Wasabi

Since 2014 Japanese plant Wasabi has been growing well in Dorset. It is the first time that Wasabi has been successfully grown in the whole of Europe. Usually, we would only see this as a paste or powder so it’s amazing that we are now able to buy this from a home-grown UK company.

Balti curries

Along with the UK being home and inventor of tikka masala, it also appears that Birmingham brought us the Balti curry. Rumour has it that this delicious dish originated in the curry houses on the streets of Birmingham.

Quorn

Yep, that’s right. We opened the meat-replacement market for the vegetarian community. Ranging from Quorn mince all the way through to Quorn sausages and bacon. The hunt for such food began in the 1960s with UK residents being hesitant to chow down on doe-eyed animals. A breakthrough followed in 1967 with the discovery of Fusarium venenatum which is the key ingredient in all their products. Well done us!

Quinoa

2019’s latest trends see quinoa on the rise! The ingredient originating to the Andean region of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, but us being Brits, we now have producers that are growing it commercially here too. When the demand was low in 1985, Essex farmer, Peter Fairs was an early adopter of quinoa and had developed a wide range that grows beautifully in our typical British Weather.

Saffron

Saffron from the UK? You have got to be joking? But we're not! Although most of you would picture colourful spice markets and the Middle East, saffron was once a huge industry in the UK. England was the worlds biggest grower of Saffron during the Middle Ages and the area around Saffron Walden was the home of this pricey spice. Production dropped over time due to cheaper imports, but saffron has been flourishing again since 2004 in Essex.