Dijon mustard (french: Moutarde de Dijon) is a traditional

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, named after the town of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, France, which was the center of mustard making in the late Middle Ages and was granted exclusive rights in France in the 17th century. First used in 1336 for the table of King Philip VI, it assumed its current form in 1856 when Jean Naigeon of Dijon replaced the vinegar usually used in prepared mustard with

verjuice Verjuice ( ; from Middle French ''vertjus'' 'green juice') is a highly acidic juice made by pressing unripe grapes, crab-apples or other sour fruit. Sometimes lemon or sorrel juice, herbs or spices are added to change the flavour. In the Mi ...

, the acidic juice of unripe grapes. The main ingredients of the modern condiment are brown mustard seeds (''

Brassica juncea ''Brassica juncea'', commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant. Cultivar ''Brassica juncea'' cultivars can be divided into four major subgroup ...

'') and a mixture of

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...

, vinegar, water, and salt designed to imitate the original verjuice. It can be used as an accompaniment to all meats in its usual form as a paste, or it can be mixed with other ingredients to make a sauce.

Manufacturing process

# Seeds are examined, cleaned, dried, and stored # Seeds are soaked # Seeds are crushed and ground on corundum stone mill # Hulls and bran are sifted out via screening device # Liquids added to the seed flour # Seasonings and/or flavorings are added # Mustard paste is heated and cooled # The mustard is bottled and packed for shipment

Commercial production

In 2008, the Anglo-Dutch group

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

, which had several mustard plants in Europe, closed the '' Amora'' manufacturing plant. Since July 15 2009, Dijon mustard is no longer manufactured and packaged in the town of Dijon, but in the neighbouring town of

Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France. The co ...

, and 80% of mustard seeds used in the manufacture of contemporary Dijon mustard come from Canada. The

Grey Poupon Grey Poupon is a brand of Dijon mustard which originated in Dijon, France. The U.S. rights to the brand were acquired by the Heublein Company, later passing on to Kraft Foods. Grey Poupon became popular in the United States in the late 1970s an ...

mustard brand available in the United States originated in Dijon in 1866.

2022 shortage in France

Due to smaller than usual Canadian crop of mustard seeds in 2021, a shortage of dijon mustard began in France in 2022. The shortfall in Canadian production was caused by a heatwave, attributable to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. The shortage has been exacerbated by stockpiling by consumers.

Geographical indications

Dijon mustard does not have a

protected geographical indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect nam ...

(PGI). 80% of seeds used to make the mustard come from Canada. A 1937 decree ruled that "Dijon mustard" can be used as generic designation and has no link to a specific

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these conte ...

. However, "moutarde de Bourgogne" has a PGI and its seeds have to be produced in Bourgogne.

References

External links

Techniques actuelles de fabrication de la moutarde
– "Contemporary method for the manufacture of the mustard"

{{Condiments Mustard (condiment) Dijon French cuisine