I made myself a ham and cheese sandwich with a healthy dose of Bookbinder’s Whole-Grain Mustard. This mustard is my favorite intersection between “great mustard” and “easy to find.” It’s great on a sandwich, it’s great in a marinade, and I usually mix it with a little olive oil and use it as a dressing for green beans.
It prompted me to write this Tweet:
Cheapest way to vastly improve your standard of living: buy the $9 mustard instead of the $3 mustard.
— Andy Ihnatko (@Ihnatko)
In retrospect, I think Bookbinder’s is like a $5-$6 mustard at my local store. But the principle is the same. You can’t afford to buy a $72,000 Audi instead of a $24,000 Toyota. But chances are that you can afford the fancy kind of mustard and the difference in flavor between a good one and a standard brown or yellow one is amazing.
A couple of people replied with the names of their favorite mustards, and then I encouraged everyone else to chime in. I feel as though it’s now my civic duty to record for posterity this list of Mustards that Someone Felt Worthy of Recommending. Here are the five that caught my eye (ones I sure intend to try):
- Raye’s Mustards. Handmade (“Since 1900”) in Maine. A wide line that includes beer mustard, wine mustard, and cranberry mustard.
- Maille. Holy cats these look like fancy-shmancy mustards. They’re not all $43 a jar but oh my god there’s mustard that’s $43 a jar! But this one got many recommendations and after looking at the selection…my curiosity is piqued. This is maybe the Bugatti Veyron of mustards and even so: hey, I got $43.
- Düsseldorfer Löwensenf. They’re Germans and they’ve been making mustard for a mighty long time. Also some interesting flavor varieties here.
- Kosciusko Spicy Brown. It seems like a straightforward, non-fussy but excellent mustard. And although the name doesn’t even have even one umlaut, let alone two, there’s something about it that creates a sense of confidence.
- Sir Kensington’s Spicy Brown. Well, okay: you can’t possibly get a less ethnic brandname than “Sir Kensington.” But it’s well-spoken-of.
And these are all winners! Because each was so well-liked that someone chose to recommend it.
@Ihnatko Gulden’s Spicy Brown
— Kristen (@laurakris10)
@Ihnatko https://t.co/wUT4Nu7PB5
— davemanning (@davemanning)
@Ihnatko wasabi–mixed with soy.
— Jim Leitner (@JimLeitner)
@Ihnatko Plochman’s Premium Chili Dog Mustard #FaveMustard
— Ryan Cates (@ryancates)
@Ihnatko just about anything made by Raye’s Mustard in Eastport, ME. Especially Jameson Tavern, Top Dog, and Dundicott Hot.
— Chris Choate (@ChoateFirm)
@Ihnatko Mucky Duck #favemustard pic.twitter.com/O9tKHdO98H
— Scott Magoon (@scottmag)
@Ihnatko Gouldens, or Trader Joe’s looks-similar-but-more-punch
— Andrew Laurence (@atlauren)
@Ihnatko Maille Fins Gourmet https://t.co/qn35ngCUX7 #FaveMustard
— Martin Warne (@mwarne)
@Ihnatko Another vote for Stadium Mustard and Inglehoffer Original Stone Ground.
— Jonathan Wander (@JMWander)
@Ihnatko Beaver Hot & Sweet. https://t.co/FghgXf6bcl
— ¯\_(?)_/¯ (@wonderyak)
@Ihnatko Maybe not the *best* but the one I can’t live without is Zatarain’s Creole Mustard
— Sarah Dyer (@colorkitten)
@Ihnatko Depends on application. Eg, for some sausages you’ll really want Löwensenf. And then there’s dim sum… #NoOneMustardToRuleThemAll
— Stephan Somogyi (@thinkpanzer)
@Ihnatko grey poupon dijon.
— David U (@durban73)
@Ihnatko another vote for Colemans. You can get it in dry form and just add water. Great product.
— Lou DeBenedetto (@ldebenedetto)
@Ihnatko Keen’s Hot Mustard!! #FaveMustard
— Tony Scicchitano (@papaskitch)
@Ihnatko Maille original dijon. (as a side note, I surprised myself at how quickly I answered that).
— Chris McIntyre (@chrismac4u)
@Ihnatko Kosciusko Spicy Brown (local brand) #FaveMustard
— Rob G. (@buckalum93)
@Ihnatko [hides his dollar store mustard]
— Clayton Hove (@adtothebone)
@Ihnatko Honeycup. Sweet + spicy heaven.
— Amanda (@furmanda)
@Ihnatko French’s Yellow Mustard. Without shame. #FaveMustard
— Couch McStarguy (@couchguy)
@Ihnatko sir kensington’s spicy brown mustard
— Raymond (@rammag77)
@Ihnatko savora
— Richard Mander (@daddyruffe)
@Ihnatko Kozlik’s, XXX Hot for him, curried for me.
— penelope schofield (@penelope_sch)
@Ihnatko Loss of good ones, but Guldens is the all-around best.
— Ed Leafe (@EdLeafe)
@Ihnatko Nathan’s
— Dave Hunt (@aliendave)
@Ihnatko Stadium Mustard
— Jacob (@artnchicken)
@Ihnatko Stadium Mustard, aka “Bertman Original Ballpark Mustard”. #FaveMustard
— Jim Metzendorf (@jmetzendorf)
@Ihnatko the mustard from the legendary Philippes in LA: https://t.co/pa9tXzQ8w1
— Andrew Salter (@aksalter)
@Ihnatko the only Dijon mustard I like is Suzie’s, from Whole Foods.
— whimsy. (@ladywhimsy)
@Ihnatko Beaver Sweet Hot – https://t.co/9QMNz6KmZL
— Benjamin Glickman (@Ben_Glickman)
Ingellhoffer sweet hot and stone ground. Hard to pick a #FaveMustard @Ihnatko
— Neil Faulconer (@NeilFaulconer)
@Ihnatko Bautz’ner Senf, named after a city in east Germany https://t.co/prObr6cXZd
— Steffen (@steffengrahl)
@Ihnatko Check out Schaller & Weber in NYC. Fantastic German butcher shop and a mustard selection like no other.
— Tony Ricciardi (@TonyRicciardi)
@Ihnatko Gulden’s for Yellow. Annie’s Naturals for Dijon. #FaveMustard
— hawkmankt (@hawkmankt)
@Ihnatko https://t.co/lCx5OZanmV
— Martin Harmer (@mjharmer)
@Ihnatko Moutarde de Meaux Pommery
— Sunn (@SunnJax)
@Ihnatko Inglehoffer Sweet Hot
— Hullo (@hullopillow)
@Ihnatko Maille Old Style whole grain Dijon
— spoke (@spoke)
YES. Any of these depending on the meats & cheeses served of course. https://t.co/2Xdd07PIxt But I love tapped. https://t.co/bNulC3nRiJ
— ? Beauty ? (@BeautyBubble)
@Ihnatko French’s Yellow Mustard #FaveMustard #MBWFan
— Paul Gunton (@sailorlion)
@Ihnatko the best mustard I’ve ever had is right here https://t.co/FsLpLX5Ewh
— Mark McFall (@RMarkMcFall)
@Ihnatko Heinz green mustard.
— Jon (@_JonLeach)
@Ihnatko Wholegrain with Irish whiskey.
— Miche Doherty (@miche)
@Ihnatko coleman’s English mustard is the best! Although I don’t know if you get it in the US
— Karlos (@karlnicholson)
@Ihnatko inglehoffer sweet hot
— Dick Dago (@DickDago)
@Ihnatko Sandwich Pal sweet and spicy. Also the truffle mustard that the olive oil store in St. Helena, CA sells.
— Colin Weir (@radiocolin)
or better yet, just get the @jrsbbq mustard. Best Damn mustard i tried yet. https://t.co/wbftWjB3xH
— TheOreoMonster (@monkeypusher69)
@Ihnatko https://t.co/Q5FDgEz7Mx
— colemaco (@colemaco)
@Ihnatko Ba-Tampte delicatessen style is undeniably the best mustard
— Smartyboots (@smartyboots)
@Ihnatko I’d also recommend Colmans of Norwich Original English Mustard for a good, spicy english mustard.
— ? Maggot McFear ? (@tankgrrl)