Have you ever heard of a mustard sommelier? I hadn’t, but when I found out such a role existed, I was seriously intrigued. I love slathering some deliciously tangy mustard on salmon before roasting or using it as a dip for pigs in a blanket, but I wondered if there was more I could be doing with the beloved condiment.
So I sat down with Brandon Collins, corporate executive chef at Unilever and Maille’s mustard sommelier, to see how I could use each of the four mustards in the Maille variety pack to level up my cooking. It was his baking suggestion that left me truly shook.
What’s So Great About Maille’s Mustard Variety Pack
Before we get to that baking hack, let’s quickly discuss what’s in the Maille Mustard Variety Pack. It comes with four different varieties — Dijon Original, Whole Grain, Rich Country, and Honey Dijon — for $21. For serious mustard fans, this pack offers plenty of different flavors and textures to play with.
I asked Collins for his recommendation on how to easily incorporate each mustard into my everyday cooking, and he delivered. The most surprising idea? Adding Dijon Original or Honey Dijon to brownies. Yep, you heard me right. “What mustard does with chocolate is the same thing that espresso does with chocolate,” Collins says. “It’s there to enhance the chocolate flavor.”
And you don’t even have to make brownies from scratch to try this trick. He says you can just mix a tablespoon into the batter of your favorite boxed mix. So I did, and he’s right: It doesn’t taste like mustard, but it does add a little bit of depth to the chocolate. Maybe it’s because I knew there was mustard in the brownies, but I could swear I tasted a little more umami than I typically would. Catch me casually adding mustard to my brownies from now on.
As for the other mustards in the pack, Collins suggests stirring the Whole Grain into potato salad or adding as a finishing touch on grilled fish. “It adds this beautiful pop of texture,” he says. “I call it mustard caviar.” For the Rich Country, he loves it smeared on a melty ham and cheese sandwich or slathered on chicken or steak before cooking. And for the Dijon Original — apart from brownies — he’s a big fan of making a vinaigrette out of it with red wine or sherry vinegar, diced shallot, and oil. I don’t know about you, but my cooking is about to get a serious upgrade.
Buy: Maille Mustard Variety Pack, $20.96 for four jars at Amazon
What’s your favorite way to use mustard? Tell us about it in the comments below.
