Good ole yellow mustard - a reliable classic or out-dated?

Or perhaps both?

It dawned on me that I'm always seeing "fancy mustards" here and there (Dijon etc). They seem to be in fashion whereever you go, yet my favorite is always the good old fashioned "ball park" yellow (especially when it comes to, say, a hot dog). Just give me the sunshine in a bottle and I'm happy. No need to try and make it green or anything else...

Of course, I'm also the kind of guy who puts ketchup on a hot dog as well.

It's true, times do change. But I'm sorry, I don't like green mustards...

Jeff

Yellow mustard on a hot dog, or pastrami, but Dijon on a lot of other foods.

I probably go through more yellow mustard than anything else, but it's Weber's, with horseradish, made locally: http://www.webersmustard.com/
Another one I use when I'm in the mood is one I make in small quantities - mix Coleman's dry mustard powder with just enough beer to make it spreadable on a steamed hot dog.
Speaking of hot dogs, I recently discovered a small sausage shop that makes their own wieners and they are the best I've ever had, but a bit expensive: http://sparseuropeansausage.com/Fully-Cooked.php

It dawned on me that I'm always seeing "fancy mustards" here and there (Dijon etc). They seem to be in fashion whereever you go, yet my favorite is always the good old fashioned "ball park" yellow

I'm curious why you call American yellow mustard 'old fashioned' when it's a 20th century creation compared to Dijon mustard that traces its roots to the 13th century. If anything, yellow American mustard is an iconic modern industrial creation. (Although of course the Dijon mustard that we know today is pretty similarly modern and industrial and apparently developed in its current form just a bit before the American yellow mustard)

I'm also curious why you consider Dijon to be "fancy". Is that because it actually tastes like mustard? Seems like a misuse of the term "fancy".

I'm curious why you call American yellow mustard 'old fashioned' when it's a 20th century creation compared to Dijon mustard that traces its roots to the 13th century....

My interpretation is that by "old fashioned" the reference is that when most of us were growing up, yellow mustard was the only mustard around and was considered a household staple, like ketchup and what one expected on a hot dog or burger in a ball park or roadside diner. Anything other than yellow was considered "fancy" and rare.

We haven't had yellow mustard in the house for decades. Just got used to Dijon on everything either smooth or grainy. We put it on our hot dogs at home, tho when we eat them out at events catered by the Elks or similar group we eat the yellow with no problem. In the fridge at home is always a jar of Roland Extra Strong Dijon, which isn't extra strong, but very tasty at a very low price.

My interpretation is that by "old fashioned" the reference is that when most of us were growing up, yellow mustard was the only mustard around and was considered a household staple, like ketchup and what one expected on a hot dog or burger in a ball park or roadside diner.

Well it still sounds fishy to me. A bit like claiming Columbus 'discovered' America. Sure, it's true in one extremely narrow sense. But it's also a very laughable claim.

Anyway, I'm of a slightly younger American generation so I never developed a taste for the yellow American mustard, except on pretzels from foodtrucks when I was in grade school and then again in college. But I haven't had any in almost 20 years and have not missed it.

Well it still sounds fishy to me. A bit like claiming Columbus 'discovered' America. Sure, it's true in one extremely narrow sense. But it's also a very laughable claim...

I think we're having a semantics issue here. "Old fashioned" wrt yellow mustard is a phrase that refers to something that was in fashion in a previous era. Wrt Dijon, it could be considered "old fashioned" in the sense that it was something that was fashioned in older times. But to American culture, Dijon is relatively new. I was in my 20s before I ever heard of Dijon mustard.

[Jenise]

I love the taste of baseball mustard and sometimes help myself to a spoonful, just like I do peanut butter. Like Doug, I love it on a pastrami--not the Jewish deli kind, which I prefer mustardless, but the burger drive-in kind of my California childhood. For most other things I have moved on to Dijon.

On soft pretzels, only yellow mustard will do. For all else (sausages, mostly) it's either Dijon or grainy brown (and Dijon for cooking).

Mark Lipton

Spicy, grainy brown mustard here for most stuff although will go yellow or Dijon on occasion.

Hi Rahsaan,

Howie is correct in what I was trying to express - that, in my experience, yellow mustard had always been more common and present in everyday use.

Jeff

Got the "Grey" stuff in the fridge all the time. And a squirt bottle of good ole French's. Usually reach for the Dijon, even on a dog.

I'm also curious why you consider Dijon to be "fancy". Is that because it actually tastes like mustard? Seems like a misuse of the term "fancy".

Rahsaan you won't know about this, probably because 1) you are young and 2) you probably don't watch much TV, but there was an advertisement (1988) in which one Rolls Royce pulls up to another and the occupant asks "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon." Of course, like most Rolls Royces, there is a jar of Grey Poupon in the glove compartment so you see it being handed from one car to the other (gloved hands).

If Americans consider Dijon to be fancy -- well, it costs more, it's French, and the ad campaign tried mightily to give that impression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_pGT8Q_tjk

[Robin Garr]

Getting in on the fun, I'm okay with ball park mustard at the ball park, where it just seems right.

I do love me some gor-may mustards, though. I tend to pass on the Grey Poupon because it's faux - made in New Jersey in a Kraft General Foods factory not far from Newark Airport, I believe. Although that said, it actually is a fairly decent replication of the real French thing.

When I do want the real thing, Maille will do me just fine.

Zatarain's Cajun is an absolute favorite for just about any condiment use.

And we really mustn't overlook Gulden's Spicy Brown, which, sadly, is multinational - it's made by ag giant ConAgra - but it's nevertheless a better alternative (IMHO) for ballpark style.

[Jenise]

Hi Rahsaan,

Howie is correct in what I was trying to express - that, in my experience, yellow mustard had always been more common and present in everyday use.

Jeff

Certainly was the case when I was a child, but I think now Grey Poupon's actually more standard, at least in adult households where things don't have to be ultra tame for the sake of small kids.

Sierra Nevada Stout Brown Mustard
Guldens Brown Mustard
Wilda's Mustard....a locally made and wildly popular mustard made by a local colorful character with mustard grown on her property.
Grey Poupon Dijon
I also have a hot, sweet mustard in my refer which is great on Louisiana Hot link sandwiches with sauerkraut
Not a fan of French's Mustard...is that what you refer to as ballpark mustard?

Not a fan of French's Mustard...is that what you refer to as ballpark mustard?

Yes, that's the stuff I know and love. Although It doesn't have to be French's per se. But yellow is good yes.

Jeff

Rahsaan you won't know about this, probably because 1) you are young and 2) you probably don't watch much TV, but there was an advertisement (1988) in which one Rolls Royce pulls up to another and the occupant asks "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon." Of course, like most Rolls Royces, there is a jar of Grey Poupon in the glove compartment so you see it being handed from one car to the other (gloved hands).

If Americans consider Dijon to be fancy -- well, it costs more, it's French, and the ad campaign tried mightily to give that impression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_pGT8Q_tjk

I remember that commercial. I was 12 in 1988, and was definitely watching a lot of television at the time. Plus, I remember watching the mustard composition of the world around me change, although I never had the same intense attachment to the Yellow Mustard that other older folks may have.

Still, that was 1988. And as Robin says, there is no factual reason to claim that Dijon or Grey Poupon is 'fancy' in 2012.

Right, Rahsaan, especially since Robin also pointed out that Grey Poupon is made in my back yard, which is quite a long way from France. But still, advertising has an effect, and GP did want to produce that image for its product. Sometimes it works. I remember a series of ads which I thought were disgusting -- a man drives his Cadillac into a gas station, and the attendant is thrilled to be allowed to touch the wonderful car. "Yes SIR! And I'll polish up your windshield too if you don't mind!" My guess is that never in the history of the world did anyone respond that way to the presence of a Cadillac. But they want the buyer to think that it's at least a possibility. And I think folks who buy Cadillacs really do think they are special, whereas people who know the most about cars (Mr. Spohn?) wouldn't be caught dead driving one... Seems parallel to me.

Not a fan of French's Mustard...is that what you refer to as ballpark mustard?

Yes, that's the stuff I know and love. Although It doesn't have to be French's per se. But yellow is good yes.

Jeff

Is it OK to observe that it doesn't actually taste of anything?

Not a fan of French's Mustard...is that what you refer to as ballpark mustard?

Yes, that's the stuff I know and love. Although It doesn't have to be French's per se. But yellow is good yes.

Jeff

Is it OK to observe that it doesn't actually taste of anything?

Sure, it's okay. I think it's the reason I prefer yellow mustards!

Jeff

Is it OK to observe that it doesn't actually taste of anything?

Sure, it's okay. I think it's the reason I prefer yellow mustards!

Jeff

This is one of the reasons I find it strange to call Dijon 'fancy', when it's the yellow mustard that has been so manipulated (and past the point of mustard being an integral taste component) whereas Dijon is the 'simpler' basic mustard plant taste (although of course manipulated as well in its own way).

I like a lot of mustards, but I really like the simple yellow mustard you refer to. It's especially good IMO on a turkey sandwich.