It is Sunday, July 3rd and nothing is open today. Some of the restaurants are even closed. Thank goodness I booked us a tour of La Moutarderie (Mustard Factory). Edward Fallot is the only mustard maker left in Beaune and the Burgundy region today (there used to be over 33, but they have all been swallowed up by the conglomerants). He is also the only mustard maker that is still using real stone grindstones to make his mustard. This adds to the flavor and takes much more time to create.
During the tour we had the opportunity to grind our own Dijon by hand. You start with a mortar and pestle, and then add in the mustard seeds, white wine vinegar and salt, then grind, grind, and grind away. It starts very bitter, then as you open up the seeds and they combine with the other ingredients the heat emerges. When you have broken up most of the seeds, you would need to keep stirring the batch for over 20 minutes for the bitterness to begin to change to the spicy heat of Dijon mustard.We bought some of the mustard, so if you are ever over for dinner, be sure to ask for a sample. However, don’t wait too long; since mustard is my favorite condiment, I am sure it won’t last long.
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