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Tewkesbury mustard is a blend of
mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
flour and grated
horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes Mustard plant, mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and us ...
root. The mustard was developed in the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
town of
Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Riv ...
in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a Counties of England, county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town ...
, and gained a certain reputation in the 17th century, becoming a staple condiment of the kitchens of the time.
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
mentions the mustard in Henry IV, Part 2, in which
Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', wh ...
has the line: “his wit's as thick as Tewkesbury Mustard” (Act 2, Scene 4, Line 244), describing the character of his friend Ned Poins.


Mustard balls

Originally the mustard was prepared by grinding the mustard seeds into mustard flour, combining this with finely-grated horseradish (and sometimes herbs and spices), then forming the mixture into balls which were then dried to aid preservation. The mustard balls would then be transported and sold in this form. To use the balls they would be broken apart then mixed with a liquid such as water, vinegar, wine, ale, beer, cider or fruit juice to soften them and mixed to a thick, creamy consistency. Often a sweetener such as honey would be added. The resulting mixture would then be used as a condiment just as mustard is used today, or as a cure for ailments.


Today

At the time of the
Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Riv ...
Festival in 1971 (a major programme of events commemorating the 850th anniversary of the consecration of the
Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The co ...
and the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Tewkesbury), the mustard was recreated on a commercial basis from the original recipe, though it is not made in Tewkesbury. Handmade mustard using local ingredients can still be purchased in Tewkesbury. The mustard can still be bought in ball format and even covered in gold leaf. Readily found in Tewkesbury's shops and the local mustard company 'The Tewkesbury Mustard Company' online.


Figurative usage

There is some evidence that “Tewkesbury Mustard” came to be used as slang for incendiary 'fire-balls', a usage referred to in
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" '' Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment phil ...
's ''
History of England England became inhabited more than 800,000 years ago, as the discovery of stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh in Norfolk have indicated.; "Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk" (2014). BBC News. Retrieved 7 February ...
'', in which he describes the rumour that the
Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...
was started by foreign arsonists trained by
Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...
"and the whole plan of operations was so concerted, that precautions were taken by the Jesuits to vary their measures, according to the variation of the wind. Fire-balls were familiarly called among them Tewkesbury mustard pills".
Robert Hugh Benson Robert Hugh Benson AFSC KC*SG KGCHS (18 November 1871 – 19 October 1914) was an English Catholic priest and writer. First an Anglican priest, he was received into the Catholic Church in 1903 and ordained therein the next year. He wa ...
’s refers to this in his historical novel ''Oddfish!'', which contains the text: “Workmen, too, were set to search and dig everywhere for "Tewkesbury mustard-balls," as they were called—or fire-balls, with which it was thought that the Catholics would set London a-fire”. A similar line also appears in Alfred Marks' book ''Who Killed Sir Edmund Godfrey?''. Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer in his book “The Folk-lore of Plants” (pub. 1889) gives evidence that the phrase “He looks as if he lived on Tewkesbury mustard” came to be used as slang in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a Counties of England, county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town ...
for those "who always have a sad, severe, and terrific countenance". In Shakespeare's Henry IV, 2. part, Falstaff says: "He a good wit? Hang him, baboon. His wit’s as thick as Tewksbury mustard. There’s no more conceit in him than is in a mallet" (Act 2, scene 4).


See also

* List of mustard brands


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tewkesbury Mustard
Mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
Mustard (condiment) British condiments