Rhubarb Triangle

[6] The fields were fertilised with large quantities of horse manure and 'night soil' from the nearby urban areas and woollen waste from "mungo and shoddy" mills.

In the sheds the plants begin to grow in the warmth and the stored carbohydrate in the roots is transformed into glucose resulting in forced rhubarb's sour-sweet flavour.

[8] The sheds are long low buildings which are heated; originally with coal, which was plentiful and relatively cheap in the area, but this has been replaced by diesel.

Traditionally, the pickers pull the stalks in candlelight as any exposure to strong light will stop the growth.

[9] Growing and forcing rhubarb was originally done by many hundreds of small farmers, smallholders and market gardeners.

[12] The application was successful and the farmers in the Rhubarb Triangle[a] were awarded Protected Designation of Origin status (PDO) in February 2010.

Leeds Central MP, Hilary Benn, was involved in the Defra campaign to win protected status.

In 2016 an exhibition of photographs by Martin Parr at The Hepworth Wakefield featured The Rhubarb Triangle series of images, along with a publication.