About 10 years ago, Pat Bertman Mazoh, owner of Bertman’s Original Ball Park Mustard in Cleveland, got a check for $10 and a request from Swaziland for her mustard. Turns out a homesick Peace Corps volunteer in Africa was still mourning the death of his father, and the best way to conjure his memory was with the taste of the mustard, which brought back the memory of his dad at the concession stand at baseball games.
Stories like these keep Bertman, the self-described “Old Mustard Broad,” in the business. And it is warm memories of American mustard that keep business booming.
It would be unthinkable to eat a ballpark hot dog without the crowning glory of a fat swirl of good old American mustard, a shrieking yellow concoction with no wine or shallots or fancy herbs to make it insufferably high-brow. Yellow mustard has a regular Joe flavor that leads millions to pooh-pooh Poupon.
“There’s something almost pure about it,” says Barry Levenson, curator of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum in Wisconsin, where a wall is devoted to the yellow stuff, about 200 brands in all.
“You can call it industrial mustard and that’s what it is. But you are not going to see a walnut Dijon mustard at the ballpark and I don’t want it on my hot dog. And I cringe to think there is someone in the stands putting ketchup on their hot dog.”
Terry Plochman, whose family has been selling Manteno, Ill.-produced Plochman’s mustard in the Chicago area since the late 1800s, describes their yellow mustard as “a very distinct flavor but not overly aggressive,” a pretty good description of American-style mustard everywhere.
That flavor makes yellow mustard such a natural companion not just to hot dogs, but as a tangy ingredient in other recipes, from Midwestern ham salad to South Carolina barbecue sauce.
Long before American yellow mustard came about, brown mustard flavored with wine, herbs or spices were a staple for the French and Germans, who appreciated mustard’s particular affinity for pork. Heavily seasoned mustard blends go as far back as the ancient Romans, who turned the seeds into a paste with the addition of grape must (unfermented grape juice), according to Katy Holder and Jane Newdick in their book “A Dash of Mustard.”
The British were avid consumers of mustards, with one 13th Century household listing expenses for seven to ten gallons of mustard monthly, according to the Association For Dressings and Sauces, in Atlanta.
The classic English mustard was perfected by Jeremiah Colman in the 19th Century, at about the same time Maurice Grey and Auguste Poupon joined forces in France to make the kind of mustard people feel comfortable lending to drivers in a neighboring Rolls-Royce.
But the slightly sweet mustard with the bracing breath of vinegar Americans are most familiar with was introduced at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 by a New York mustard manufacturer by the name of French. The idea was that if mustard wasn’t too spicy, people would eat more of it. By the 1920s, this type of mustard was marketed as “cream salad mustard” because it was commonly used to perk up potato salad and other creamy side dishes without overpowering them, Levenson says.
This softer mustard gives it a broad-based appeal that allows American mustard to withstand the onslaught of imported and specialty brands. Around 70 percent of American households buy yellow mustard every year, according to French’s, made by the New Jersey-based Reckitt & Colman Inc.
There are likely about 1,000 brands of mustard, but the exact number is hard to track, experts say. Major-label prepared mustards account for more than $200 million a year in supermarket sales, according to the trade publication Progressive Grocer. If you team store-bought mustard with sports and entertainment concession sales, yellow mustard leads the league. It is a taste everyone is familiar with.
“Wherever I go, people will tell me some mustard story,” Plochman says. “How they remember it from the ballpark, how they use it, how their Aunt Millie makes it. People who buy mustard don’t think it is boring or ordinary.”
Bertman knows the hold mustard has on the imagination. Her father began making their Ball Park mustard in 1925, and in 1933 it became the official mustard at Cleveland Indians games. Just this month she received a call from a man in Greensboro, N.C., who said he had been trying to track down the mustard he remembered eating at Cleveland Municipal Stadium 25 years ago.
“That’s the kind of loyalty people develop,” she says.
So think about that this summer: When it is time to dress a hot dog or season a back-yard hamburger, then it is time to show our true color.
Yellow.
KNOW YOUR MUSTARD
Here are some mustard facts, gathered from the Association For Dressings and Sauces and Reckitt & Colman Inc., makers of French’s mustards:
– Although Asia and the Mediterranean are the original regions where mustard grew, most of today’s mustard is cultivated in Canada and the United States.
– White mustard seeds are used to make yellow mustard; the color comes from turmeric. Spicy mustards come from brown mustard seeds. The powdered mustard seed is mixed with vinegar, water, sugar and spices, depending on the style of mustard being produced.
– Mustard is the No. 1 condiment served at ballpark concession stands. The baseball phrase “Put some mustard on the ball!” means to put some power into a throw.
– The mustard plant is in the same family as radishes and horseradish, so they come by their peppery flavor naturally. But the pungent flavor is not released until the seeds are broken and liquid is added.
BAKED HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN THIGHS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Developed in the Tribune test kitchen.
3 tablespoons each: honey, yellow mustard
8 chicken thighs, rinsed, patted dry
Salt, freshly ground pepper
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup Italian herb seasoning mix
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine honey and mustard in small bowl. Brush over chicken thighs. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Combine bread crumbs and seasoning mix on plate. Roll chicken in crumbs to coat.
3. Place chicken thighs in greased baking pan. Bake until juices run clear, about 30 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 580 Fat ……….. 23 g Saturated fat … 6 g
% calories from fat .. 36 Cholesterol .. 115 mg Sodium ……. 715 mg
Carbohydrates …… 53 g Protein …….. 39 g Fiber ……… 1.8 g
DR. BARBECUE’S CAROLINA MUSTARD SAUCE
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Standing time: 1 hour
Yield: 1 3/4 cups
Barbecue sauce styles vary across the U.S., but travelers know they are in South Carolina when they come across the yellow sauce that uses mustard as its base. Use this recipe to baste pork or chicken. Adapted from The Ultimate Barbecue Sauce Cookbook.
3/4 cup each: yellow mustard, red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1. Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan. Heat to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 30 minutes.
2. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Refrigerate unused sauce up to several weeks.
Nutrition information per tablespoon:
Calories …………. 16 Fat ………. 0.7 g Saturated fat .. 0.3 g
% calories from fat .. 38 Cholesterol … 1 mg Sodium …….. 255 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 2.4 g Protein …… 0.3 g Fiber ………. 0.2 g
DEVILED EGGS
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Chilling time: 30 minutes
Yield: 20 egg halves
These picnic standbys get a kick from hot sauce and plenty of mustard. Developed in Tribune test kitchen.
10 large eggs
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons each: yellow mustard, chopped chives
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1. Place eggs in large saucepan with cool water to cover. Cover pan; heat to boil over high heat. Remove from heat; let eggs sit in water 8 minutes.
2. Cool eggs under cold running water; peel. Slice in half lengthwise. Put yolks in medium bowl.
3. Stir together yolks, mayonnaise, mustard, chives, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, salt and hot pepper sauce until smooth. Cover bowl; refrigerate 30 minutes.
4. Spoon or pipe mixture through pastry bag into egg white halves. Filling also can be placed in sturdy plastic storage bag; snip small hole in one corner and squeeze out filling into egg white. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Nutritional information per half:
Calories …………. 55 Fat ……….. 4.4 g Saturated fat .. 1.1 g
% calories from fat .. 72 Cholesterol .. 110 mg Sodium ……… 95 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 0.6 g Protein ……. 3.3 g Fiber ………… 0 g
MANGO MUSTARD HAM SALAD
Preparation time: 15 minutes
This sweet and tangy salad was developed in the Tribune test kitchen.
1/4 cup mango chutney
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 pound cooked ham, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
Salt, freshly ground pepper
8 slices whole-wheat bread
8 thin slices medium red tomato
Lettuce leaves
1. Stir together chutney, mustard and mayonnaise in large bowl. Stir in ham and green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Divide mixture among 4 slices bread. Top each with 2 slices tomato, lettuce leaves and remaining bread.
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories ………… 355 Fat ……….. 14 g Saturated fat .. 3.3 g
% calories from fat .. 34 Cholesterol .. 55 mg Sodium …….. 560 mg
Carbohydrates …… 36 g Protein ……. 24 g Fiber ………… 5 g
