My afternoon snack of sliced ring bologna on crackers needed a little oomph. So I opened the fridge and looked for some mustard. Zatarain's Creole mustard didn't seem quite right -- I keep that around for sandwiches. Gulden's, my default hot dog mustard, didn't appeal either. And I sure didn't want the bright-yellow stuff I buy for the kids. But the search made me curious. I ended by doing an inventory. Turns out there were only eight mustards in my fridge.
I bought The Silver Palate Sweet & Rough Mustard when it appeared in the bargain bin at Randall's. It's been sitting in my fridge for at least a year. It tastes like a dessert topping. (No wonder it was on sale.) Mister Mustard was my dad's favorite. I keep some around out of nostalgia -- it tastes a lot like yellow mustard, only hotter. Grey Poupon is my standard vinaigrette mustard. I always use a tablespoon of Dijon in my salad dressing.
I ended up with Polish mustard on my bologna crackers. The Polish company called Vavel makes some awesome mustards. My favorite is made with horseradish and has a picture of a woman crying on the label; this variety is so hot, you have to use it very sparingly. I picked up the Vavel Chocimska because Phoenicia was out of the horseradish kind. The Chocimska says "super hot" on the label, but it isn't. It has a strange flavor --it's made with both regular mustard and a wild mustard weed called "charlock."
So, looks like I need to go mustard shopping again soon. Any recommendations?