If Ye Have Faith As A Grain of Mustard Seed...

There are lots of lovely and interesting sights around this area. This is one of my favorites--fields of mustard plants. Did you know that mustard plants are annuals, and that they originate from Europe and Asia? They have also been around for a VERY long time. It seems that there was a fellow in Rome around 2000 years ago called Plinius the Old, and he actually started the whole mustard craze. (How does one get a name like that? Do you think his parents looked at him and said "Hmmm, he looks like his old uncle Plinius, so we'll name him after him!") Anyhoo, he ground the mustard seeds up, mixed in some vinegar, and the rest is history. His fellow Roman, Palladius, added a little honey and olive oil to the mix, and ended up with the condiment we know and love today. The Romans couldn't keep such a delicious secret to themselves, and it soon spread over the Alps to Europe. France loved it so much that in the 13th century, they became the biggest producer of mustard. They even created their own mustard recipe in the city of Dijan, and that recipe has not changed over hundreds of years. Each year, around 340 million kilograms (around 740 million pounds) of mustard is consumed throughout the world. And you just thought that was a field of pretty flowers! Silly you! What were you thinking???