French mustard is nothing like american mustard, though the closest thing is perhaps American brown mustard, a bastardization of the English brown mustard and really nothing like the French ones. Oh sure, we have the Grey Poupon, made famous by the posh-teasing commercials of my childhood and I don’t think anyone doesn’t know the phase, “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?” But the truth is, Grey Poupon, isn’t really that posh, nor very good, as far as French mustards go anyway.
The much more flavorful ones are not pulverized like the typical Grey Poupon and are whole grain, in France. We prefer these ones for serving on their own, with something like pâté. We find the best ones to be Vilux, which is brown mustard if you can find it in specialty stores, which is sweeter and more full-bodied than the Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard, and we also like any of the whole seed mustards, including the ones by Grey Poupon, such as their Country Dijon or Harvest Course Ground mustards.
Shawn’s Recipe for Home Made Mustard
- Le Parfait french canning jars or use a Mason jar
- 12 ounces of stout beer
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 c. brown mustard seed
- 1/2 c. yellow mustard seed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 t. nutmeg
- 1/4. cinnamon
- 1/4 t. allspice
- 1/4 t. ground cardamom
Place in mason jar and cover with wrap for 48 hours then place in a food processor for 3 minutes. Place in jars and it’s good to eat the next day. Keeps for six months in the fridge.
