Mustard is one of those annoying condiments that travels in mobs. Like the old Denis Leary routine about tequila, you let one in, and it sneaks in six or seven of its friends... As a result, there's always the awkward point in one's shopping cycle where the fridge is filled with naught but mustard (and, in our case, a half-empty bottle of tonic water).
Being scientifically-natured, we decided to figure out which of these sulfurous refugees was actually the tastiest. Helpfully, we had an award-winning Poachers Game Pie on-hand. The pie itself (our 'Control', if you will) was delicious. The skilled judges (that is, us), called it 'subtle', 'meaty' and 'smooth-textured' with a nice 'gamey aftertaste'.
We appraised five mustards (we should clean our fridge more) - each one was judged for Heat, Flavor and Texture, then given an overall ranking.
The five contenders:
- Mikado English Mustard
The results are after the jump...
The winner was the Grey Poupon Old Style. Although it didn't register any Heat, the 'grainy texture' led to a 'lingering flavor', and the 'sour' taste perfectly complemented the 'sweet gamey flavor of the pie - especially in the crust'.
The second-place finish went to the Moutardes de Beaune Edmont Fallot, which was a very different mustard experience. It had a 'sharp' heat that snuck up on the judges, although it didn't linger long in the mouth. The flavor was 'tangy' and it smelled very nice. Unlike the Grey Poupon, the Moutardes had a 'silky' texture and spread very fluidly. Overall, it was also a success, 'good on the pie, although not sure I'd have it for dinner every night'.
The overall loser was the Maille a l'Estragon - both judges agreeing that they'd rather eat the pie without mustard than deal with the Maille again. This 'creamy' mustard tasted overwhelmingly of rosemary, and the flavor conflicted badly with that of the Game Pie. As one judge said, 'it was like eating two meals at the same time'. And the other... 'well, that's... different'.
The Mikado English Mustard was the hottest of the three and had a pleasant, thick, smooth texture, but it also lacked any flavor besides the heat. When the burning subsided, the aftertaste mixed well with the pie.
French's Mustard has its flavor 'quickly overwhelmed by the pie itself'. One judge liked the 'classic American flavor - which won't linger, but will occasionally sock you', the other was more worried about the 'artifically enhanced smooth' texture.
Overall results (Judge A / B Rankings):
1) Grey Poupon (1 / 2)
2) Moutardes de Beaune Edmond Fallot (3 / 1)
3) Mikado English Mustard (2 / 4)
4) French's Classic Yellow Mustard (5 / 3)
5) No mustard (4 / 5)
6) Maille a l'Estragon (6 / 6)
French's is best on hot dogs. English mustard for brats. Everything else is for salad dressing.
Posted by: Mike | June 11, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Golly. I don't remember being quite that lyrical in my responses! Mainly, I recall responding with "mmm!" or "eh."
Posted by: anne | June 11, 2009 at 07:37 PM