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Keen's is a brand of seasoning products produced by McCormick Foods Australia, the Australian branch of the American food company
McCormick & Company McCormick & Company, Incorporated is an American food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavoring products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and food service businesses. The ...
, and by McCormick Canada in Canada. The Keen's brand has a long history and remains a common item in kitchens throughout Australia. The brand is particularly well known for its distinctive yellow and orange tins. Keen's Mustard Powder is composed of finely crushed mustard seeds and is sold in 50g or 100g tins.Keen's Mustard Information
Keen's Traditional Curry Powder is a blend of
turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...
,
coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...
, salt,
fenugreek Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small Glossary_of_leaf_morphology#Leaf_and_leaflet_shapes, obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiar ...
,
black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...
, chilli powder, rice flour,
allspice Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of ''Pimenta dioica'', a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm par ...
and celery. Keen's Curry is available in 60g or 120g tins.Keen's Curry Information
Keen's Curry is distinctly popular within the Aboriginal community who are the largest consumers of the product. It is used as a staple in all facets of Aboriginal cuisine from curried sausages to kangaroo stew.


Keen's Mustard

Keen's Mustard has a history extending back to the 18th century. The first mustard factory in London was opened by Messrs Keen & Sons at Garlick Hill in 1742, and in the 1890s the chimes of the Royal Exchange, set to the well known song 'The Roast Beef of Old England', could be heard, during a lull in the traffic, at Keen's factory. Part of the factory was sealed off for manufacture of washing blue, because everything, including the workers, bore a shade of blue. Mustard tins too were made, and there was a penny tin packing room. Keen's Mustard History
Keen's Mustard History.
Thomas Keen was born in
Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...
, south London, in 1801, but the family subsequently moved to
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
, Surrey, and ran the 311-acre Welcomes Farm at nearby Coulsdon. In 1825 Thomas married Harriett Toulmin, whose family lived at The Elms, 61 High Street, and the couple moved in 1831. In 1862, Thomas Keen died on 17 February at the age of 61. In that same year, Keen & Sons amalgamated with Robinson & Belville, manufacturers of patented groats and
barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
, to become Keen Robinson & Company. In 1903, Keen Robinson & Company was acquired by J & J Colman, the mustard producer based in
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
. Colman's merged with Reckitt & Sons in 1938, becoming Reckitt & Colman. In the 1930s, the Keen's Mustard Club was created. Members received a Mustard Club Badge in the shape of a mustard pot and a booklet entitled "Inner Secrets of the Mustard Club". In the 1940s, the versatility of mustard was promoted with the formula for a mustard footbath appearing on the back of Keen's tins: "one of mustard, two of flour, leave it on for half an hour". In 1995,
Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...
purchased the food side of Reckitt & Colman. Reckitt & Colman retained the Colman part of its name and continued to make mustard – the American mass mustard called
French's French's is an American brand of prepared Mustard (condiment), mustards, condiments, fried onions, and other food items, best known for their popular yellow mustard. Created by Robert Timothy French, French's "Cream Salad Brand" mustard debuted ...
. Outside of the UK, in places such as Canada and Australia, Colman's still sells its mustard under the Keen's name. In 1998, Keen's Mustard was bought by McCormick Foods Australia. Keen's asked Australians to search their homes for nostalgic Keen's memorabilia. The search uncovered historic advertisements and even an original mustard powder tin dating back to 1904. In 2000, Keen's Mustard took the memorabilia on tour to share with the rest of Australia.


Keen's Curry

In 1841, 22-year-old carpenter Joseph Keen (son of Thomas Keen) sailed to Australia from Britain with his new wife, Johanna. Following Johanna's death in Sydney in 1843, Joseph left for Van Diemen's Land. There he met and married Annie (Nancy) Burrows and they had 16 children – nine daughters and seven sons. Joseph and Annie settled at Browns River, Kingston, south of
Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
, where they established a bakery, small manufacturing outlet and a general store. Here Joseph produced and sold his own sauces and condiments including his own blend of curry powder. Within a decade, Joseph's curry powder was known throughout the colony and his produce was winning awards: he received a medal for his spice mix at the 1866 Inter-Colonial Exhibition in Melbourne and an honourable mention for his spicy sauce at the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition. In 1915, after both Joseph and Annie had died, the couple's sixth daughter Louisa and her husband Horace Watson took over the family's curry-powder business. Horace was reported to be a colourful character, and daringly transformed land at the foothills of Mount Wellington, overlooking Hobart, into a large advertising sign: using heavy stones painted white, he formed the words 'Keen's Curry' in letters 15 metres high. Public uproar resulted, but Horace won the right to use the land as an advertising sign. In a university prank in 1926, the letters briefly read 'Hell's Curse', and students altered it again in 1962 to promote a theatre production. In 1994 the landmark read 'No Cable Car' as a protest against a proposed development. However the sign has been restored after every change. While well known in
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, Keen's Curry Powder began to receive national attention in 1954 when the formula and rights were sold to Reckitt & Colman Australia Ltd (currently, Reckitt Benckiser (Australia) Pty Limited) – more than a century after Joseph set sail from England. Reckitt & Colman Australia had long been the manufacturers of a different product – Keen's Mustard. In 1998, both the Keen's Mustard and Curry brands were acquired by McCormick Foods Australia Pty Ltd.


See also

* List of mustard brands


References


External links


Keen's Curry Powder Keen's Mustard PowderMcCormick Foods Australia
{{Mustard (condiment) Australian condiments Brand name condiments Condiment companies of Australia Food and drink companies of Australia Mustard brands British brands British condiments