.How many varieties have we got here? We reckon about 95 or 96 at
:20:52. > :21:02.the moment. The target is to get the century. The one we're after is
:21:02. > :21:03.
:21:03. > :21:07.a variety called tobbolsk. That allegedly had a favour of plums. If
:21:07. > :21:11.you have one, I'd be interested to hear from you. What is it about
:21:11. > :21:15.rhubarb. I used to commute to work through the rhubarb kingdom. It
:21:15. > :21:21.became apparent that the kingdom was shrinking rapidly. It was
:21:21. > :21:25.brought home when I saw a forcing shed being demolished. That was the
:21:25. > :21:30.impetus to help with the preservation of old rhubarb rerites
:21:30. > :21:34.-- varieties. The greengrocer in me can't wait to see what sets the
:21:34. > :21:39.varieties apart. That's completely different. Many ribs, one big spine.
:21:39. > :21:42.Break it and see the flesh colour. That's quite green. That's red,
:21:43. > :21:50.isn't it? There's one variety in particular I've only ever heard
:21:50. > :21:57.rumour of, the Irish giant. So this legendary Irish beast, crying out
:21:57. > :22:02.loud. Thfrpblgts one here. -- one here. You can see just how
:22:02. > :22:09.thick the leaf stalks are. That's after a very, very dry season.
:22:09. > :22:15.you got a hawks champagne? No, but we have a pink and red champagne.
:22:15. > :22:21.One of my favourites. This is pink champagne. Quite a thin stalk this
:22:21. > :22:28.one. I like them thin. I think they're finer and slightly sweeter.
:22:28. > :22:32.The champagne for me is a bit dry on the tongue. I think it's like a
:22:32. > :22:37.good bolinger, a bit dry. I get a feeling you may have tasted a bit
:22:37. > :22:40.more rhubarb than I have. I suppose it's one of the perks when you have
:22:40. > :22:44.95 varieties to sample. He's a lucky man and these are lucky
:22:44. > :22:49.plants, saved from the brink for everyone to enjoy. What's the
:22:49. > :22:53.future for the rhubarb collection? Ideally I'd like to have three
:22:53. > :22:57.plants of each variety. Then we can make an application to have our
:22:57. > :23:01.collection as the national rhubarb collection. Then maintaining them
:23:01. > :23:05.so that these wonderful old varieties are not lost to
:23:05. > :23:10.cultivation. These old rhubarb varieties are a part of our
:23:10. > :23:16.national treasure trove as Drake and the armada, Lennon and
:23:16. > :23:20.McCartney, the sounding of the final whistle July 3, 1966. They
:23:20. > :23:23.bring with them stories, not just about what people ate, but how
:23:23. > :23:28.communities worked and lived. There's tremendous historic
:23:28. > :23:32.importance with them. Will people be able to buy the varieties?
:23:32. > :23:38.when we have surplus of the varieties, we'll hopefully make
:23:38. > :23:42.them available through our plant centre so people can acquire them.
:23:42. > :23:45.I'm chuffed that there are people like Chris who are passionate
:23:45. > :23:49.enough about rhubarb to keep all these plants alive and that there
:23:49. > :23:53.are beautiful places like this where we can visit. What can we,
:23:53. > :24:00.the public, do to support it? We can come and visit and who knows,
:24:00. > :24:05.maybe grow the odd plant ourselves. We can even go and explore the
:24:05. > :24:08.famous triangle itself. Wakefield is so proud of its rhubarb heritage,
:24:08. > :24:13.it's even given rhubarb its own festival, a hugely popular event
:24:13. > :24:17.that celebrates the area's growers and producers. I do think it's
:24:17. > :24:22.worth a troip Yorkshire, because walks and eating go together very
:24:22. > :24:27.well. You can explore the area, work up an appetite and then try
:24:27. > :24:33.some of the rhubarb specialities after. There are plenty to choose
:24:33. > :24:39.from, including rhubarb cheese. produce ruby gold. It's got a layer
:24:39. > :24:43.of local rhubarb through the centre. The base cheese is a sheep's milk
:24:43. > :24:51.cheese, a bit like fete ya. The two flavours go well together. They
:24:51. > :24:55.haven't stopped there. We do a pork, rhubarb and chilli sausage. We do
:24:55. > :25:02.ay burger with local rhubarb in that as well. The opportunities are
:25:02. > :25:08.endless with rhubarb. One North Yorkshire pub even serves rhubarb
:25:09. > :25:16.schnapps, known to the locals as grown up Calpol, because of its
:25:16. > :25:20.colour and medicinal properties. Give rhubarb a chance, it's worth
:25:20. > :25:22.trying for this recipe alone. And it's in the a crumble. That's not
:25:22. > :25:27.saying it's one of the best desserts in the world. Because we
:25:27. > :25:35.know it is. It's so much more than that. To prove it, I'm going to
:25:36. > :25:40.make a rhubarb meringue tart. Right look, rhubarb meringue tart.
:25:40. > :25:42.They have the tart, the rhubarb and the meringue. The first bit and the
:25:42. > :25:47.most important bit, the rhubarb. most important bit, the rhubarb.
:25:47. > :25:50.Cut it into chunks. Same way you would a crumble. It's going to get
:25:50. > :25:54.covered in meringue later so you don't have to be exact. You can't
:25:54. > :25:59.smell it, but it's giving off, it's like being in a garden after the
:25:59. > :26:08.rain. It's lovely. And it's going to make the most amazing dessert,
:26:08. > :26:12.stewed up with plenty of sugar. A bit of water, help it along its way.
:26:13. > :26:21.Then zest and juice of a lemon. Which will help it keeps its colour
:26:22. > :26:27.and its tang. Right, heat, lid on. Leaving it to soften for about 15
:26:27. > :26:29.minutes. It's going to be quite wet. We need to thicken it, a bit like
:26:29. > :26:36.custard, with some cornflour and water mixed together and a couple
:26:37. > :26:44.of egg yokes. -- yolks. Look at that! That is a happy rhubarb dance.
:26:44. > :26:53.Heat down a bit. Then get the cornflour in and your two egg yolks.
:26:53. > :27:00.Nice. Stir. OK. I can feel that's thicker. As that cools, that will
:27:00. > :27:05.get thicker still and be able to support the meringue. Now for the
:27:05. > :27:10.tart bit. You need sweet shortcrust pastry cases. Shop bought is fine.
:27:10. > :27:16.Just fill them halfway, leaving room for the meringue. Now I've got
:27:16. > :27:21.my egg whites. We're going to whisk them up until we have stiff peaks.
:27:21. > :27:28.It will take a while, so be patient. Gradually you'll notice a change in
:27:28. > :27:35.texture. Look how firm that is. Then add the sugar, bit by bit,
:27:35. > :27:39.until it's thick and shiny, a bit like me. What comes next is a
:27:39. > :27:43.gloriously messy job. What we're going to do is we are going to put
:27:43. > :27:48.the meringue mix in here and we're going to pipe this across the top
:27:48. > :27:53.of the tarts. This bag enables you to get the meringue mixture into
:27:53. > :28:01.every little bit of the tart. That's if you can get it in the bag
:28:01. > :28:05.in the first place. When it's full, you can start piping. I find it
:28:05. > :28:09.easier to follow the outside and work my way in.
:28:09. > :28:14.There, now tell me that is not one of the most beautiful things you
:28:14. > :28:18.have ever seen. Looks great. Right, into the oven. Remember the pastry
:28:18. > :28:25.is cooked. The rhubarb is cooked. This is just to cook the meringue.
:28:25. > :28:30.You want to bring it out when it goes toasty brown. It won't take
:28:30. > :28:40.long in a medium oven so keep an eye on it. Around 20 minutes later,
:28:40. > :28:50.
:28:50. > :28:54.absolutely divine. It's not too sweet. It's really light, but the
:28:54. > :28:59.star is the sharpness and the slight sweetness of that rhubarb.
:28:59. > :29:02.You know what that is? That is a great big cuddle off the pudding
:29:02. > :29:07.angel, that's what that is. I can't understand why we're not eating
:29:07. > :29:11.rhubarb by the shed load. What are we going to do? You're going to
:29:11. > :29:15.help me. We need to lift this beautiful British product. It's
:29:15. > :29:19.available to us and being grown for ten months of the year. We node a
:29:19. > :29:22.mantra - rhubarb is not just for crumbles. Let's kick off a rhubarb
:29:22. > :29:27.renaissance. Now here's another foodie who's
:29:27. > :29:37.passionate about reviving a small, but perfectly formed great British
:29:37. > :29:37.
:29:37. > :29:42.My name is Ainsley Harriott. I want to tell you about one of the most
:29:42. > :29:48.exciting vegetables in Britain. Despite having loads of varieties,
:29:48. > :29:54.we've been eegt the same type of this little veg for generations.
:29:54. > :30:00.It's time to safe guard the future of this precious part of our food
:30:00. > :30:05.heritage. We're talking about the great British pea.
:30:05. > :30:08.The hugely popular frozen pea may be king of convenience, but the
:30:08. > :30:12.fresh pea has almost disappeared from the supermarkets. If we don't
:30:12. > :30:19.start using fresh peas and looking out for them in season, we may lose
:30:19. > :30:24.them forever. To convince you to join my revival, I'll be visiting
:30:24. > :30:28.one of the most famous gardens in Britain in the grounds of Highgrove
:30:28. > :30:33.House. Until you've tasted them fresh and break open the pod and
:30:33. > :30:35.taste them, there's nothing quite like it. I'll find out how peas
:30:35. > :30:43.helped uncover one of the most important scientific discoverries
:30:43. > :30:46.of the last 200 years. Pea is a plant that was used to uncover the
:30:46. > :30:52.laws of inheritance and genetics. As well as showing you different
:30:52. > :31:02.ways to get your family screaming "Pass the peas please skphram"
:31:02. > :31:06.Fresh peas burst in your mouth. It is exciting. My dad would be proud.
:31:06. > :31:09.You know whu sit round shelling peas like this, memories come
:31:09. > :31:16.flooding back, because it was such a wonderful family thing to do. We
:31:16. > :31:24.grew them. It was exciting, a bit of Nina Simon E.On the radio,
:31:24. > :31:30.shelling peas. It gives you time to slow you down. They are delightful
:31:30. > :31:38.yum yums. Out of the 35,000 hectares of British soil given over
:31:38. > :31:41.to growing peas only 8.5% is grown for the fresh market. Every year
:31:41. > :31:45.that percentage gets smaller and smaller. If we don't act now then
:31:45. > :31:51.the joy of eating peas straight from the pod may be something our
:31:52. > :31:55.children may not -- never experience. To prove my point, I
:31:55. > :32:02.want to get onto the streets and find out where you guys are getting
:32:02. > :32:08.your peas. I'm assuming that you probably eat peas from where, the
:32:08. > :32:12.freezer? From a tin. From a tin? prefer them. Why? I don't know,
:32:12. > :32:17.because my dad grows peas but I don't like them. In the freezer.
:32:17. > :32:22.Really? Always, even when you were a young girl, what were they like
:32:22. > :32:27.then? Out of the pod. Have you poded your own peas. Do you know
:32:27. > :32:30.what a pea is? Of course. I did it with my granny when I was little.
:32:30. > :32:33.Most people want them from the freezer. That's boring. You're
:32:33. > :32:37.getting rid of the freshness of the product. That needs to be happening
:32:37. > :32:42.with the country. There's too many families today who haven't got time.
:32:42. > :32:51.Promise me you're going to go home and take some of those peas from
:32:51. > :32:56.your parents' garden and pod them for me. That's the pea revolution
:32:56. > :32:59.right there. This is what it's about, reviving these lovely little,
:32:59. > :33:03.beautiful fresh peas that taste so sweet and succulent and so, so
:33:03. > :33:08.lovely. I know that you're probably thinking, well the frozen peas I've
:33:08. > :33:13.got in my freezer is probably the nearest thing our kids will get to
:33:13. > :33:16.eating green vegetables. Once you try these, you realise why I'm so
:33:16. > :33:20.passionate about it. It's that pea passion that I want to share with
:33:20. > :33:28.you. So to start my revival, I'm heading to Gloucestershire, where
:33:28. > :33:34.many fresh British peas are grown. Guy Barter from the Royal
:33:34. > :33:39.Horticultural Society is mine of information about peas. I see
:33:39. > :33:43.you're admiring the wonderful pea. Why should we eat more of these?
:33:43. > :33:47.This these succulent pods there are lots of tasty and nutritious peas.
:33:47. > :33:51.They're full of protein as well as being sweet from shuingarz as well.
:33:51. > :33:57.Aren't they gorgeous? Fantastic. They're especially bred to be full
:33:57. > :34:02.of sugar. The roots are the critical part. They fix nitrogen
:34:02. > :34:08.and that is transferred to the plant. That enriches the soil
:34:08. > :34:12.again? It enriches the plant full of protein and enriches the soil,
:34:12. > :34:18.so you don't have to add fertiliser. Peas are environment yael friendly
:34:18. > :34:22.as well as being good to eat. enriching of the soil made peas an
:34:22. > :34:30.important crop in the past. In the mid-Twentieth Century, pea picking
:34:30. > :34:37.became a lost art and the product suffered. They took a long time to
:34:37. > :34:42.get to market. By the time they arrived on the greengrocer shelves
:34:42. > :34:46.there were immature ones, overmature ones. They were dry.
:34:46. > :34:51.Many people are unaware now of what fresh pods are like. Would you
:34:51. > :34:56.agree it's time for a food revival with the poded pea? Yes, I
:34:56. > :34:59.certainly would. Peas can arrive on the dinner table very quickly after
:34:59. > :35:04.being picked. All the issues with poor quality that used to give
:35:04. > :35:09.fresh peas a bad name, one hopes are a thing of the past. People can
:35:09. > :35:12.enjoy fresh peas. But it's not just the way the peas get to market has
:35:13. > :35:16.changed. The peas themselves have changed. The peas in this field
:35:16. > :35:22.have been grown by Martin Hanes, whose family have been growing peas
:35:22. > :35:28.for generations. We're using more modern varieties, sweeter tasting.
:35:28. > :35:37.We pick them a little bitterlyier now than maybe we did. My father is
:35:37. > :35:42.90. When he looks at the farm, he says "These aren't ready yet." They
:35:42. > :35:46.are now for the pallet that people are looking at now. When I was
:35:46. > :35:52.growing up, the pods were thicker, more velvety. Yes, part of the
:35:52. > :35:56.development is to get the pod to be thinner and weaker and more pea in
:35:56. > :36:02.the pod. More pea in your pod for your pound! Yes, exactly. That's
:36:02. > :36:10.wonderful. To really illustrate the beauty of
:36:10. > :36:15.this great British bounty, I'm going to get cooking. Peas, Mother
:36:15. > :36:20.Nature's present to all of us. I love them because they're so
:36:20. > :36:23.wonderfully versatile. They have a great taste. They're easy to grow.
:36:23. > :36:30.Oh, dear, what would we do without Oh, dear, what would we do without
:36:30. > :36:34.them? My first recipe is a fresh pea, broad bean and ham hock salad.
:36:34. > :36:41.This is a great dish for a long summer evening, combining all the
:36:41. > :36:45.classic flavours that traditionally go with peas. Take your peas, bring
:36:45. > :36:48.your water to the boil and in they go. They're only going to take a
:36:48. > :36:53.couple of minutes and not too much water. If you boil them in too much
:36:53. > :37:00.water, you're losing all the vitamin C. To the peas I'm adding
:37:00. > :37:04.mangetout. These really don't take long o -- to cook. Then straight
:37:04. > :37:09.onto ice. I want to keep that colour, vibrant green colour. This
:37:09. > :37:19.is great. This will set it off. It stops the cook prog ses immediately
:37:19. > :37:23.and just cools everything down. -- process immediately and just cools
:37:23. > :37:28.everything don. Something about a salad you don't want water. If
:37:28. > :37:32.you're washing lettuce leaves, you want to dry them off. Dry them off.
:37:32. > :37:39.You really want the natural flavour to come oust them. I'm going to
:37:39. > :37:45.give those a little bit of a pat dry. I've poded, shelled and
:37:45. > :37:50.lightly cooked my broad beans which are ready to add a buttery contrast
:37:50. > :38:00.to the peas' crunch. My secret ingredient? Fresh pea shoots. Those
:38:00. > :38:00.
:38:00. > :38:06.pea shoots are great, dry, not wet, lovely. Beautiful, peppery, not as
:38:06. > :38:11.much as rocket or watercress. What better accompaniment than coursely
:38:11. > :38:18.cut ham hock. Just take that and pop it in there like that, really
:38:18. > :38:24.lovely. I like to put a bit of chilli. Maybe it's a Caribbean
:38:24. > :38:30.thing, I don't know. It's lovely. It just adds just enough kick to it.
:38:30. > :38:39.A splash of colour and it's time for the dressing. A dash of cider
:38:39. > :38:42.vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil, followed by some freshly, finely
:38:42. > :38:49.chopped spring onions, then parsley and a good friend of the pea, fresh
:38:49. > :38:53.mint. Let those flavours just mingle together, really, really
:38:53. > :38:58.coming alive. It's pretty, those flecks of chilli pepper in there.
:38:58. > :39:03.It's just kind of, it's -- it almost adds exoticness to your
:39:03. > :39:09.salad. Serve all the freshness of an exotic British summer on a plate.
:39:09. > :39:14.I think I'm going to finish that off with a little few of those
:39:14. > :39:21.gorgeous pea shoots, sitting on the top there. How about that? There
:39:21. > :39:25.you go. Really gorgeous, fresh pea, broad bean and ham hock salad.
:39:25. > :39:29.I hope this dish shows you that brilliant and convenient as they
:39:29. > :39:39.are, there is more to peas than being frozen. There are lots of pea
:39:39. > :39:41.
:39:41. > :39:46.varieties, each with their own The next stop on my campaign is the
:39:46. > :39:48.John Innes centre near Norwich. At the leading centre of plant and
:39:48. > :39:54.microbial research, it's the home to the world's largest pea
:39:54. > :40:00.collection. Mike has been involved with the collection for over 30
:40:00. > :40:07.years. How many varieties do you have here? We grow and maintain
:40:07. > :40:11.just over 3,500 different types of pea. Wow. 3,500 varieties of peas?!
:40:11. > :40:15.And they're all kept in one room. I can't wait to see them. This is it,
:40:16. > :40:21.isn't it? This is it. Oh, my word. Look at the size of this, Mike.
:40:21. > :40:26.This is extraordinary. Is this all peas? No, about two tracks of
:40:26. > :40:33.shelfing are peas. The rest are the seeds for the research on site.
:40:33. > :40:37.This is peas from all over the world? Yes. Including wild types,
:40:37. > :40:40.but cultivars from all over the world. Wow, amazing. If you need
:40:40. > :40:45.convincing there's more to peas than the ones in your freezer, then
:40:45. > :40:52.this is the room for you. There are peas everywhere and each one with
:40:52. > :40:57.individual characteristics. These are the selection of the British
:40:57. > :41:01.heritage peas. We have 86 different lines that go back to the middle
:41:01. > :41:06.1800s. I've got a few on these trays here, things like this one
:41:06. > :41:10.here, this is champion of England from the late 1800s. Duke of Albany,
:41:10. > :41:14.a very popular, long picking variety. Why do you collect all
:41:14. > :41:18.these peas? What's the idea behind it then? The important thing is to
:41:18. > :41:22.have all this variation for researchers and breeders to work
:41:22. > :41:28.with. Because you never know what is needed to try to improve the
:41:28. > :41:36.plants for tomorrow and the crops to make them more disease resistent,
:41:36. > :41:41.pest resistent, so adapted to climate. We can serve them here and
:41:41. > :41:44.using them they can be kept alive. This is a living catalogue for the
:41:44. > :41:49.thousands of varieties that exist. Our pea varieties have been
:41:49. > :41:58.documented for centuries. Mike has accessed us some unique records of
:41:58. > :42:03.our pea-growing past. What I'd like to show you here is effectively
:42:03. > :42:08.Elizabethan version of our seed store. That's like, 1500s we're
:42:08. > :42:11.talking about? Yes late 1500s. very exciting to think this
:42:11. > :42:18.manuscript pre-dates Shakespeare. The star of the show is the British
:42:18. > :42:21.pea. Are any of these varieties still around today? Their
:42:21. > :42:28.characteristics are. We have many lines which illustrate and are very
:42:28. > :42:34.similar to the types that you see represented here. Just brilliant.
:42:34. > :42:37.The seed cat logs illustrate the peas variety. These books helped to
:42:37. > :42:43.uncover one of the most important scientific discoverries of the last
:42:43. > :42:46.200 years. What many people don't think about when they're opening
:42:46. > :42:53.their packet of frozen peas is the important role that peas have
:42:53. > :42:58.played in genetics. It was the plant that was used to uncover the
:42:58. > :43:02.laws of inheritance and genetics. How amazing. By studying pea plants,
:43:02. > :43:07.it was discovered the patterns of dominant characteristics in certain
:43:07. > :43:11.varieties N so doing the corner stone for modern genetics was laid.
:43:11. > :43:17.Would he have used these books for that information? We know the seed
:43:17. > :43:20.cat logs were in the library, that he was using at the time. So, yes,
:43:20. > :43:25.he would. The Victorians who read these cat logs would have loved
:43:25. > :43:35.their peas. They have h a surprising use for their pods, pea
:43:35. > :43:39.
:43:39. > :43:42.pod wine. Cheers! That's interesting. You can taste the pea
:43:42. > :43:47.coming through there and it's kind of an interesting thing to do with
:43:47. > :43:51.your pods really, isn't it? We used to throw them into the stock pot at
:43:51. > :43:56.work, but to produce them into wine. That's not bad, is it? At the end
:43:56. > :43:59.of the garden. I suppose after a few glasses of this, you don't care.
:43:59. > :44:05.You wouldn't. You wouldn't remember where you planted them. That's
:44:05. > :44:09.quite strong. I'm not convinced that pea pod wine will make a huge
:44:09. > :44:14.revival, but the peas themselves, that's a different matter.
:44:14. > :44:18.Look at this, I have really delicious fresh peas here, along
:44:18. > :44:25.with my corgette which reminds me of summer. That's inspired me for
:44:25. > :44:30.my je. Dish, a fresh pea, corgette, parmesan rosties with a tangy
:44:30. > :44:34.dressing. Poding is one of those strange
:44:34. > :44:39.things. It feels like a job that goes on forever and ever, but it
:44:39. > :44:43.brings the family together. I sit round with my brother or sister,
:44:43. > :44:46.sometimes aunts and uncles, poding peas. It was a great way of having
:44:46. > :44:53.conversation. I put my peas into boiling water, giving me enough
:44:53. > :45:00.boiling water, giving me enough time to shred the courgette. We
:45:00. > :45:10.want to make them nice and dry. When you cook your rostis they will
:45:10. > :45:11.
:45:11. > :45:16.be crispy. Peas and courgettes go into a large mixing bowl, pinenuts
:45:16. > :45:19.and freshly grated parmesan are added. Then use two eggs to bind
:45:19. > :45:23.the ingredients. And I'm going to get my hands in there now. I'm
:45:23. > :45:26.going to work that through. Look at those peas. Don't they look
:45:26. > :45:30.wonderful? You could use frozen peas here. There's nothing wrong
:45:30. > :45:34.with frozen peas. Don't think I'm having a go at you, saying hey you
:45:34. > :45:39.can't use frozen peas. Let's face it, fresh peas are only in season
:45:39. > :45:45.until about September and that's pushing it, to be honest with you.
:45:45. > :45:49.But frozen peas are great and often it's one of the few ways that we
:45:49. > :45:54.have of getting vitamin C into our kids, there's the orange juice and
:45:54. > :46:02.stuff. But kids tend to like peas as a vegetable. Fresh or frozen,
:46:02. > :46:07.this dish is all about the pea. Let the rice flour absorb any liquid,
:46:07. > :46:12.then add the basil. Then it's time for the real fun. A bit of a squash
:46:13. > :46:17.down with the palm of your hand. Then using the pallet knife just to
:46:17. > :46:20.shape them, to bind them, pull them together. The peas tend to fall
:46:20. > :46:25.away. You think oh, it's all going to collapse. That won't happen,
:46:25. > :46:30.when it hits the pan, the egg begins to set and the Chris pince
:46:30. > :46:35.of the ground rice begins to work, cook out. It's just absolutely fab.
:46:35. > :46:38.Not too hot here. There's a tendency when you're making things
:46:38. > :46:44.like rostis you turn up the pan too much. It will brown before it
:46:44. > :46:49.starts to cook. Just nice controlled heat, then we can talk
:46:49. > :46:53.about getting a bit of colour with them afterwards. There's a tendency
:46:53. > :46:59.that we tend to overload our pan a bit. Don't do that. When you're
:46:59. > :47:03.talking them out, put them on absorbant kitchen paper and keep
:47:03. > :47:08.them warm in the oven. They're not too bad even warmed to be honest
:47:08. > :47:13.with you. It doesn't take long for them to turn golden brown, with the
:47:13. > :47:17.green peas shining through. Now it's time to work on the dressing.
:47:17. > :47:25.Plum and sun dried tomatoes, add olive oil, shallots, and a dash of
:47:25. > :47:29.pea pod wine. If you haven't got pea poded wine
:47:29. > :47:33.don't worry, red pine, vinegar, tablespoon or two will be fine. You
:47:33. > :47:39.can serve them individually, but I like to stack them in a tower. Then
:47:39. > :47:44.drizzle on my lovely tomato dressing and finish with some fresh
:47:44. > :47:54.chopped basil. Wonderful. They look so good. Just want to get stuck
:47:54. > :47:54.
:47:54. > :47:59.into it, don't you? Here we go. That's OK. Fresh peas are just
:47:59. > :48:04.burst in your mouth. It is exciting. A bit of ground rice, holds it
:48:04. > :48:09.together, giving it another dimension, another nexure if you
:48:09. > :48:19.like, with the tangy tomato dressing. It brings the peas out
:48:19. > :48:20.
:48:20. > :48:23.beautifully. You have to try it. We The Victorians referred to peas as
:48:23. > :48:29.the Prince of vegetables. What better way to restore the
:48:29. > :48:36.reputation than to visit peas grown by a Prince. I'm at Highgrove House
:48:36. > :48:38.in Gloucestershire to look around a very special garden. His Royal
:48:38. > :48:41.Highness the Prince of Wales gardens at Highgrove are not what
:48:41. > :48:46.you might expect from a royal residence, more personal than
:48:46. > :48:52.formal, more fun than stately. The grounds here represent a vision 30
:48:52. > :48:58.years in the making. To find out more, I'm meeting the head gardener
:48:58. > :49:01.in the walled kitchen garden. Well this is clearly a very, very
:49:01. > :49:07.special garden. So what's the philosophy behind it? I think
:49:07. > :49:12.you're going to have to listen. You're going to hear the bees. It's
:49:12. > :49:16.an organic garden. That makes it very special. Do you have to put in
:49:16. > :49:20.more effort for an organic garden? You have to think long and hard how
:49:20. > :49:23.you garden. It's the rotation of the vegetables. It's encouraging
:49:23. > :49:27.wildlife to take care of the predators, choosing varieties that
:49:27. > :49:32.are disease resistant and taste good. So, every plant and vegetable
:49:32. > :49:37.in this garden has been hand picked for its uniqueness. And of course,
:49:37. > :49:42.few plants or vegetables will have as many characteristics to choose
:49:42. > :49:47.from as the good old British pea. What about peas, how important are
:49:47. > :49:50.they here? Well, every since His Royal Highness came to Highgrove
:49:50. > :49:59.and basically layed out the kitchen garden that you see, he's been
:49:59. > :50:02.growing peas. He has stuck with one all the way through, that's the
:50:02. > :50:06.Alderman. It has a special flavour. It's a flavour he enjoys. This is
:50:06. > :50:10.what I want to get across. This is what I want to get across to
:50:10. > :50:13.viewers, there's lots of different varieties here. Until you've tasted
:50:13. > :50:19.them fresh and break open that pod and taste them, there's nothing
:50:19. > :50:24.quite like it. The Alderman holds an important place in the garden.
:50:24. > :50:27.Though late in the season, they've kept their pods drying on the plant.
:50:27. > :50:33.They're actually past their best. But that's because we've had a
:50:33. > :50:39.great harvest off of them. We've now left the last few here for
:50:39. > :50:43.producing seeds, so we can save it for next year. Explain this wigwam
:50:43. > :50:47.formation here. I've never seen this before. It's a traditional way
:50:47. > :50:52.of growing the tall varieties of peas. The nice thing about growing
:50:52. > :50:57.tall varieties, this is nearly six foot tall, it can grow taller, you
:50:57. > :51:03.need a structure to support them, but per area ground, you can
:51:03. > :51:07.produce more peas than the smaller varieties that... Ideal, especially
:51:07. > :51:11.for people with small gardens like myself. This is great. I know that
:51:11. > :51:14.His Royal Highness is keen on organic gardening and very hands on.
:51:14. > :51:18.I think nothing would probably give him more pleasure than to see
:51:18. > :51:22.people around Britain growing their own peas. He couldn't think of
:51:22. > :51:26.anything better than encouraging generation upon generation to keep
:51:26. > :51:32.the old varieties going for future generations. So we need to instil
:51:32. > :51:36.that in the gardeners of today. Here, here. So why not join the
:51:36. > :51:41.thousands of gardeners around the UK who are already growing heritage
:51:41. > :51:45.peas? These the -- the easiest way is to join the heritage seed
:51:45. > :51:54.library, with over 97 varieties of peas in their collection, there's
:51:54. > :51:59.sure to be one to suit your palate. My next dish is unbelievable. It is
:51:59. > :52:09.unbelievably tasty. I'm using a very inexpensive cut, belly of pork,
:52:09. > :52:10.
:52:10. > :52:12.to make my jerk belly of pork with thing instead of a hash works
:52:12. > :52:17.perfectly beautifully with this inexpensive cut of pork. When you
:52:18. > :52:23.cook it slowly, it rewards you. It is so succulent and fabulous. Oh, I
:52:23. > :52:28.love jerk cooking, but to do it well, you must get the right mix.
:52:28. > :52:32.Look at the colour of that. Really lovely and the smell, you can smell
:52:32. > :52:36.the cinnamon, the allspice. Real memories of my mum's cooking,
:52:36. > :52:42.Caribbean cooking in general with the lovely spices. This is cooked
:52:42. > :52:45.slowly. It gives it a chance to drift in the air and you are
:52:45. > :52:50.following it. I feel like deputy dog or something like that
:52:50. > :52:55.following supper for the evening. Really lovely. Seer off the pork in
:52:55. > :53:00.a hot pan and prepare a baking tray with thickly sliced onions and
:53:00. > :53:07.garlic. I have fresh thyme from the garden here. I'm nestling that on
:53:07. > :53:12.top. It's wonderful walking around Highgrove, I've got to say, because
:53:12. > :53:19.His Royal Highness has just grown this wild thyme everywhere. It's a
:53:19. > :53:23.wonderful aroma, but no, I did not take this from the royal garden.
:53:23. > :53:29.Place the pork on the onions then add cider and chicken stock that
:53:29. > :53:36.will be absorbed by the pork and create a wonderful sauce. Cover the
:53:36. > :53:40.tray with foil and it's ready for the oven. That's 180 centigrade,
:53:41. > :53:45.350 Fahrenheit, gas mark four, for about two-and-a-half hours. It will
:53:45. > :53:49.be wonderfully tender. I'm going to have a cup of coffee. Like fresh
:53:49. > :53:54.peas, slow cooking has become a thing of the past. But the joy of
:53:54. > :54:01.filling the house with the taste and flavours of dinner is just a
:54:01. > :54:05.wonderful way to get the family excited about good food. Ah,
:54:05. > :54:10.gorgeous! Look at that. It just smells so rich. You can see that
:54:10. > :54:15.it's going to be so tender, really lovely. And I'm going to be serving
:54:15. > :54:18.that with my pea and potato mash up. I've been poding a few of them here.
:54:18. > :54:25.We're going to cook those until they're tender. They only take a
:54:26. > :54:31.couple of minutes. My new potatoes have been boiled in their skins.
:54:31. > :54:36.Now we're ready for the mash up. Nothing could be simpler. Take a
:54:36. > :54:42.fork and give them a crush, on the side of the pan there. It's a
:54:42. > :54:49.casual breaking up of the potato. We'll turn the gas off there. A
:54:49. > :54:59.glug of olive oil paved the way for the main event. Take your peas on
:54:59. > :55:01.
:55:01. > :55:06.the top like that. Then just mix it through. It's a play of textures
:55:06. > :55:10.here. You have got the softness of the potato. You have a bite, it's
:55:10. > :55:16.cooked with a bite, then the peas burst through. You get that lovely
:55:16. > :55:26.joy in your mouth. You think, mmm, pea and potato mash up! Taste of
:55:26. > :55:26.
:55:26. > :55:34.spring. Let's sort out that pork, shall we? Oh, it's almost just
:55:34. > :55:39.falling away there, so beautiful and tender. You know what I'm going
:55:39. > :55:44.to do here is take some of those beautiful pan juices here, look at
:55:44. > :55:50.that, remember you've got the cider in there and you've got the
:55:50. > :55:56.delicious chicken stock mixed with that. What could be better than
:55:56. > :56:04.serving that with a little bit of hot pepper sauce. My dad would be
:56:04. > :56:09.proud! When you have such a rainbow of colours on the fork, you know
:56:09. > :56:16.you're in for a taste sensation. Wonderfully juicy, real succulence
:56:16. > :56:21.about it. The big payoff is right at the end, you get the bursting of
:56:21. > :56:24.the pea. The pea is such a rewarding vegetable. You know, you
:56:24. > :56:27.bite into it and you know what you're going to get. There's an
:56:27. > :56:37.element of surprise, especially when they're fresh peas because it
:56:37. > :56:39.
:56:39. > :56:46.bursts out that bit of sweetness, What celebration of British peas
:56:46. > :56:49.would be complete without a mention of the good old mushy pea. In
:56:49. > :56:55.Norwich, Anita's family have been selling peas to the locals for over
:56:55. > :57:01.60 years. We're unique in the fact that people have a bowl of peas on
:57:01. > :57:06.their own. It's just like a vegetable, but it's not. It's a
:57:06. > :57:12.meal. It's a mushy pea tradition. Mushy peas start life as marrowfat
:57:12. > :57:16.peas, one of the oldest varieties in Britain. Packed with protein and
:57:16. > :57:19.fibre, the peas arrive small and dry, then soaked overnight and then
:57:19. > :57:28.finally boiled. It looks like a heritage pea revival could be
:57:28. > :57:33.starting right here. Is that for you? Yeah? Mint sauce? Get your
:57:33. > :57:39.mushy peas here. Come on now. Bit of tomato ketchup on there now. I
:57:39. > :57:45.don't mind that. How about that? That is now �4.50 mate, instead of
:57:45. > :57:49.�1. What can we do to get more people to eat peas? People need to
:57:50. > :57:53.be aware. Many people have come up here and they won't try them
:57:53. > :58:03.because they're green. But once they try them, they love them.
:58:03. > :58:08.
:58:08. > :58:11.Come on, join in. Next time you're I've got to say, that's been a
:58:11. > :58:15.fantastic adventure, getting out there, meeting people who are
:58:15. > :58:20.passionate about peas. And it's inspired me too. I hope it's
:58:20. > :58:23.inspired you to get out and do a bit of cooking. Because we know --
:58:23. > :58:27.we no longer want food to be flown in from different parts of the
:58:27. > :58:29.world, when it's out of season here. We want food taken out of the