HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

French's is an American brand of prepared mustards, condiments, fried onions, and other food items, best known for their popular yellow mustard. Created by Robert Timothy French, French's "Cream Salad Brand" mustard debuted to the world at the 1904
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
. By 1921, French's Mustard had adopted its trademark pennant and begun advertising to the general public. French's is now owned by McCormick & Company.


History

Brothers Robert and George French bought a flour mill in 1883 in
Fairport, New York Fairport is a village (New York), village in the town (New York), town of Perinton, New York, Perinton, part of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, New York (state), New York, United States. Fairport is a suburb of Rochester, New York, Roche ...
. It burned down in 1884 and they relocated to
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
. They named their new mill the R.T. French Company. Robert French died in 1893 and George became company president. George (who developed the creamy yellow mustard) and another brother, Francis, introduced French's mustard in 1904. In 1926, French's was sold to J. & J. Colman of the United Kingdom, a company that produced its own mustard brand, and home care products such as Lysol, Reckitt's Blue and Brasso. In 1928, the ''Atlantis Sales Corporation'' was formed as a subsidiary of R. T. French to handle sales and distribution of French's, Reckitt, and Colman products. Atlantis remained a separate entity through the 1950s. In 1960, French's purchased L.C. Forman and Sons Pickle Company of Pittsford, New York. Forman produced a variety of pickle products, including a well-known piccalilli relish. In 1965, French's introduced a new line of "Cattlemen’s" barbecue sauce. The line was inaugurated with the trip of a horse-drawn " chuck wagon" from
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, across
upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...
to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and then to
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Pennsylvania, in June, 1965. In 1970, the company purchased Widmer Wine Cellars of Naples, New York. The winery was sold in 1983. In 1971 the company announced construction of a new plant in
Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
, which would "ultimately result in the termination of manufacturing operations in Rochester." The headquarters, however, was expected to remain. In 1985, the company sold its instant potato operations in Shelley, Idaho, to Pillsbury. In 1986, Reckitt & Colman acquired Durkee Famous Foods; in 1987 and consolidated headquarters in New Jersey. Durkee's French onions became French's crispy fried onions. In 1999, Reckitt & Colman merged with Benckiser NV to form
Reckitt Benckiser Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, currently branded as Reckitt, formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition prod ...
. In 2017, McCormick & Company acquired French's from Reckitt Benckiser. For many years, the fictitious "Carol French" was the face of the company. Her name appeared on numerous recipes and cookbooks, the oldest of which may be ''Dining Delights'' from 1948.


Locations

Until 1987, French's headquarters was located in
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
. The headquarters is now located in Chester, New Jersey. During its heyday, French's was a sponsor of the local weather forecast, featuring its address prominently in television advertising. They also were a prominent sponsor of the
Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...
baseball club, often in conjunction with a local brand of hot dogs, Zweigle's. The former headquarters location at 1 Mustard Street is now home to a variety of professional offices and public agencies. French's also had facilities in Shelley, Idaho, for potato products. A plant in Souderton, Pennsylvania, was constructed in 1957 and closed in the 1990s. A plant in
Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
, closed in 1994. Manufacturing operations were consolidated in
Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
.


Products

Historically, R. T. French variously manufactured a line of spices and extracts, condiments, pickle products, sauces and gravy mixes, instant potato products, and pet care products, in particular canary and parakeet seeds. As of 2016, supermarkets stock French's mustards, its popular line of French's
fried onion Fried onions are slices of onions that are either pan fried (sautéed) or deep fried — and consumed as a popular snack food, garnish, or vegetable accompaniment to various recipes. Sautéed onions Common fried onions are cooked by basic pa ...
s,
Worcestershire sauce Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce (UK: ) is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century ...
, a line of
mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...
-based products, ketchup, barbecue sauce, potato sticks, and fried
jalapeño The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper Fruit, pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and wide, and hangs down from the plant. The pungency of jalapeño peppers varies, but is usual ...
s.


French's "heir"

In 1981, a man named Rodney Moquin was convicted of defrauding a number of people, claiming he was heir to the French's Mustard fortune. He accumulated over $40,000 in goods and real-estate () before his arrest.


See also

* List of mustard brands


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Collection of mid-twentieth century advertising featuring French's products
from the TJS Labs Gallery of Graphic Design.
R.T. French and the Fairport Connection
{{Portal bar, Food, New York (state) Reckitt brands Brand name condiments Mustard brands History of Rochester, New York Products introduced in 1904 American brands 2017 mergers and acquisitions McCormick & Company brands