Tip - Mustards - Long

CUTTING IT

On October 27, 1986 the Red Sox lost the World Series to the Mets.
Heartbroken, Sox fan Barry Levenson decided he needed a hobby to take
his mind off his grief.  While strolling through a supermarket in Mt.
Horeb, Wis., he came upon the mustard section and, for no particular
reason, wondered how many mustards he could collect.  Thirteen years
and 3122 mustards later, Levenson is still collecting, as curator of
the Mt.  Horeb Mustard Museum and executive director of the World
Mustard Association.

All this probably wouldn't be possible if the field of specialty
mustards hadn't exploded in the past decade.  According to Ron Tanner,
vice president of the National Association of the Specialty Food
Trade, "New companies are coming along all the time, but there are
also existing companies who have decided to expand their product lines
to include mustards along with salsas and barbecue sauces."

The ubiquitous phosphorescent yellow hot dog mustard has given way to
a medley of mustards that look like they came right off the menus of
the most au courant restaurants.  "I've learned a lot of different
flavor combinations in my 15 years of restaurant work and I've put
them into mustards which are a good base for adding flavors," says
Susan Furst, who, with her sister Martha, owns Terrapin Ridge, an
Illinois company that makes such mustards as Wasabi Lime, Mole, and
Thai Curry & Sweet Basil.

"The variety we have in this country today is up there with any other
country in the world," Levenson says.  "Part of the reason is the
growth of the specialty food industry in general.  Another reason is
that mustard represents a way of getting different flavors easily."
It's also a way of getting flavors with no fat and between 5 and 20
calories per tablespoon.

Oddly enough, the newfangled American mustard concoctions aren't so
new.  In the 17th century, the French were adding things like truffles
and lavender to their mustards.  While mustard in cooking predates the
Egyptian pharaohs, it wasn't until the early 18th century that a
system for creating mustard powder - thus making the smooth mustards of
today possible - was created in England.  Until then, mustards were thick
pastes made from whole seeds.  The city of Dijon in northern Burgundy
became a mustard making capital because local monks grew mustard seeds
and combined them with vinegar made from the region's wine.  Dijon
mustard doesn't have to contain wine although a 1937 decree governing
production allows it, along with verjus (unfermented grape juice).

The French still dominate the Dijon category, but Old Spice, an
American Dijon, took a bronze medal in the 1999 World Wide Mustard
Competition in March (produced by the Napa Valley Mustard Festival).
Another American Dijon, Inglehoffer, took silver medals in the two
previous competitions.  (There are no American standards for Dijon
mustard.  Any American-produced mustard can call itself Dijon.)

Old Spice and Inglehoffer are made by Beaverton Foods Inc., of
Beaverton, Ore, the granddaddy of specialty mustards, which produces
100 varieties under its own labels (which also include the Beaver and
Napa Valley brands) and dozens more for other companies.  Company
president Gene Biggi started making specialty mustards in the 1950s
for companies like Hickory Farms, which wanted something to go with
its sausages.  "They didn't want ball park mustard and they couldn't
afford to import Dijon.  So my father created a sweet and hot mustard
based on a Russian hot mustard recipe," says Dominic Biggi, company
vice president .

Sweet Hot is also a category in the World Wide Mustard Competition.
The other 10 are: Coarse Grain, Classic Hot, Pepper Hot, Horseradish,
Herb, Fruit, Spirit (essentially an alcoholic beverage), American
Yellow, Deli/Brown, and Exotic.  Robert Rothschild Raspberry Honey
Mustard took first place in the Sweet Hot and was the overall Grand
Champion.  Robert Rothschild mustards also took first in Fruit
(Apricot Ginger), second in Herb (Champagne Garlic) and third in
Pepper Hot (Roasted Chipotle).

"In the past we've offered more basic mustards, but we've found out
that the public wants something different," says Laura Miller, a
spokeswoman for Robert Rothschild in Urbana, Ohio.  However, sometimes
different can be just plain weird, like the ill-fated Mint Mustard,
which Miller admits tasted more like mint than mustard.

It may seem obvious, but one of the criteria for judging in the
competition is that a mustard has to taste like mustard.  "You have to
close your eyes and say, 'this is definitely mustard,' " Levenson says.
"With some mustards you can't really tell."  Category fidelity is
another criterion.  If a mustard is in the herb category, for example,
you have to be able to taste herbs (which include garlic and onion).
Overall impressions is the third standard.  The mustard must be
balanced and have a good, long finish.

Levenson explains that the finish or final impression of mustard can
be as important it is with wine.  "Some mustards might smell fine and
taste fine initially, but defects really show up on the finish," he
says.  Bitterness is a common flaw, as is starchiness, a raw flour
taste.  Some coarse grained mustards, those that use whole seeds, can
taste gritty rather than grainy.

In my own mustard competition, the popular Grey Poupon had a winy
sweetness and was the mildest among seven Dijons tasted.  At the other
end of the spectrum was the sinus clearing Delouis, which finished
third in the mustard championships.  In between, Maille, Bornier, and
Edmond Fallot were surprisingly mild.  Roland Extra Strong was second
to Delouis in strength, and Silver Palate came up creamy with just
enough zip.

Pommery has always been a leader in the coarse grain category, but I
found this venerable French mustard vinegary and grainy.  At
Levenson's suggestion, I tried it on a baked potato instead of sour
cream.  I still don't get it.

Even though it's really more of a mustard sauce, Norman Bishop Garlic
Dill is wonderful on chilled shrimp, with vegetables and as a coating
for rack of lamb.  I was less impressed with the somewhat pasty
Rothschild Champagne Garlic on the rack of lamb.

Rothschild Honey Raspberry, like so many specialty, and especially
sweet hot mustards, was too sweet.  However the Silver Palate Sweet
and Rough mitigated this problem with a coarse grain texture and
plenty of spice.  It's an excellent partner for ham, either as a
baster or slathered on cold slices in a sandwich.  Ditto for the
Rothschild Apricot Ginger mustard, which also produced a nice glaze
for roasted turkey breast.  Stonewall Maine Maple Champagne had a
texture somewhere between applesauce and pablum, but was pleasantly
sweet and sour enough to go well with ham and rack of lamb.

There's no way you'd pick the soupy, seafoam green Terrapin Ridge
Wasabi Lime as a mustard, though it was good with chilled shrimp.  The
Thai Curry & Sweet Basil had more texture with bits of herbs and
reminded me of a satay sauce that could be used on roasted lamb or
pork.

English hot mustards can blow you away with one-dimensional heat but
Elsenham Strong Traditional Mustard was less sinus popping than
Colman's and it had a richer, more nuanced flavor.

What you drink with mustard-laced foods depends on the type of
mustard.  Herbal mustards on a rack of lamb work nicely with a
cabernet franc from the Loire.  With less robust meats, try a fruity
Beaujolais.  For an all-purpose wine, choose a German Riesling,
preferably a crisp Mosel with low enough alcohol to avoid accentuating
any heat and with sufficient fruit to match any sweetness in the
mustard.

Variety aside, Americans lag far behind the French and English in
consumption.  Try mustard with cheese - especially cheddar with fruit
mustards and cider or pale ale; in salad dressings; and on cooked
vegetables.  Then again, you might be satisfied with a bag of pretzels
and 3122 mustards.

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HOW TO GET IT

Specialty mustards are a relative pittance, considering how much
flavor they provide.  A 9-ounce jar (sizes vary widely) usually costs
less than $5.  Quality food markets will often carry a dozen or more
different mustards.  Here are a few mail order sources.

Beaverton Foods, Beaverton, OR 800-223-8076

Mount Horeb Mustard Museum Catalogue, Mt Horeb,
WI 800-438-6878

Robert Rothschild, Urbana, OH 800-356-8933

Stonewall Kitchen, York, ME 800-207-5267

Terrapin Ridge, Freeport, IL 800-999-4052