Arthur Potts Dawson
They say that if a fashion catches on in the USA then it won’t be long until it crosses the Atlantic, and that certainly seems to be the case with the latest culinary trend to hit our shores.
London has played host to the countries first ever ‘Dirt tasting’, a phenomenon that started in the States.
The principal behind dirt tasting is that different soils impart a different taste into certain vegetables.
The technique involves spooning some dirt into a glass, adding water, swilling the cocktail around and then taking a sniff (don’t worry, you won’t literally be eating dirt). After this you take a bite from the vegetable that corresponds to the terroir and draw your own conclusions.
The event was hosted by the organic brand Seeds of Change in conjunction with Garden Organic. The theme of the event was "Great Flavours, Well Grown," a campaign meant to educate people about the taste benefits of well-grown food.
Cooking the food was Arthur Potts Dawson, eco-friendly restaurateur and nephew of Mick Jagger. He said:
'It takes a little bit of time for the aromas to develop. You can get minerals, salt, vitamins, all kinds of stuff in soil.'
Bob Sherman Garden Organic’s Director of Horticulture was also there: "We’ve got soils from various regions in the UK, some of them are sandy, some of them are silty which means they come from probably an area where this a river, some have a bit of clay in so they will be a bit sticky, some have little bits of chalk in because they come from a chalky area in England in the Cotswolds, so they are all different."
Now it just remains to be seen if the nation will end up digging dirt tasting or whether it will just get up our collective noses.
Tagged in Food And Drink