One of my favorite travel destinations is grocery stores. That’s right, local grocery stores and supermarkets – outdoor markets are a whole other category. I love to wander the aisles not necessarily to shop but to see what’s central to eating life in other parts of the world. It’s fascinating to note which sections are super large, i.e. more important to the local cuisine, and vice versa.
In French supermarkets, you’ll see that a huge food category of course is cheese. There are over 300 hundred types of fromage produced in the country so accordingly grocery shoppers have a large selection from which to choose. In the same vein, the French consume lots of yogurt and other dairy products such as fromage blanc and crème fraîche so those rayons (departments) are énormes.
Another large section in French supermarchés is Dijon mustard, or la moutarde de Dijon (Dijon refers both to the place in Burgundy as well as the method of making mustard). Since the French eat lots of salad and since the primary salad dressing in France is la vinaigrette made with mustard, it follows that shoppers would need a lot of it. There’s regular Dijon, mild Dijon, extra strong Dijon, plus the delicious moutarde à l’ancienne with its whole grain seeds. Bien sûr, the French know it’s not just a salad thing; many other French dishes use Dijon mustard in them.
The French know too that not all Dijon mustards are alike. One might be tempted to think that if you’ve tried one brand, you’ve tried them all. With the French brand Maille (pronounced like the English word ‘my’ plus a little ‘yuh’ sound on the end), there is a lot of history and also a fresh new world of mustard out there.
First, the history. Many are not aware of Maille’s distinguished pedigree. Antoine-Claude Maille, a vinegar merchant, gained renown in 1720 when la peste (the plague) ravaged Marseille. His invention of the "Vinaigre aux Quatre Voleurs" (Four Thieves Vinegar) and its antiseptic qualities ended up saving the lives of many Marseillais from the contagion. His son, also named Antoine-Claude Maille, opened a shop in 1747 on the rue Saint-André-des-Arts in Paris (in today’s 6th arrondissement). The quality of his wares – vinegars, mustards and condiments – attracted the highest attention and he soon became the official supplier of vinegars and mustards to European kings and queens, including Louis XV of France.
Robert Maille holding mustard flowers in his hand
His son, Robert Maille continued the family business, and it remained in the family until the 20th century. Today, Maille’s culinary specialists take inspiration for their new products from père Antoine’s notebooks – what an interesting job. The company also continues to use the finest ingredients and artisan methods to produce their offerings. As far as buying from Maille directly, clients have been frequenting the Dijon store since it opened in 1845 and the Paris boutique at La Madeleine in 1996, after it moved from its original location where it had been welcoming customers for nearly 250 years.
I recently spent a whole morning at the Maille boutique in Paris and had the privilege of meeting Frenchman Antoine Budan who currently directs the Maille brand in Paris. We talked about the fact that Maille is one of the best known brands of mustard in France and possibly the world. And while it continues to make award-winning ‘regular’ Dijon mustard, the company has also gone into very creative territory and now showcases inventive flavors and uses for this French staple.
The beautifully appointed shop features dozens of specialty mustards, many not as yet available in supermarkets. (You have to go directly to the source!) Some of the amazing flavors include fines herbes, chablis et girolles (white wine and girolles mushrooms), noix (walnut), tomates séchées et piment d’espelette (sun-dried tomato and spicy Basque pepper), parmesan et basilic (parmesan and basil), cognac, abricot sec et curry (dried apricot and curry), figue et coriandre (fig and cilantro), ail et citron (garlic and lemon). The list goes on and on. In keeping with the French gourmet habit of offering a ‘special collection’ each season, Maille put together the Spring / Summer Collection 2013 which includes three unique mustard flavors: Spicy Basque pepper, Raspberry liqueur and St. Maure cheese. But their most popular flavor hands down continues to be the Honey Mustard with Balsamic Vinegar!
Maille’s Honey Mustard with Balsamic Vinegar – so good you can (almost) eat it with a spoon!
While I was having fun browsing all the mustards – and also the selection of vinegars, oils, vinaigrettes, cornichons, and home accessories – a steady stream of customers flowed into the shop. The French clients seemed to have their shopping list in hand, which often included a purchase from the fresh mustards on tap. This alone is worth a visit to the Maille boutique. On the day that I was there, the moutardes ‘fraîchement’ servies à la pompe included chablis and black truffle mustard, white wine mustard that was hot and spicy, chablis mustard that was hot and fruity, and chardonnay old style mustard. The staff pumps the mustard into small clay pots and then seals them with a cork lid. Once you buy the pot, you can bring it back to be refilled over and over. You can see the process below – and the wonderful staff restocking all those cork lids. I even got to try my hand at working the pump!
Also not to be missed in the boutique are the lovely gift boxes, or coffrets in French, with various selections of products. The kitchen accessories with hand towels, oven mitts and traditional ceramic mustard jars make great gifts as well.
If you’re interested in perusing the inventive Maille mustard flavors, you’ll definitely want to swing by the Paris or Dijon boutiques. It’s a fascinating fresh approach to an old classic. I picked up several of the new flavor mustards on my visit and have found them all to be absolument délicieux.
As I wrapped up my gourmet – and cultural – morning at Maille, I watched baskets of mustard jars being brought up from the cellar. The staff was restocking the boutique after a busy weekend. So many Maille fans had been to the shop that the French mustard had been flying off the shelves!
Below are the addresses for the Dijon and Paris Maille boutiques. They are open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 7pm.
6, place de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris
32, rue de la Liberté, 21000 Dijon
French Take-Out ~ La France à emporter
One of the Maille slogans in recent years has been the French play on words "Il n’y a Maille qui m’aille." Roughly translated, it means "Only Maille works for me!"
You can see many of Maille’s new and classic offerings described on the company’s French website – in French, of course. The U.S. website tells the story of Maille and where to purchase its products stateside. For a real hands-on mustard experience, it also features dozens of recipes using Maille mustards including desserts!