Rhubarb and Peas Great British Food Revival


Rhubarb and Peas

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We're here to put Britain back on the food map. We're on a mission to

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save fantastic British produce from extinction. But we need your help.

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Essential ingredients that have been here for venchries. Are in

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danger of disappearing. Forever. Together we want everyone to get

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back to culinary basics. And help us revive our fabulous... Mab any

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set. Mouth watering, Unique food heritage. Great British Food

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I'm Gregg Wallace and I want your help to revival a product that we

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Brits have a very special relationship with. An ingredient

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that underwent a revival in the UK 130 years ago and needs our help

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again. In its heyday we in Britain supplied 90% of the world's

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consumption. That was then. Right now, we pretty much ignore it. I'm

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talking about the beauty and splendor of rhubarb. In my campaign

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to help revive this versatile veg, I'll uncover some of the rhubarb's

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knock-out property. It is a good laxtive as well. Nice! Nice Janet.

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Meeting a Yorkshireman who is passionate about keeping our

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heritage alive. These old rhubarb varieties are part of the national

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treasure trove as Drake and the armada, Lennon and McCartney.

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the revival kitchen I'll wow you with some of my all-time favourite

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rhubarb dishes, including an incredible rhubarb meringue tart.

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That is a great big cuddle off the pudding angel.

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I'm a greengrocer and I adore rhubarb. I fell in love with

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rhubarb as a child, as soon as I stuck a spoon into my grandmother's

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rhubarb crumble and custard. That sweetness with a hint of sharpness,

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that is rhubarb's unique flavour, sweet-and-sour. You can serve it

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soft or firm. It's brilliant as a pudding. It can accompany fatty

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meats. It's versatile, beautiful, British, bring on the rhubarb

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renaissance. What's the story? Rhubarb was first

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introduced to Europe in the 13th century and used from medicinal

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purposes, until it made its crumble debut. During both world wars, the

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country ate masses of rhubarb, so the Government intervened to make

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sure prices were kept low and everybody had access to it. Rhubarb

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became one of the most widely available and cheapest food.

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Raspberry jam sold during World War II was only 25% raspberry, the rest

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was rhubarb with wood chips added to lock like seeds that. British

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love affair with rhubarb was short lived. Post war people wanted

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sweeter fruits and British forced rhubarb producers dwindled to just

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11 years from 200. What have we got against home-grown rhubarb. It's

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not like an apple, you can't just take a stick and bite into it and

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enjoy it like an apple. Have you to know what to do with it. All I

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think you can do is crumble. Aind don't make crumble. I think the

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taste is very sour and it's all strinky and mushy. They do rhubarb

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pie when it should be apple. It's red and I'm not a fan of it. It's

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horrible. At school dinner time, they used to give rhubarb and

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custard. I absolutely hated it. I used to swap with the sponge cake

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with my friends. You see what we're up against. To kick off my revival

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I'm on my way to Wakefield in Yorkshire, the home of British

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forced rhubarb, where hopefully it will receive a warmer reception.

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The area between Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield became known as the

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rhubarb triangle. In 1877 growers came up with a very clever way of

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growing it indoors. This technique became known as forced. It produced

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a far sweeter rhubarb. That saw farmers turn around 30,000 tons of

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rhubarb a year, a figure that's plummeted since, leaving rhubarb

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producers like David Westwood in the cold. He's one of the 11 forced

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growers left. At this time of year he only has outdoor rhubarb to show

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me. What are the issues with growing rhubarb? It's a complete

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mind of its own. That crop can look like that in, let's say, beginning

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of November and three days later, it will be all dead. But it's all

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weather related. If it hasn't got the water in spring, it just

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doesn't survive. This is risking quite a bit isn't it? Risking a

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heck of a lot. How many people and how long, if we wanted to harvest

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this now? It would take ten people two week, maybe three week. Is that

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right? There's no way can you mechanically do it. It's all done

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by hand. I can't believe rhubarb farmers are using such age-old

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techniques. I had no idea it was such a labour intensive crop. But

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what has really struck home is that rhubarb, grown like this, outdoors,

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it's a summer vegetable. It's available from April through to

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September. And if we are going to support growers like David, we have

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to buy it when it's in season. And I have the perfect recipe to show

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it off, a sweet and tangy starter. It takes full advantage of that

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marriage made in heaven, rhubarb and cheese.

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I really did enjoy my time with David. I have never seen so much

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rhubarb growing in one place. It was like being in a rhubarb jungle.

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I have David's rhubarb. In celebration of this, I'm going to

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show the versatility of this product to the full. I'm making a

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dish which is both sweet and savoury. It's a rhubarb and goat's

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cheese salad. It confuses people rhubarb. No-one

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is sure whether it's a fruit or vegetable. It really is a vegetable.

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Unless you're in the States, where a court ruling in the 1940s said

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because it was eaten with sugar, that it was a fruit. But they're

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wrong! About lots of things. Rhubarb and goat's cheese salad.

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First cut the rhubarb into small batons. Don't worry, you don't need

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fancy knife skills for this recipe. fancy knife skills for this recipe.

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It's all about great food cooked simply. I'm looking at about that

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sort of thickness. Remember, those leaves are poisonous. Don't worry

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if you nibble a bit. Just don't eat it by the plateful. Rhubarb is one

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of those ingredients where you really have to taste as you cook.

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You've got to keep on tasting, because you won't know how sour it

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is until you start cooking. When you're cooking, taste, taste, taste.

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( Melt butter in a pan. About 60 grams should do it, along with four

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tea spoons of caster sugar. The rhubarb laps it up. Then add your

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stalks, these are small, so they won't take too long to cook. As you

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can see, as I'm pressing down, the spoon is beginning to change the

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shape of the rhubarb, that's soft enough. Told you it was easy. So

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the glaze. The makings of which are right here in the pan. Heat up a

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little bit. We've got butter, sugar and rhubarb juice in there. Now

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what we're going to do is add a glug of port. My tipple of choice

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when it am coulds to cheese and it goes brilliantly -- when it comes

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to cheese. We want this to become thicker and stickier. While that

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bubble as way we can make our salad dressing. I use a universal

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dressing all the time. One dressing for me does everything. It starts

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with a generous glug of olive oil, virgin is fine. Any olive oil with

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less than 1% acidity is extra virgin, it's too strong. English

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mustard. In with the oil. Followed by a squeeze of lemon and plenty of

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salt and pepper. And what did I tell you at the beginning? Taste,

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taste, taste! Lovely. That's it. All we need to do now is bring

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everything together. So first of all, leaves. I'm using rocket

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because it's peppery and goes perfectly with the sweet-and-sour

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rhubarb. Little pile of leaves. Rhubarb that took two or three

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minutes, around the outside. So you can really appreciate that

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incredible colour. Next its partner in crime, goat's cheese. Try and

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use a hard one, not a sticky one. You want to crumble it. That sour

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milkiness you get from the goat's cheese should be lovely with the

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rhubarb. Not to mention our sweet rhubarb and port glaze. Look at

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that. Drizzled over David's delicious rhubarb. There you are.

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Now that's what I call a salad. Right, knife and fork. Mate, I know

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it's mine, but I love that. I absolutely love that. You've got

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the leaves, a bit of sharpness on there. The goat's cheese bringing a

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bit of milky sourness. It's the sharp sweetness of the rhubarb with

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the port sauce that's the absolute star. This proves the versatility

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of rhubarb. It can be sweet. It can be savoury. It's down to you. Be

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rhubarb as a national treasure. I'm off to rodgewell to meet a grower

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who is as passionate about rhubarb as I am and has been instrumental

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in putting Yorkshire forced rhubarb in putting Yorkshire forced rhubarb

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I love forced rhubarb, tender, soft, sweet, bright pink and the chefs I

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work with simply cannot get enough of it. But in recent years, there's

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been a rival on the shelf, those naughty, crafty Dutch are trying to

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pass their off as the hallowed forced Yorkshire. Not right. And

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the Yorkshire growers weren't prepared to take that lying down.

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They knew they had a unique product. They were prepared to fight for it.

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And got news is, after six long years, battling with bureaucrats in

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Brussels, Yorkshire forced rhubarb has been awarded a protected

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designation of origin status, a PDO. It's an exceptionally rare accolade,

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which puts it up there with the likes of champagne and Parma ham.

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And Janet is the woman who made it all happen. There it is, the beauty.

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Now your forced rhubarb, fair to say, has been a huge success in the

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last ten years. I've got to congratulate you on your hard work

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on getting European PDO status. Thank you. It was hard work. It

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took six years in total. Now no-one can call it Yorkshire rhubarb.

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Exactly. Unless it comes from Yorkshire. Yes. Yorkshire forced

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rhubarb is available for just a few months a year, from January to

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March. It's first established outdoors. Is this where its life

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starts? It is. This is a two-year- old root. Then when do you decide

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to take it in? It has to have two to three years living out here

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getting stronger and stronger. The root amassing an energy supply.

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leave it dor mont for over two years, you don't get a penny out of

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it? It's not dormant, but it's working for the plant. When they're

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ready the roots are moved indoors to pitch black forcing sheds, a

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controlled environment that produces sweeter tender stems. In a

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forcing shed there is no light. Nofrpblgts. What make it's grow at

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all? In the forcing sheds? Yes. It's looking for light. That's when

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the scientists have found out it puts out this substance polyphenols

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that we need in our bodies. They basically clear out your body of

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pollutants that could cause cancer in your body. Do scientists who

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found the cancer cure in the rhubarb, could you ask them to look

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in the beer at rugby matches. I'm sure it has the same preventative

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medicine in there. It is a good laxtive as well. Nice! Nice, Janet.

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Would you let me look in one of these sheds. Yes, let's have a look.

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Nothing's growing, but it will give you an idea. Janet has ten sheds of

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varying sizes producing around 200 tons of proper Yorkshire forced

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rhubarb a year. So this is one of the famous forcing sheds. This is

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the largest one in the country. It's one of the last ones ever to

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have been built, because they do say today, to build a forcing shed

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you'd never get your money back, because they're only used for six

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weeks harvest. When do the roots come in here? Late November, early

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December. They're ready to be in production straight after the new

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year. How many plants will we get in here? You'll get between 20,000

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to 30,000. They need to be kept damp and warm with mist irrigation

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and propain heaters. Looks like an aircraft engine. Ouf got... Two of

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them. Do you think I may have learned enough to grow my own on a

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small scale? I won't bet on it. You're not going to be in

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competition, I don't think. I've been truly blown away by the hard

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work and dedication that goes into producing our forced rhubarb and

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can't believe it's taken this long to give it the recognise -- rois it

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deserved. It's a piece of our heritage and delicious. For a start,

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it's amazingly tender. The force of my tongue on it, against the roof

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of my mouth is enough to make the whole thing dissolve. Yeah. That is

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just stunning, that's nectar. I'm having that. You don't have to

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taste it, do you? No. Close your eyes, I'll only be a minute.

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I'm really impressed. I had no idea how difficult it was to force

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rhubarb. It's not a scientific process at all. It's completely

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artisan. Everything depends on the skill and the knowledge of the

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grower. I'm pleased they've managed to get PDO status, for an industry

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once in decline has now been recognised for its uniqueness. It's

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a beautiful product. Now, luckily, it's protected forever.

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You can do your bit by buying and cooking it, because trust me, once

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you've tasted it, you'll think it's worth every penny.

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I'm going to use some of Janet's forced rhubarb now. I think it's a

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beautiful product. It's without compare. To show you how good it is

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and how versatile it is, I'm going to make a chutney with it. It goes

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with cheese, certainly and with other meats. My favourite way of

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doing it is the way I'm doing it doing it is the way I'm doing it

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now, rhubarb chutney with gammon. Rhubarb first from the freezer.

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Yorkshire forced rhubarb has such a short season early in the year, so

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buy it fresh and freeze it. Then you can eat it all year round. This

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will freeze beautifully well as long as you can krb cook it first

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with sugar. You need about a pound of rhubarb for this chutney and a

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splash of water. And soft brown sugar, quite a bit. It's got to be

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sharp. It's got to be slightly sweet. Right, we're going to put an

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onion, tomato and some garlic in there. I put salt on garlic when I

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crush it. It's abasive and helps to crush the garlic and also, all the

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garlic juice then gets absorbed by the salt and it helps to keep the

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chopping board clean. Not just a pretty face, am I?! And wheel --

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we'll check the rhubarb has softened. It has. That's the colour

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you get with the forced stuff. Beautiful. All this can go in. We

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have chopped onion, a rough old garlic paste, chopped tomato and

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we're infusing all of these flavours together. All this chutney

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needs now is some time. Plenty of red wine vinegar, followed by my

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favourite, the spices. Remember, these things are strong, really,

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really strong. One clove, teaspoon of ginger, half a tea of cinnamon.

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I tell you I smell cinnamon and it's just like I want to sail away

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like on a sea of donuts. Zesting this lemon should bring me back to

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earth. I wants the zest and juice to bring out the sour in the

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rhubarb and that's it. All you need to do now is let that bubble away

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gently, while you make yourself a brew. Two hours later your chutney

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will be ready. That's the consistency I wanted. It's kept its

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beautiful vibrant colour and the smell coming off the chutney is

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lovely. The great thing about my chutney is you can eat it straight

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away. None of this leaving it on the shelf for two months nonsense.

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Right, gammon next. It goes brilliantly with our tangy chutney

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and takes minute its to cook. First get your griddle on drve minutes to

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cook. First get your griddle on. Get a knife or scissors and cut

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through the fat in a number of places. This will stop the meat

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curling up when it hits the hot pan. Leave it, don't touch it. Don't

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keep turning it over. You'll see the colour rising up through the

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gammon on the thick side. Look at that! That is lovely. Off the heat,

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on to a plate. Nice little mound of cabbage and the star of our show,

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forced rhubarb chutney. Right, the proof is in the tasting and I can't

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bit of seasoning, but it's that chutney that is delightful, the

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sweetness of that forced rhubarb, picking up a bit of spice, also a

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bit of acidity. It is perfect. I want you to fall back in love

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with British rhubarb an ingredient we were once world famous for. I'm

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heading to Clumber park, a National Trust property with a kitchen

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garden that dates to 1772, to rediscover some of our long lost

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varieties. There's no doubt that our taste for

:20:09.:20:13.

rhubarb has diminished. It is an industry in decline, which has

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meant we've lost touch with many of our heir loom varieties. It's not

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commercially viable for growers to produce them. It's a sad state of

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affairs. But people are out there doing their bit to preserve our

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heritage varieties, like the head gardener Chris Margrave, whose love

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of rhubarb has led him to create a living museum. This place is

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stunning. That's very kind of you to say so. Absolutely beautiful.

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How many varieties have we got here? We reckon about 95 or 96 at

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the moment. The target is to get the century. The one we're after is

:20:52.:21:02.
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a variety called tobbolsk. That allegedly had a favour of plums. If

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you have one, I'd be interested to hear from you. What is it about

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rhubarb. I used to commute to work through the rhubarb kingdom. It

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became apparent that the kingdom was shrinking rapidly. It was

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brought home when I saw a forcing shed being demolished. That was the

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impetus to help with the preservation of old rhubarb rerites

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-- varieties. The greengrocer in me can't wait to see what sets the

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varieties apart. That's completely different. Many ribs, one big spine.

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Break it and see the flesh colour. That's quite green. That's red,

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isn't it? There's one variety in particular I've only ever heard

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rumour of, the Irish giant. So this legendary Irish beast, crying out

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loud. Thfrpblgts one here. -- one here. You can see just how

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thick the leaf stalks are. That's after a very, very dry season.

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you got a hawks champagne? No, but we have a pink and red champagne.

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One of my favourites. This is pink champagne. Quite a thin stalk this

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one. I like them thin. I think they're finer and slightly sweeter.

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The champagne for me is a bit dry on the tongue. I think it's like a

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good bolinger, a bit dry. I get a feeling you may have tasted a bit

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more rhubarb than I have. I suppose it's one of the perks when you have

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95 varieties to sample. He's a lucky man and these are lucky

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plants, saved from the brink for everyone to enjoy. What's the

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future for the rhubarb collection? Ideally I'd like to have three

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plants of each variety. Then we can make an application to have our

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collection as the national rhubarb collection. Then maintaining them

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so that these wonderful old varieties are not lost to

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cultivation. These old rhubarb varieties are a part of our

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national treasure trove as Drake and the armada, Lennon and

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McCartney, the sounding of the final whistle July 3, 1966. They

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bring with them stories, not just about what people ate, but how

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communities worked and lived. There's tremendous historic

:23:23.:23:28.

importance with them. Will people be able to buy the varieties?

:23:28.:23:32.

when we have surplus of the varieties, we'll hopefully make

:23:32.:23:38.

them available through our plant centre so people can acquire them.

:23:38.:23:42.

I'm chuffed that there are people like Chris who are passionate

:23:42.:23:45.

enough about rhubarb to keep all these plants alive and that there

:23:45.:23:49.

are beautiful places like this where we can visit. What can we,

:23:49.:23:53.

the public, do to support it? We can come and visit and who knows,

:23:53.:24:00.

maybe grow the odd plant ourselves. We can even go and explore the

:24:00.:24:05.

famous triangle itself. Wakefield is so proud of its rhubarb heritage,

:24:05.:24:08.

it's even given rhubarb its own festival, a hugely popular event

:24:08.:24:13.

that celebrates the area's growers and producers. I do think it's

:24:13.:24:17.

worth a troip Yorkshire, because walks and eating go together very

:24:17.:24:22.

well. You can explore the area, work up an appetite and then try

:24:22.:24:27.

some of the rhubarb specialities after. There are plenty to choose

:24:27.:24:33.

from, including rhubarb cheese. produce ruby gold. It's got a layer

:24:33.:24:39.

of local rhubarb through the centre. The base cheese is a sheep's milk

:24:39.:24:43.

cheese, a bit like fete ya. The two flavours go well together. They

:24:43.:24:51.

haven't stopped there. We do a pork, rhubarb and chilli sausage. We do

:24:51.:24:55.

ay burger with local rhubarb in that as well. The opportunities are

:24:55.:25:02.

endless with rhubarb. One North Yorkshire pub even serves rhubarb

:25:02.:25:08.

schnapps, known to the locals as grown up Calpol, because of its

:25:09.:25:16.

colour and medicinal properties. Give rhubarb a chance, it's worth

:25:16.:25:20.

trying for this recipe alone. And it's in the a crumble. That's not

:25:20.:25:22.

saying it's one of the best desserts in the world. Because we

:25:22.:25:27.

know it is. It's so much more than that. To prove it, I'm going to

:25:27.:25:35.

make a rhubarb meringue tart. Right look, rhubarb meringue tart.

:25:36.:25:40.

They have the tart, the rhubarb and the meringue. The first bit and the

:25:40.:25:42.

most important bit, the rhubarb. most important bit, the rhubarb.

:25:42.:25:47.

Cut it into chunks. Same way you would a crumble. It's going to get

:25:47.:25:50.

covered in meringue later so you don't have to be exact. You can't

:25:50.:25:54.

smell it, but it's giving off, it's like being in a garden after the

:25:54.:25:59.

rain. It's lovely. And it's going to make the most amazing dessert,

:25:59.:26:08.

stewed up with plenty of sugar. A bit of water, help it along its way.

:26:08.:26:12.

Then zest and juice of a lemon. Which will help it keeps its colour

:26:13.:26:21.

and its tang. Right, heat, lid on. Leaving it to soften for about 15

:26:22.:26:27.

minutes. It's going to be quite wet. We need to thicken it, a bit like

:26:27.:26:29.

custard, with some cornflour and water mixed together and a couple

:26:29.:26:36.

of egg yokes. -- yolks. Look at that! That is a happy rhubarb dance.

:26:37.:26:44.

Heat down a bit. Then get the cornflour in and your two egg yolks.

:26:44.:26:53.

Nice. Stir. OK. I can feel that's thicker. As that cools, that will

:26:53.:27:00.

get thicker still and be able to support the meringue. Now for the

:27:00.:27:05.

tart bit. You need sweet shortcrust pastry cases. Shop bought is fine.

:27:05.:27:10.

Just fill them halfway, leaving room for the meringue. Now I've got

:27:10.:27:16.

my egg whites. We're going to whisk them up until we have stiff peaks.

:27:16.:27:21.

It will take a while, so be patient. Gradually you'll notice a change in

:27:21.:27:28.

texture. Look how firm that is. Then add the sugar, bit by bit,

:27:28.:27:35.

until it's thick and shiny, a bit like me. What comes next is a

:27:35.:27:39.

gloriously messy job. What we're going to do is we are going to put

:27:39.:27:43.

the meringue mix in here and we're going to pipe this across the top

:27:43.:27:48.

of the tarts. This bag enables you to get the meringue mixture into

:27:48.:27:53.

every little bit of the tart. That's if you can get it in the bag

:27:53.:28:01.

in the first place. When it's full, you can start piping. I find it

:28:01.:28:05.

easier to follow the outside and work my way in.

:28:05.:28:09.

There, now tell me that is not one of the most beautiful things you

:28:09.:28:14.

have ever seen. Looks great. Right, into the oven. Remember the pastry

:28:14.:28:18.

is cooked. The rhubarb is cooked. This is just to cook the meringue.

:28:18.:28:25.

You want to bring it out when it goes toasty brown. It won't take

:28:25.:28:30.

long in a medium oven so keep an eye on it. Around 20 minutes later,

:28:30.:28:40.
:28:40.:28:50.

absolutely divine. It's not too sweet. It's really light, but the

:28:50.:28:54.

star is the sharpness and the slight sweetness of that rhubarb.

:28:54.:28:59.

You know what that is? That is a great big cuddle off the pudding

:28:59.:29:02.

angel, that's what that is. I can't understand why we're not eating

:29:02.:29:07.

rhubarb by the shed load. What are we going to do? You're going to

:29:07.:29:11.

help me. We need to lift this beautiful British product. It's

:29:11.:29:15.

available to us and being grown for ten months of the year. We node a

:29:15.:29:19.

mantra - rhubarb is not just for crumbles. Let's kick off a rhubarb

:29:19.:29:22.

renaissance. Now here's another foodie who's

:29:22.:29:27.

passionate about reviving a small, but perfectly formed great British

:29:27.:29:37.
:29:37.:29:37.

My name is Ainsley Harriott. I want to tell you about one of the most

:29:37.:29:42.

exciting vegetables in Britain. Despite having loads of varieties,

:29:42.:29:48.

we've been eegt the same type of this little veg for generations.

:29:48.:29:54.

It's time to safe guard the future of this precious part of our food

:29:54.:30:00.

heritage. We're talking about the great British pea.

:30:00.:30:05.

The hugely popular frozen pea may be king of convenience, but the

:30:05.:30:08.

fresh pea has almost disappeared from the supermarkets. If we don't

:30:08.:30:12.

start using fresh peas and looking out for them in season, we may lose

:30:12.:30:19.

them forever. To convince you to join my revival, I'll be visiting

:30:19.:30:24.

one of the most famous gardens in Britain in the grounds of Highgrove

:30:24.:30:28.

House. Until you've tasted them fresh and break open the pod and

:30:28.:30:33.

taste them, there's nothing quite like it. I'll find out how peas

:30:33.:30:35.

helped uncover one of the most important scientific discoverries

:30:35.:30:43.

of the last 200 years. Pea is a plant that was used to uncover the

:30:43.:30:46.

laws of inheritance and genetics. As well as showing you different

:30:46.:30:52.

ways to get your family screaming "Pass the peas please skphram"

:30:52.:31:02.

Fresh peas burst in your mouth. It is exciting. My dad would be proud.

:31:02.:31:06.

You know whu sit round shelling peas like this, memories come

:31:06.:31:09.

flooding back, because it was such a wonderful family thing to do. We

:31:09.:31:16.

grew them. It was exciting, a bit of Nina Simon E.On the radio,

:31:16.:31:24.

shelling peas. It gives you time to slow you down. They are delightful

:31:24.:31:30.

yum yums. Out of the 35,000 hectares of British soil given over

:31:30.:31:38.

to growing peas only 8.5% is grown for the fresh market. Every year

:31:38.:31:41.

that percentage gets smaller and smaller. If we don't act now then

:31:41.:31:45.

the joy of eating peas straight from the pod may be something our

:31:45.:31:51.

children may not -- never experience. To prove my point, I

:31:52.:31:55.

want to get onto the streets and find out where you guys are getting

:31:55.:32:02.

your peas. I'm assuming that you probably eat peas from where, the

:32:02.:32:08.

freezer? From a tin. From a tin? prefer them. Why? I don't know,

:32:08.:32:12.

because my dad grows peas but I don't like them. In the freezer.

:32:12.:32:17.

Really? Always, even when you were a young girl, what were they like

:32:17.:32:22.

then? Out of the pod. Have you poded your own peas. Do you know

:32:22.:32:27.

what a pea is? Of course. I did it with my granny when I was little.

:32:27.:32:30.

Most people want them from the freezer. That's boring. You're

:32:30.:32:33.

getting rid of the freshness of the product. That needs to be happening

:32:33.:32:37.

with the country. There's too many families today who haven't got time.

:32:37.:32:42.

Promise me you're going to go home and take some of those peas from

:32:42.:32:51.

your parents' garden and pod them for me. That's the pea revolution

:32:51.:32:56.

right there. This is what it's about, reviving these lovely little,

:32:56.:32:59.

beautiful fresh peas that taste so sweet and succulent and so, so

:32:59.:33:03.

lovely. I know that you're probably thinking, well the frozen peas I've

:33:03.:33:08.

got in my freezer is probably the nearest thing our kids will get to

:33:08.:33:13.

eating green vegetables. Once you try these, you realise why I'm so

:33:13.:33:16.

passionate about it. It's that pea passion that I want to share with

:33:16.:33:20.

you. So to start my revival, I'm heading to Gloucestershire, where

:33:20.:33:28.

many fresh British peas are grown. Guy Barter from the Royal

:33:28.:33:34.

Horticultural Society is mine of information about peas. I see

:33:34.:33:39.

you're admiring the wonderful pea. Why should we eat more of these?

:33:39.:33:43.

This these succulent pods there are lots of tasty and nutritious peas.

:33:43.:33:47.

They're full of protein as well as being sweet from shuingarz as well.

:33:47.:33:51.

Aren't they gorgeous? Fantastic. They're especially bred to be full

:33:51.:33:57.

of sugar. The roots are the critical part. They fix nitrogen

:33:57.:34:02.

and that is transferred to the plant. That enriches the soil

:34:02.:34:08.

again? It enriches the plant full of protein and enriches the soil,

:34:08.:34:12.

so you don't have to add fertiliser. Peas are environment yael friendly

:34:12.:34:18.

as well as being good to eat. enriching of the soil made peas an

:34:18.:34:22.

important crop in the past. In the mid-Twentieth Century, pea picking

:34:22.:34:30.

became a lost art and the product suffered. They took a long time to

:34:30.:34:37.

get to market. By the time they arrived on the greengrocer shelves

:34:37.:34:42.

there were immature ones, overmature ones. They were dry.

:34:42.:34:46.

Many people are unaware now of what fresh pods are like. Would you

:34:46.:34:51.

agree it's time for a food revival with the poded pea? Yes, I

:34:51.:34:56.

certainly would. Peas can arrive on the dinner table very quickly after

:34:56.:34:59.

being picked. All the issues with poor quality that used to give

:34:59.:35:04.

fresh peas a bad name, one hopes are a thing of the past. People can

:35:04.:35:09.

enjoy fresh peas. But it's not just the way the peas get to market has

:35:09.:35:12.

changed. The peas themselves have changed. The peas in this field

:35:13.:35:16.

have been grown by Martin Hanes, whose family have been growing peas

:35:16.:35:22.

for generations. We're using more modern varieties, sweeter tasting.

:35:22.:35:28.

We pick them a little bitterlyier now than maybe we did. My father is

:35:28.:35:37.

90. When he looks at the farm, he says "These aren't ready yet." They

:35:37.:35:42.

are now for the pallet that people are looking at now. When I was

:35:42.:35:46.

growing up, the pods were thicker, more velvety. Yes, part of the

:35:46.:35:52.

development is to get the pod to be thinner and weaker and more pea in

:35:52.:35:56.

the pod. More pea in your pod for your pound! Yes, exactly. That's

:35:56.:36:02.

wonderful. To really illustrate the beauty of

:36:02.:36:10.

this great British bounty, I'm going to get cooking. Peas, Mother

:36:10.:36:15.

Nature's present to all of us. I love them because they're so

:36:15.:36:20.

wonderfully versatile. They have a great taste. They're easy to grow.

:36:20.:36:23.

Oh, dear, what would we do without Oh, dear, what would we do without

:36:23.:36:30.

them? My first recipe is a fresh pea, broad bean and ham hock salad.

:36:30.:36:34.

This is a great dish for a long summer evening, combining all the

:36:34.:36:41.

classic flavours that traditionally go with peas. Take your peas, bring

:36:41.:36:45.

your water to the boil and in they go. They're only going to take a

:36:45.:36:48.

couple of minutes and not too much water. If you boil them in too much

:36:48.:36:53.

water, you're losing all the vitamin C. To the peas I'm adding

:36:53.:37:00.

mangetout. These really don't take long o -- to cook. Then straight

:37:00.:37:04.

onto ice. I want to keep that colour, vibrant green colour. This

:37:04.:37:09.

is great. This will set it off. It stops the cook prog ses immediately

:37:09.:37:19.

and just cools everything down. -- process immediately and just cools

:37:19.:37:23.

everything don. Something about a salad you don't want water. If

:37:23.:37:28.

you're washing lettuce leaves, you want to dry them off. Dry them off.

:37:28.:37:32.

You really want the natural flavour to come oust them. I'm going to

:37:32.:37:39.

give those a little bit of a pat dry. I've poded, shelled and

:37:39.:37:45.

lightly cooked my broad beans which are ready to add a buttery contrast

:37:45.:37:50.

to the peas' crunch. My secret ingredient? Fresh pea shoots. Those

:37:50.:38:00.
:38:00.:38:00.

pea shoots are great, dry, not wet, lovely. Beautiful, peppery, not as

:38:00.:38:06.

much as rocket or watercress. What better accompaniment than coursely

:38:06.:38:11.

cut ham hock. Just take that and pop it in there like that, really

:38:11.:38:18.

lovely. I like to put a bit of chilli. Maybe it's a Caribbean

:38:18.:38:24.

thing, I don't know. It's lovely. It just adds just enough kick to it.

:38:24.:38:30.

A splash of colour and it's time for the dressing. A dash of cider

:38:30.:38:39.

vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil, followed by some freshly, finely

:38:39.:38:42.

chopped spring onions, then parsley and a good friend of the pea, fresh

:38:42.:38:49.

mint. Let those flavours just mingle together, really, really

:38:49.:38:53.

coming alive. It's pretty, those flecks of chilli pepper in there.

:38:53.:38:58.

It's just kind of, it's -- it almost adds exoticness to your

:38:58.:39:03.

salad. Serve all the freshness of an exotic British summer on a plate.

:39:03.:39:09.

I think I'm going to finish that off with a little few of those

:39:09.:39:14.

gorgeous pea shoots, sitting on the top there. How about that? There

:39:14.:39:21.

you go. Really gorgeous, fresh pea, broad bean and ham hock salad.

:39:21.:39:25.

I hope this dish shows you that brilliant and convenient as they

:39:25.:39:29.

are, there is more to peas than being frozen. There are lots of pea

:39:29.:39:39.
:39:39.:39:41.

varieties, each with their own The next stop on my campaign is the

:39:41.:39:46.

John Innes centre near Norwich. At the leading centre of plant and

:39:46.:39:48.

microbial research, it's the home to the world's largest pea

:39:48.:39:54.

collection. Mike has been involved with the collection for over 30

:39:54.:40:00.

years. How many varieties do you have here? We grow and maintain

:40:00.:40:07.

just over 3,500 different types of pea. Wow. 3,500 varieties of peas?!

:40:07.:40:11.

And they're all kept in one room. I can't wait to see them. This is it,

:40:11.:40:15.

isn't it? This is it. Oh, my word. Look at the size of this, Mike.

:40:16.:40:21.

This is extraordinary. Is this all peas? No, about two tracks of

:40:21.:40:26.

shelfing are peas. The rest are the seeds for the research on site.

:40:26.:40:33.

This is peas from all over the world? Yes. Including wild types,

:40:33.:40:37.

but cultivars from all over the world. Wow, amazing. If you need

:40:37.:40:40.

convincing there's more to peas than the ones in your freezer, then

:40:40.:40:45.

this is the room for you. There are peas everywhere and each one with

:40:45.:40:52.

individual characteristics. These are the selection of the British

:40:52.:40:57.

heritage peas. We have 86 different lines that go back to the middle

:40:57.:41:01.

1800s. I've got a few on these trays here, things like this one

:41:01.:41:06.

here, this is champion of England from the late 1800s. Duke of Albany,

:41:06.:41:10.

a very popular, long picking variety. Why do you collect all

:41:10.:41:14.

these peas? What's the idea behind it then? The important thing is to

:41:14.:41:18.

have all this variation for researchers and breeders to work

:41:18.:41:22.

with. Because you never know what is needed to try to improve the

:41:22.:41:28.

plants for tomorrow and the crops to make them more disease resistent,

:41:28.:41:36.

pest resistent, so adapted to climate. We can serve them here and

:41:36.:41:41.

using them they can be kept alive. This is a living catalogue for the

:41:41.:41:44.

thousands of varieties that exist. Our pea varieties have been

:41:44.:41:49.

documented for centuries. Mike has accessed us some unique records of

:41:49.:41:58.

our pea-growing past. What I'd like to show you here is effectively

:41:58.:42:03.

Elizabethan version of our seed store. That's like, 1500s we're

:42:03.:42:08.

talking about? Yes late 1500s. very exciting to think this

:42:08.:42:11.

manuscript pre-dates Shakespeare. The star of the show is the British

:42:11.:42:18.

pea. Are any of these varieties still around today? Their

:42:18.:42:21.

characteristics are. We have many lines which illustrate and are very

:42:21.:42:28.

similar to the types that you see represented here. Just brilliant.

:42:28.:42:34.

The seed cat logs illustrate the peas variety. These books helped to

:42:34.:42:37.

uncover one of the most important scientific discoverries of the last

:42:37.:42:43.

200 years. What many people don't think about when they're opening

:42:43.:42:46.

their packet of frozen peas is the important role that peas have

:42:46.:42:53.

played in genetics. It was the plant that was used to uncover the

:42:53.:42:58.

laws of inheritance and genetics. How amazing. By studying pea plants,

:42:58.:43:02.

it was discovered the patterns of dominant characteristics in certain

:43:02.:43:07.

varieties N so doing the corner stone for modern genetics was laid.

:43:07.:43:11.

Would he have used these books for that information? We know the seed

:43:11.:43:17.

cat logs were in the library, that he was using at the time. So, yes,

:43:17.:43:20.

he would. The Victorians who read these cat logs would have loved

:43:20.:43:25.

their peas. They have h a surprising use for their pods, pea

:43:25.:43:35.
:43:35.:43:39.

pod wine. Cheers! That's interesting. You can taste the pea

:43:39.:43:42.

coming through there and it's kind of an interesting thing to do with

:43:42.:43:47.

your pods really, isn't it? We used to throw them into the stock pot at

:43:47.:43:51.

work, but to produce them into wine. That's not bad, is it? At the end

:43:51.:43:56.

of the garden. I suppose after a few glasses of this, you don't care.

:43:56.:43:59.

You wouldn't. You wouldn't remember where you planted them. That's

:43:59.:44:05.

quite strong. I'm not convinced that pea pod wine will make a huge

:44:05.:44:09.

revival, but the peas themselves, that's a different matter.

:44:09.:44:14.

Look at this, I have really delicious fresh peas here, along

:44:14.:44:18.

with my corgette which reminds me of summer. That's inspired me for

:44:18.:44:25.

my je. Dish, a fresh pea, corgette, parmesan rosties with a tangy

:44:25.:44:30.

dressing. Poding is one of those strange

:44:30.:44:34.

things. It feels like a job that goes on forever and ever, but it

:44:34.:44:39.

brings the family together. I sit round with my brother or sister,

:44:39.:44:43.

sometimes aunts and uncles, poding peas. It was a great way of having

:44:43.:44:46.

conversation. I put my peas into boiling water, giving me enough

:44:46.:44:53.

boiling water, giving me enough time to shred the courgette. We

:44:53.:45:00.

want to make them nice and dry. When you cook your rostis they will

:45:00.:45:10.
:45:10.:45:11.

be crispy. Peas and courgettes go into a large mixing bowl, pinenuts

:45:11.:45:16.

and freshly grated parmesan are added. Then use two eggs to bind

:45:16.:45:19.

the ingredients. And I'm going to get my hands in there now. I'm

:45:19.:45:23.

going to work that through. Look at those peas. Don't they look

:45:23.:45:26.

wonderful? You could use frozen peas here. There's nothing wrong

:45:26.:45:30.

with frozen peas. Don't think I'm having a go at you, saying hey you

:45:30.:45:34.

can't use frozen peas. Let's face it, fresh peas are only in season

:45:34.:45:39.

until about September and that's pushing it, to be honest with you.

:45:39.:45:45.

But frozen peas are great and often it's one of the few ways that we

:45:45.:45:49.

have of getting vitamin C into our kids, there's the orange juice and

:45:49.:45:54.

stuff. But kids tend to like peas as a vegetable. Fresh or frozen,

:45:54.:46:02.

this dish is all about the pea. Let the rice flour absorb any liquid,

:46:02.:46:07.

then add the basil. Then it's time for the real fun. A bit of a squash

:46:07.:46:12.

down with the palm of your hand. Then using the pallet knife just to

:46:13.:46:17.

shape them, to bind them, pull them together. The peas tend to fall

:46:17.:46:20.

away. You think oh, it's all going to collapse. That won't happen,

:46:20.:46:25.

when it hits the pan, the egg begins to set and the Chris pince

:46:25.:46:30.

of the ground rice begins to work, cook out. It's just absolutely fab.

:46:30.:46:35.

Not too hot here. There's a tendency when you're making things

:46:35.:46:38.

like rostis you turn up the pan too much. It will brown before it

:46:38.:46:44.

starts to cook. Just nice controlled heat, then we can talk

:46:44.:46:49.

about getting a bit of colour with them afterwards. There's a tendency

:46:49.:46:53.

that we tend to overload our pan a bit. Don't do that. When you're

:46:53.:46:59.

talking them out, put them on absorbant kitchen paper and keep

:46:59.:47:03.

them warm in the oven. They're not too bad even warmed to be honest

:47:03.:47:08.

with you. It doesn't take long for them to turn golden brown, with the

:47:08.:47:13.

green peas shining through. Now it's time to work on the dressing.

:47:13.:47:17.

Plum and sun dried tomatoes, add olive oil, shallots, and a dash of

:47:17.:47:25.

pea pod wine. If you haven't got pea poded wine

:47:25.:47:29.

don't worry, red pine, vinegar, tablespoon or two will be fine. You

:47:29.:47:33.

can serve them individually, but I like to stack them in a tower. Then

:47:33.:47:39.

drizzle on my lovely tomato dressing and finish with some fresh

:47:39.:47:44.

chopped basil. Wonderful. They look so good. Just want to get stuck

:47:44.:47:54.
:47:54.:47:54.

into it, don't you? Here we go. That's OK. Fresh peas are just

:47:54.:47:59.

burst in your mouth. It is exciting. A bit of ground rice, holds it

:47:59.:48:04.

together, giving it another dimension, another nexure if you

:48:04.:48:09.

like, with the tangy tomato dressing. It brings the peas out

:48:09.:48:19.
:48:19.:48:20.

beautifully. You have to try it. We The Victorians referred to peas as

:48:20.:48:23.

the Prince of vegetables. What better way to restore the

:48:23.:48:29.

reputation than to visit peas grown by a Prince. I'm at Highgrove House

:48:29.:48:36.

in Gloucestershire to look around a very special garden. His Royal

:48:36.:48:38.

Highness the Prince of Wales gardens at Highgrove are not what

:48:38.:48:41.

you might expect from a royal residence, more personal than

:48:41.:48:46.

formal, more fun than stately. The grounds here represent a vision 30

:48:46.:48:52.

years in the making. To find out more, I'm meeting the head gardener

:48:52.:48:58.

in the walled kitchen garden. Well this is clearly a very, very

:48:58.:49:01.

special garden. So what's the philosophy behind it? I think

:49:01.:49:07.

you're going to have to listen. You're going to hear the bees. It's

:49:07.:49:12.

an organic garden. That makes it very special. Do you have to put in

:49:12.:49:16.

more effort for an organic garden? You have to think long and hard how

:49:16.:49:20.

you garden. It's the rotation of the vegetables. It's encouraging

:49:20.:49:23.

wildlife to take care of the predators, choosing varieties that

:49:23.:49:27.

are disease resistant and taste good. So, every plant and vegetable

:49:27.:49:32.

in this garden has been hand picked for its uniqueness. And of course,

:49:32.:49:37.

few plants or vegetables will have as many characteristics to choose

:49:37.:49:42.

from as the good old British pea. What about peas, how important are

:49:42.:49:47.

they here? Well, every since His Royal Highness came to Highgrove

:49:47.:49:50.

and basically layed out the kitchen garden that you see, he's been

:49:50.:49:59.

growing peas. He has stuck with one all the way through, that's the

:49:59.:50:02.

Alderman. It has a special flavour. It's a flavour he enjoys. This is

:50:02.:50:06.

what I want to get across. This is what I want to get across to

:50:06.:50:10.

viewers, there's lots of different varieties here. Until you've tasted

:50:10.:50:13.

them fresh and break open that pod and taste them, there's nothing

:50:13.:50:19.

quite like it. The Alderman holds an important place in the garden.

:50:19.:50:24.

Though late in the season, they've kept their pods drying on the plant.

:50:24.:50:27.

They're actually past their best. But that's because we've had a

:50:27.:50:33.

great harvest off of them. We've now left the last few here for

:50:33.:50:39.

producing seeds, so we can save it for next year. Explain this wigwam

:50:39.:50:43.

formation here. I've never seen this before. It's a traditional way

:50:43.:50:47.

of growing the tall varieties of peas. The nice thing about growing

:50:47.:50:52.

tall varieties, this is nearly six foot tall, it can grow taller, you

:50:52.:50:57.

need a structure to support them, but per area ground, you can

:50:57.:51:03.

produce more peas than the smaller varieties that... Ideal, especially

:51:03.:51:07.

for people with small gardens like myself. This is great. I know that

:51:07.:51:11.

His Royal Highness is keen on organic gardening and very hands on.

:51:11.:51:14.

I think nothing would probably give him more pleasure than to see

:51:14.:51:18.

people around Britain growing their own peas. He couldn't think of

:51:18.:51:22.

anything better than encouraging generation upon generation to keep

:51:22.:51:26.

the old varieties going for future generations. So we need to instil

:51:26.:51:32.

that in the gardeners of today. Here, here. So why not join the

:51:32.:51:36.

thousands of gardeners around the UK who are already growing heritage

:51:36.:51:41.

peas? These the -- the easiest way is to join the heritage seed

:51:41.:51:45.

library, with over 97 varieties of peas in their collection, there's

:51:45.:51:54.

sure to be one to suit your palate. My next dish is unbelievable. It is

:51:54.:51:59.

unbelievably tasty. I'm using a very inexpensive cut, belly of pork,

:51:59.:52:09.
:52:09.:52:10.

to make my jerk belly of pork with thing instead of a hash works

:52:10.:52:12.

perfectly beautifully with this inexpensive cut of pork. When you

:52:12.:52:17.

cook it slowly, it rewards you. It is so succulent and fabulous. Oh, I

:52:18.:52:23.

love jerk cooking, but to do it well, you must get the right mix.

:52:23.:52:28.

Look at the colour of that. Really lovely and the smell, you can smell

:52:28.:52:32.

the cinnamon, the allspice. Real memories of my mum's cooking,

:52:32.:52:36.

Caribbean cooking in general with the lovely spices. This is cooked

:52:36.:52:42.

slowly. It gives it a chance to drift in the air and you are

:52:42.:52:45.

following it. I feel like deputy dog or something like that

:52:45.:52:50.

following supper for the evening. Really lovely. Seer off the pork in

:52:50.:52:55.

a hot pan and prepare a baking tray with thickly sliced onions and

:52:55.:53:00.

garlic. I have fresh thyme from the garden here. I'm nestling that on

:53:00.:53:07.

top. It's wonderful walking around Highgrove, I've got to say, because

:53:07.:53:12.

His Royal Highness has just grown this wild thyme everywhere. It's a

:53:12.:53:19.

wonderful aroma, but no, I did not take this from the royal garden.

:53:19.:53:23.

Place the pork on the onions then add cider and chicken stock that

:53:23.:53:29.

will be absorbed by the pork and create a wonderful sauce. Cover the

:53:29.:53:36.

tray with foil and it's ready for the oven. That's 180 centigrade,

:53:36.:53:40.

350 Fahrenheit, gas mark four, for about two-and-a-half hours. It will

:53:41.:53:45.

be wonderfully tender. I'm going to have a cup of coffee. Like fresh

:53:45.:53:49.

peas, slow cooking has become a thing of the past. But the joy of

:53:49.:53:54.

filling the house with the taste and flavours of dinner is just a

:53:54.:54:01.

wonderful way to get the family excited about good food. Ah,

:54:01.:54:05.

gorgeous! Look at that. It just smells so rich. You can see that

:54:05.:54:10.

it's going to be so tender, really lovely. And I'm going to be serving

:54:10.:54:15.

that with my pea and potato mash up. I've been poding a few of them here.

:54:15.:54:18.

We're going to cook those until they're tender. They only take a

:54:18.:54:25.

couple of minutes. My new potatoes have been boiled in their skins.

:54:26.:54:31.

Now we're ready for the mash up. Nothing could be simpler. Take a

:54:31.:54:36.

fork and give them a crush, on the side of the pan there. It's a

:54:36.:54:42.

casual breaking up of the potato. We'll turn the gas off there. A

:54:42.:54:49.

glug of olive oil paved the way for the main event. Take your peas on

:54:49.:54:59.
:54:59.:55:01.

the top like that. Then just mix it through. It's a play of textures

:55:01.:55:06.

here. You have got the softness of the potato. You have a bite, it's

:55:06.:55:10.

cooked with a bite, then the peas burst through. You get that lovely

:55:10.:55:16.

joy in your mouth. You think, mmm, pea and potato mash up! Taste of

:55:16.:55:26.
:55:26.:55:26.

spring. Let's sort out that pork, shall we? Oh, it's almost just

:55:26.:55:34.

falling away there, so beautiful and tender. You know what I'm going

:55:34.:55:39.

to do here is take some of those beautiful pan juices here, look at

:55:39.:55:44.

that, remember you've got the cider in there and you've got the

:55:44.:55:50.

delicious chicken stock mixed with that. What could be better than

:55:50.:55:56.

serving that with a little bit of hot pepper sauce. My dad would be

:55:56.:56:04.

proud! When you have such a rainbow of colours on the fork, you know

:56:04.:56:09.

you're in for a taste sensation. Wonderfully juicy, real succulence

:56:09.:56:16.

about it. The big payoff is right at the end, you get the bursting of

:56:16.:56:21.

the pea. The pea is such a rewarding vegetable. You know, you

:56:21.:56:24.

bite into it and you know what you're going to get. There's an

:56:24.:56:27.

element of surprise, especially when they're fresh peas because it

:56:27.:56:37.
:56:37.:56:39.

bursts out that bit of sweetness, What celebration of British peas

:56:39.:56:46.

would be complete without a mention of the good old mushy pea. In

:56:46.:56:49.

Norwich, Anita's family have been selling peas to the locals for over

:56:49.:56:55.

60 years. We're unique in the fact that people have a bowl of peas on

:56:55.:57:01.

their own. It's just like a vegetable, but it's not. It's a

:57:01.:57:06.

meal. It's a mushy pea tradition. Mushy peas start life as marrowfat

:57:06.:57:12.

peas, one of the oldest varieties in Britain. Packed with protein and

:57:12.:57:16.

fibre, the peas arrive small and dry, then soaked overnight and then

:57:16.:57:19.

finally boiled. It looks like a heritage pea revival could be

:57:19.:57:28.

starting right here. Is that for you? Yeah? Mint sauce? Get your

:57:28.:57:33.

mushy peas here. Come on now. Bit of tomato ketchup on there now. I

:57:33.:57:39.

don't mind that. How about that? That is now �4.50 mate, instead of

:57:39.:57:45.

�1. What can we do to get more people to eat peas? People need to

:57:45.:57:49.

be aware. Many people have come up here and they won't try them

:57:50.:57:53.

because they're green. But once they try them, they love them.

:57:53.:58:03.
:58:03.:58:08.

Come on, join in. Next time you're I've got to say, that's been a

:58:08.:58:11.

fantastic adventure, getting out there, meeting people who are

:58:11.:58:15.

passionate about peas. And it's inspired me too. I hope it's

:58:15.:58:20.

inspired you to get out and do a bit of cooking. Because we know --

:58:20.:58:23.

we no longer want food to be flown in from different parts of the

:58:23.:58:27.

world, when it's out of season here. We want food taken out of the

:58:27.:58:29.

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