For recorded history, and probably, therefore, for a long time before that, people have been using mustard for seasoning. Click below for some fun facts:
- Abraham is said to have served tongue with mustard.
- The Egyptians are said to have eaten mustard seeds by chewing them along with meat.
- 6th century BC: Pythagoras mentioned mustard as a cure for scorpion bites.
- 6th Century BC: The story of Buddha, the lady, and the mustard seed.
- 500 BC: Aristophanes wrote of mustard-spiced stews.
- 200 BC: The Roman playwright, Plautus, in Pseudolus, has the cook saying: "It is rubbed with criminal mustard, which burns the eyes of those who grate it."
- 1st Century AD: Pliny the Elder claimed that mustard would improve lazy housewives.
- 9th Century AD: During Charlemagne’s reign, mustard was cultivated on imperial lands and in the monasteries in Paris.
- 1758: We have found unconfirmed references that Benjamin Franklin was responsible for bringing mustard to the United States.
There are several theories to the origin of the term "Mustard", one that dates back to Roman times based on the use of "Must" or unfermented wine to make mustard. Two other theories come from the town motto of the town of Dijon France. Originally mustard was called Sinapis. Some students claim that during Roman times the word Sinapis started to be replaced by words such as Mustum, Mustarum, and Mustardum as new wine, or "Must" was mixed with mustard seeds to make a paste.
More recent theories come from France. In one, the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold, gave the town of Dijon a coat of arms in 1382 with the motto "MOULT ME TARDE" (based on Multum Ardeo – I ardently desire). As the story goes, the motto was adopted by the town’s many mustard-makers, who eventually shortened it into Moul-tarde (to burn much).
Similarly, another story has it that the motto was given the citizens of Dijon by King Charles VI. In this version, the motto "MOULT ME TARDE" meant "Off to Battle." A humorous side note on this story was that some opponents of the Dijon army saw the motto but missed the "ME," in the middle, and came to believe they were dealing with an army of mustard-makers.
Currently Canada is the world’s largest producer of mustard seed. You can find Canadian mustard seed used in mustard factories in France and Germany as well as in North America.
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