For those who have been asking, we are pleased to present another installment of the Mustard Report!
What do Dijon and Rochester have in common? Mustard!
Dijon is a city in eastern France and the capital of the Côte-d’Or département. It’s home to the eponymous mustard first used in 1336 and popularized in 1856. The Grey Poupon mustard brand originated in Dijon in 1866.
Rochester is a city of similar size on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in western New York. It’s also home to culinary specialties, including the garbage plate, white hots and Boss Sauce. Known from the mid-1880’s as the Flour City for its flourishing mill industry and the Flower City for its thriving seed industry, Rochester was America’s first boomtown. It’s home to many famous companies, including Xerox, which was founded in Rochester in 1906, and Eastman Kodak, founded by George Eastman in 1892. And it’s home to the Eastman School of Music, consistently ranked as one of the finest music schools in the world, endowed by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman in 1921.
More importantly for our purposes, Rochester was where the R. T. French Company located their flour mill in 1884. It was Robert Timothy French, born November 15, 1828 (happy 190th birthday!) in Ithaca, New York, who created French’s “Cream Salad Brand” yellow mustard and debuted it at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Yellow mustard is now the world’s most popular mustard variety and one of the three most commonly used condiments, along with ketchup and mayonnaise.
Until 1987, French’s headquarters was located at 1 Mustard Street in Rochester. During its heyday, French’s was a sponsor of the local weather forecast and a prominent sponsor of the Rochester Red Wings baseball club. French’s mustard became popular in ballparks and embedded in American popular culture.
At one point, R. T. French manufactured a complete line of spices and extracts, mustard and condiments, pickle products, sauce and gravy mixes, instant potato products and even pet care products, in particular canary and parakeet seeds. French’s Potato Pancake mix was once one of the company’s most popular products. French’s product line now includes prepared mustards, Worcestershire sauce, a line of mayonnaise-based products, ketchup, barbecue sauce, potato sticks and fried jalapeños.
Good news for celiacs and those following gluten-free diets: French’s Classic Yellow Mustard is gluten-free!
In addition to its classic yellow mustard, French’s now produces a wide variety of mustards, including:
- Bold and spicy deli mustard
- Classic yellow spicy mustard
- Classic yellow sweet mustard
- Dijon mustard
- Honey Dijon mustard
- Honey mustard
- Horseradish mustard
- Organic classic yellow mustard
- Stone ground Dijon mustard
- Sweet onion mustard
French’s classic yellow mustard has the following characteristics:
Container: Typically found in a narrow-waisted plastic yellow container featuring the French’s banner.
Colour: Bright yellow.
Appearance: Fine and smooth.
Taste: Classic mustard aroma and flavour, with a taste profile that’s tangy and a bit sour. Tastes like the mustard you expect on a hotdog.
Availability: Ubiquitous.
Cost: Budget-friendly.
Thank you, Rochester!
