Make Your Own Dijon Style Mustard | Recipes
What is Dijon Mustard?
The traditional Dijon mustard recipe includes Verjus and ground brown mustard seeds along with salt and other spices. The most common Dijon mustard we know of has a pale yellow color and slightly creamy consistency. Black mustard seeds can also be used in making Dijon mustard. The high quality of seeds and they way they are processed makes Dijon mustard stand out from others.
At one time, any product called Dijon mustard had to be made in the Dijon region of France. Other products could be called "Dijon-style mustard" or simply "dijon mustard" with a lowercase "D".
Today, however, the term Dijon mustard has become generic, so any mustard using the basic Dijon recipe can be called Dijon mustard.
What does the word Dijon Mean?
Dijon is the capital of the Burgundy region in France, at one time it was perhaps the mustard capital of the world.
Mustard seeds have been used for thousands of years probably since someone bit into one,liked it's pungent flavor and found that if you chewed these seeds it could liven up a food that was past it's prime. The growing of mustard seeds was not native to this area, but brought in by the Romans when they ruled the area probably in the middle ages, as they would grow well here. The Romans made a mustard from the ground or soaked seeds and vinegar.
| Grinding mustard seeds with a cannonball on a mustard quern, a technique described by a number of early modern period cookery authors such as Robert May, "Have good seed, pick it, and wash it in cold water, drain it, and rub it dry in a cloth very clean; then beat it in a mortar with strong wine-vinegar; and being fine beaten, strain it and keep it close covered. Or grind it in a mustard quern, or a bowl with a cannon bullet". The Accomplisht Cook (London: 1660). Thank you to the Historic Foods Website |
1752. The creation of Dijon mustard can be accredited to Jean Naigeon. Naigeon revolutionized the original mustard recipe by substituting verjuice (the sour juice of unripe grapes) for the vinegar traditionally used in the making of mustard. This resulted in a smoother, less acerbic mustard which was immediately embraced by mustard lovers everywhere.
Why Verjus? First of all white grapes grew well and were in abundance in Dijon, France and the when the harvest came, and the grapes were picked the under ripe grapes were not something you wanted to throw out so they came up with this idea.
| Frugal French housewives did not waste much. During the harvest, all grapes that were not ripe were set apart from the mature grapes ready for the wine vats. The nicest looking green grapes were then pricked with a fork and put into jars. The rest of the green grapes were pressed to extract the juice from the skins and seeds… The juice is then added to the bottles of grapes and a little sugar and 90 proof alcohol (marc-distilled from the pressings after the wine is made – bouilleur du cru-itinerant distillers still can be seen in rural France-going from one small holding to another making marc) and wine vinegar is added to the jars… After two months or more, the verjus is ready. - from 18thccuisine.blogspot.com
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What is the difference between Vinegar and Verjus?
Verjus is made from juice, and vinegar is made from fermented fruit.
Verjus is acidic but less harsh. Much like orange juice is less acidic than vinegar.
One great application is that if you use Verjus on salads, the flavor doesn't compete with
the wine you are serving.
The Grey- Poupon Moutarde (Mustard) Company Started in 1777
Moutardier ( a mustard maker) Maurice Grey, teamed up with Auguste Poupon and together they formed the Grey Poupon mustard company which later merged with Maille, another well- known French mustard company.
However it was when Maurice Grey invented a machine that would grind the mustard and automate the process,
that it is said they really rolled out the Grey Poupon mustard that was heads and tails above the rest in quality.
I find some discrepancy here because some sources say they rolled out there mustard in 1845 almost 60 years later. |
Are all Dijon Mustards alike?
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Fine ground
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Country style |
Coarse Ground |
Good mustard is made from good quality seeds. They are soaked , the husk is removed
and the seeds are either coarse, ,medium or fine ground and mixed with wine or vinegar or both.
Making your own Dijon Mustard
Making a Coarse Ground
Dijon Style Mustard
with Mortar and Pestle
by Chef Le Blu
Get Your Mustard Seed Here
and your Verjus
Links
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