Dijon Mustard Review - Edmond Fallot Basil

C'est une belle moutarde, oui?

Welcome, fellow mustardeers, to the world of French mustard! Or, should I say, la monde des moutardes françaises! (My French is horrible, just warning you now.)

Mustard has been a part of French cuisine for centuries, chiefly dijon mustard, a classic variety of mustard made with white wine in lieu of vinegar. Now, most dijons do not actually sire from the original French city of Dijon. However, the Fallot Mustard Mill, which creates Edmon Fallot-brand mustard, is actually located in the Burgundian region of France, of which Dijon is the capital. (Their website is honestly fantastic, if translated a bit wonkily.) It doesn't get much more authentic than this!

Walking through my local HomeGoods the other day, I found this noble-looking jar with an orange mark-down sticker upon it. Half an hour later, I was home with my surprisingly inexpensive little prize. May the mustardy gods bless thee, HomeGoods!

Upon opening the stately jar, you find that the mustard is very, very pungent in smell, like many traditionally made mustards. Do not see this as a turn-off, however - the strong smell of white wine is not what it will taste like. In fact, the mustard does not taste much like white wine at all - it has an incredibly powerful basil taste. I found it overpowering when used as a dip for meats, so I recommend using it in conjunction with starches or bread. The mustard flavor is not the strongest, but I find that acceptable, given that the centerpiece of this particular mustard is it's basil attribute.

This mustard is quite the experience, and I recommend it to all those who enjoy pesto more than anything. I give it 7 basil leaves out of 10; it was often overpowering, but all in all, it was a formidable mustard that is worth your time.

Yellow Mustard - Colman's Original English

Note the unique bottle shape.

Ahhh, Colman's. There's no way a mustard connoisseur can not like this hallmark English mustard. There's just so much to be excited for when you see this condiment on the table.

Let's start with our usual critique of the bottle. This shape is immediately identifiable as Colman's - the slightly bell-shaped slope of the bottle is it's trademark look. The screw cap keeps the desolate wasteland look away, and gives it that fancy mustard air.

The mustard itself, however, is a tour de force of the English variety of mustard as a whole. It's a very strong mustard, with that heat that you would expect from a specimen of the English variety of the condiment jungle. It's a tiny bit sweet after the initial punch of heat; or maybe that was just my taste buds recuperating from the wave of mustardy goodness. It's hard to tell sometimes.

This mustard is good on pretty much anything that's English-esqe. Ham sandwich? Oh course. Pork? By all means. Potatoes? Absolutely. (Mustard tastes great with baked potatoes, trust me. You need a strong flavor like this to break through the starchiness, though.) This mustard, though very strong, is surprisingly versatile. If you're a fan of good mustard, and you're bored of weak American yellow, try this well-crafted mustard out for size - you won't be disappointed.

WALROR EDIT: this doesn't have a rating so I'm gonna stick a 9 in here.

Author Edit: Upon retrospection (4/27/20), this mustard scores a solid 10 / 10!

Yellow Mustard Review - Lakeshore Strong Irish Mustard

This here mustard is another of my preferred mustards for daily use. This yellow mustard (it's not really that much of a 'yellow' yellow mustard though, but I'll elaborate on that later) has a powerful punch that wakes up one's palette in a jiffy, as the name alludes to. It'll tear your previous beliefs on an Irish mustard to flitters, ya gobdaw!

The mustard is obviously quite smooth, as can be seen through the stout glass jar favored by Lakeshore for its many kinds of mustard. Having a more mellow texture like this allows the mustard to perform well across the board, primarily on sandwiches, as a dip and with meats. However, this is where the mustard's mellow nature ends. Hidden behind this seemingly friendly yellow colour is a kraken of a mustardy flavor! Be sure to use this condiment in smaller amounts than your usual yellow mustards; when I first encountered this ferocious predator of the condiment jungle, I was unaware of it's 'strong' aspect until I had a tablespoon of the stuff on my tongue. Not the best way to be introduced, but it won me back over quickly.

The defining characteristic of a yellow mustard is the fact that it contains turmeric, a mellow but down-to-earth-tasting spice, which creates the bright yellow colour. Despite the fact that Lakeshore's Strong Irish Mustard likely contains turmeric for it's telltale colour, it is wildly unlike other yellows like French's in it's taste. It would likely be better to call this mustard an English mustard, for it's taste, but for now we'll still refer to it as yellow. Yellow or not, this mustard is one to look out for in your travels.

WALROR EDIT: This stuff looks pretty good, so an 8 should be alright.