The Greeks used mustard as a condiment and a drug but it was the Romans who first made real culinary use of it by grinding the seeds and mixing the flour with wine, vinegar, oil and honey.  When they moved into Gaul they took mustard plants with them and it was in the rich wine growing region of Burgundy that mustard flourished.

It is reputed that at a festival in 1336 attended by the Duke of Burgundy and his cousin King Philip the Fair, no less than 70 gallons of mustard were eaten.  Reports do not say how pickled the guests were.

Pope John XX11 of Avignon loved mustard so much that he created the post of "Mustard Maker to the Pope," a job he gave to an idle nephew who lived near Dijon.  Dijon soon became the mustard centre of the world and in fact so important was it that in 1634 a law was passed to grant the men of the town the exclusive right to make mustard.

1777 saw the start of mustard making as we know it today as it was in this year that Messieurs Grey and Poupon founded their company.  They used Grey's recipe and Poupon's money!  We still owe a lot to this redoubtable duo as in 1850 their company invented a steam operated grinding machine so ending the era of laborious and back-breaking hand grinding.

Give this healthy condiment a try, on sandwiches, as a rub for roast meats, or even for dipping pretzels, we think you might like it. Click here to see our collection.