Friday, June 12, 2009

Mustard....

Mustard, yes, mustard. For those of you have been following me for a while you know that Max can ask some interesting questions. Well, yesterday, Max asked, "Was mustard invented in the United States?". Not knowing the answer I decided to do a little research.

The Greeks used mustard as a condiment and drug. The Romans were the first to use it for true culinary purposes, grinding the seed and mixing it with wine, vinegar, oil and honey. The mustard flour mixture was stored as a dry ball. Pope John XXII loved mustard so much he had his own mustard maker, a nephew near Dijon, France.

In 1720, Mrs. Clements of Durham, England prepared mustard as a powder. The year 1777 was the start of mustard making as we know it today when Grey and Poupon started their company. They used Grey's recipe and Poupon's money. In 1904, George J. French founded French's Mustard.

There are two variety of mustard, white(yellow) and black(brown). Most of the mustard seed used in Dijon, France is grown in the United Stated and Canada. Mustard plants produce 1000lbs of seeds per acre and over 700 million pounds of mustard are consumed world wide each year. For you mustard fans, you can visit The Mustard Museum in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin with over 3500 varieties of mustard.

Even Jesus had something to say about mustard. "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in it's shade" (Mark 4:30).

There you have it.....Thank's Max, I always learn something when I answer your somewhat out there questions!

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1 comment:

Rebecca said...

And next week....Ketchup! Thanks Max!

R :)