Sainsbury’s is launching the first-ever white sweetcorn to have been grown in the UK - in the unlikely location of north London suburb Enfield.
Sweeter than yellow sweetcorn, the white version, usually grown in the US, has been cultivated by London’s only Zimbabwean farmer, David Mwanaka.
The product became available last weekend at Sainsbury’s stores within the M25, under the chain’s Taste the Difference range.
Mwanaka grabbed the headlines last year following his successful cultivation of Zimbabwean white maize for specialist shops, restaurants and private buyers.
After deciding that the floury, chewier sweetness of white maize was unlikely to appeal to the mainstream UK market, Mwanaka took a joint decision with vegetable specialist Barfoots of Botley to cultivate US-style white sweetcorn. The crop promises to more than match the juicy sweetness of traditional yellow sweetcorn, says Sainsbury’s. The first white crop is available later than traditional crops, available from now until October.
“White sweetcorn is at the cutting edge of the produce market,” said Barfoots of Botley farm director Nathan Delicott. “Working with David has been fantastic - he is an incredibly talented grower and shares our vision to excite the UK shopper in choice, taste and quality. White sweetcorn promises to be a hot topic across the UK.”
Sainsbury’s senior produce buyer John Maylam said: “We are very excited to be bringing the first-ever white sweetcorn to the UK. It is surprisingly sweet and I am really looking forward to seeing how our customers take to the new white variety. We are also thrilled to be able to work with David, as this contract means a great deal to him and his family.”
Mwanaka is from a farming family in Zimbabwe and was a successful journalist in the African country before political changes drove him to come to the UK. He started to grow the white maize in his garden at his Tilbury home, and after the crop proved successful then advertised for land - which was how he procured some 10 acres in Enfield that has now grown to over 70 acres, including 20 acres in Salisbury.
“I am on a mission to get the UK eating white sweetcorn,” said Mwanaka. “It is fantastic to eat - even sweeter than the usual varieties. It’s long been a favourite in the states - I can’t wait to see the response here.”
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