MUSTARD

18th February 2024

Photo Credit: emer1940 & Luis Echeverri Urrea, (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION
He a good wit? Hang him baboon.

His wit’s as thick as Tewkesbury mustard.

There’s no more conceit in him

Than is in a mallet.

FALSTAFF: Henry IV, Part 2, Act 2, Scene 4

MUSTARD (White Mustard: Sinapis alba)

Mustard, the spicy paste made from the ground up seeds of the Mustard Plant, occurs several times in Shakespeare. In Taming of the Shrew there is beef and Mustard and in Henry IV Part 2, a unique glimpse into local foods of Shakespearean England, the thick Tewkesbury Mustard.

White Mustard is an annual plant in the Cabbage Family (Brassicaceae) with yellow flowers. It is native to Europe and across Asia and has been spread widely by cultivation.

More Information

BSBI Plant Atlas 2020: Sinapis alba

Folger Shakespeare Library: Search Shakespeare’s Works

Kew Plants of the World Online: Sinapis alba