Poupon Grey, Old Style Mustard > Reviews (1)

There are many ways to enjoy mustard. You can eat it hot, mild, sweet, tangy, rich, watered down or…’Old Style’! Old style is very much how I like my Grey Poupon Dijon mustard. And before you ask, no, Grey does not refer to the colour of the stuff, Grey was the name of the man who invented the recipe for this stuff in the late 18th Century. Monsieur Grey teamed up with Monsieur Poupon, who had a bit of money to throw around, and together they started the commercial manufacture of the most famous and authentic Dijon mustard still to be in production.

Authentic is an important word here. Mustard as a condiment has been around for thousands of years. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, all knew and loved it. So mustard has a considerable heritage and deserves respect. Fine mustard is treated with the same respect as all other fine foods in France, at any rate, and this Dijon mustard is ‘appellation controlee’. That means that the origin of the mustard is guaranteed to be Dijon and the quality of the mustard is guaranteed to be very high. So, no cheap imitiations here? Well….no, but the Grey Poupon brand is now marketed under the Kraftfoods umbrella so it doesn’t do to be too romantic about the origins of the spicy stuff in the cute little glass jar with a tricolour sticker on the lid.

And besides, the list of ingredients on the jar is not particularly inspiring or informative: vinegar, mustard seeds, water, salt, sugar and….’flavours’, amongst other things. Not much detail is given about quantities, no herbs are named, no spices are offered up to tempt us in, just ‘flavours’. And which of the three kinds of mustard seed are used here? There are definitely brown ones here, what I am not sure of is whether the lighter ones are white seeds, which are the hottest type, or brown seeds which have been coloured yellow. There do not appear to be any black seeds at all. There is white wine (5%), but who knows which kind? All in all, we have a fairly vague label, short and sweet, not as thorough as it could be and not exactly gourmet stuff.

Ah well, I still love the taste, so I’ll do my best to tell you about it.

The main difference between this ‘old style’ mustard and the more usual Grey Poupon Dijon mustard that you may have seen around is that this one has whole mustard seeds in it, while the classic Dijon is blended to a smooth creaminess. This means that a satisfying, if small, crunch, is added to the Dijon heat. Watch your dentures though, the little seeds can easily get caught in your teeth!

I have to say that I also find this mustard richer and a little fuller in flavour, as well as more attractive in appearance. The Classic is just plain mustard colour. The Old Style contains a mixture of brown and light yellow seeds which give a very pleasant grainy appearance. A good dollop of this Dijon also has a certain body when it sits on your plate beside, say, some excellent cheddar or ham. The texture of the whole seeds also seems to me to mitigate the heat of the mustard a little, so if you have been working your way into things mustardy and you were thinking of trying a nice spicy Dijon, you might like to start with the ‘Old Style’, as it is, I think, a little gentler on the palate than the classic Grey Poupon.

And for the actual taste. Well, it’s hottish. Not nearly as hot as the fiery, peppery Colmans English. A bit hotter than Meaux. But it doesn’t send you racing for the cold water tap, so don’t be too scared of it. It’s a little sweet, but not sugary and not as sweet and sharp as Honeycup. Actually, if you are new to mustard, or think you don’t like it, Grey Poupon Old Style Dijon would be quite a good place to start trying it out. It is vinegary, a little sweet, a bit sour, with a hint of wine. If you stick your nose right in the pot and take a deep sniff it will clear your sinuses. But if you back off a bit you will get a good mouthwatering tantalising aroma of spicy, pepperiness which will make your tongue tingle.

And for uses: smear it under the cheese for a sharply moreish cheese on toast; mix it with mayonnaise and lemon as a relish for gravadlax or smoked mackerel; mash it into potatoes with butter; eat it with a good pork pie; or just shove it on some homemade wholemeal bread with a good wedge of ham – which is what I’ve just done, and which is why there are now crumbs all over my keyboard.

You can buy Grey Poupon Old Style Dijon mustard in all the supermarkets and many good grocery shops. I bought mine in Waitrose where it cost £1.09, but I have seen it in Asda for about 10p less.

Despite the vague label I’m not going to take a star off this mustard because even I will not eat this by the jar, and a little of what you fancy does you good.