(l-r)Colonel Mustard, Mister Green, The French Maid, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Miss Peacock, Miss White
This week’s featured exalted food:
MUSTARD
Say you’re hot for mustard. Should you find yourself in Doesburg (Holland), Beaune (France), Mt Horeb, Wisconsin (USA), Dijon (France), Norfolk, (England) or Boston, Massachusetts (USA), with a little time to fill, there is a museum for you! The listing below was lifted from the directory on The Food History News site. Compiled meticulously by my mother, any inaccuracies would be shocking. Although I did have a little trouble with a couple of the websites… Must be me. If not, the cornerstone of my world has a hairline crack.
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin is in the realm of the possible for me. I’ve been there in fact – years ago. Time to repeat that jaunt. France, on the other hand, may as well be on the moon as far as my travel plans are concerned. France, England, Germany. Nope. I’ll click on the Fallot Mustard Mill site, French-English dictionary in one hand, le jambon sur le pain de seigle avec le moutard in the other. Ahem. Forgive me, I spent the afternoon at a French matinee.
Read on below to learn a couple tidbits about the partnership of M. Grey and M. Poupon (Mr. and Mr. to me). Did they do it in the kitchen? With the…candle stick? Nah, musta been the cook with a copper pot.
Doesburgsch Mostard en Aziijnmuseum
Boekholtstraat 22
Doesburg 6984 CW
NETHERLANDS
Tel/Fax: 0313-472230
Mission: Mills for the grinding of mustard seed date from when Doesburg, an old Geldern town of the Hanseatic League, was a busy Ijssel River trading center. The museum features furnishings and equipment from an old mustard factory, as well as demonstrations and exhibits on the traditional production and uses of mustard
Admission Info: Open Monday – Friday, 10 am – 5 pm; Saturday, 11 am – 4 pm. Closed on Monday from January through March.
Fallot Mustard Mill
Beaune
France
Mission: The Fallot Mustard Mill, the last independent mustard mill in Burgundy, is housed in the Napoleonic building of the original mustard factory, with its jars, table-mounted sieves, old drive belts, winnowing machines and millstones. An interactive tour, using video and other contemporary technology, is offered to groups limited to a maximum of 20. Fallot has been an independent Burgundian family business since 1840. The Mill continues to prepare its mustard using recipes guarded over several generations, milling the mustard seed with stone grinders.
Mount Horeb Mustard Museum
100 W. Main St.
P.O. Box 72
Mount Horeb WI 53572
Curator: Barry Levenson, founder/curator
Tel/Fax: 800-438-6878
Mission: Video show; worldwide collection of thousands of kinds of mustard and 1,000+ antique mustard pots, housed in 7,700 sq. ft. storefront building..
Admission Info: Open daily, except major holidays, 10 am – 5 pm
Other Info: Issues a periodic newsletter.
Musee de la Moutarde Amora
48 Quai Nicolas Rolin
Dijon 21000
FRANCE
Tel/Fax: 03-80-44-44-52
Mission: On a recommended one-hour visit, one can explore the history of mustard and moutardiers (mustard makers) as well as view old mustard advertising posters.
Admission Info: Open June 15 – September 15, daily except Sunday and holidays, with 3 pm tours leaving from Quai Nicolas Rolin (reservations required at the Office de Tourisme de Dijon. tel: 03-80-44-11-44); open September 16 – June 14, only Tuesday and Saturday, 2-6 pm. Admission free.
Other Info: Undoubtedly the mustard capital of the world is Dijon in eastern France. This picturesque city gained its reputation as the home of master mustard makers in the 13th century. The French were passionate about mustard, considering it the condiment of kings. They passed strict laws governing what could be called Dijon mustard and still ensure that mustard labeled Dijon adheres to appellation controllee standards, much like fine French wines. The most famous of the great Dijon mustard firms was founded in 1777. M. Grey, who had developed a secret recipe for a strong mustard made with white wine, formed a partnership with M. Poupon, who supplied the financial backing to manufacture the product.. The creamy mustard their partnership yielded remains the standard by which Dijon mustards are judged. Grey and Poupon also revolutionized the business by introducing the first automatic mustard machines, thus freeing workers from a backbreaking chore. Today, at 32 Rue de Iz Liberte in the heart of Dijon, one can visit the Grey Poupon building which over the years has become a mecca for mustard lovers the world over.
Mustard Shop Museum
15 Royal Arcade
Norwich
Norfolk NR2 1NQ
ENGLAND
Tel/Fax: (01603) 627889
Mission: Opened to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the partnership between Jeremiah and James Colman. In late 19th-century style. Implements used in mustard making in the past. Advertising material, including mustard pots, posters, and old packaging.
The Mustard Shop
Faneuil Hall
Boston MA 02100
Mission: Historic displays illustrating the atmosphere of Colman’s in the 19th century, when mustard was transported to all parts of the British Empire. Mustard cultivation and manufacture, packaging, advertising.
The Lunch Encounter 
The Mustard Museum has great gift boxes!!
I was up in Baltimore last weekend for a comics convention, and Claire and I stopped for a hot dog. The vendor was from DC, but set up on days with Oriole games between the Inner Harbor and the Convention Center. The point to this is that his hotdogs, Nathans btw, were accompanied by about 10 types of mustard and condiments. I had a nice horseradish mustard. Excellent on a nice sunny day.