At our Innovations trade show last year, the Datassential team served up a surprising food pairing: fruit and mustard. Although the combination made the rounds on TikTok, this trend did not catch on with attendees. Most of those who tried it didn’t want a dollop of mustard near their fruit ever again.
So if you ask last year’s Innovations crowd, mustard doesn’t go with everything, but its versatility is still impressive. Consumer tastes (and recovery from a mustard seed shortage) have aligned to make this the moment for mustard. Consumers want comfort food, but they’re also experimenting with heat, spice, and acidity—all of which can be found in many mustards. Learn how to maximize mustard’s menu potential.
Make Mustard Multipurpose
A little mustard goes a long way. Dot Foods Corporate Chef Tim Gump expects mustard to make a big splash on menus this year for that reason: “Mustard is a great way to enhance flavor profile with minimum effort.”
With continued supply chain uncertainty, an ingredient that can be added in small quantities across menu items is a must for cutting costs and reducing SKUs. Make the most of mustard by including it in multiple offerings. After all, it’s so much more than a condiment. The same mustard on a Cuban sandwich can make a great wet rub or dipping sauce. The whole grain mustard served on a cheese plate can be whipped into a flavorful butter.
Mustard Mix-Ins
Consumers expect more from their comfort food. Mustard could be that little something extra that takes a fried chicken sandwich or charcuterie board to the next level. But not just any old mustard will do. Mixing in different ingredients can add menu intrigue while also getting more mileage out of mustard.
One way to punch up mustard is to throw in jalapeños, creating a spicy mustard to rub on ribs. Offering Thanksgiving specials? Leftover ingredients don’t have to go to waste. Mix cranberries and mustard for the perfect turkey sandwich topping. If back-of-house labor is still an issue, cut out the extra step of mixing ingredients by exploring the bold mustard varieties that have exploded on the market.
Brown, Yellow, Dijon, Grey Poupon …
The universe of mustard is vast and flavorful. When menuing mustard, consider which variety of mustard works best for a particular item. Spicy brown mustard is the standard for deli sandwiches because of its ability to stand up against stacks of meat. Honey mustard’s sweetness and mild tang have made it the optimal dressing and dipping sauce.
If it sounds like we’re contradicting our earlier point about using the same mustard across multiple items, perhaps that’s somewhat true. However, as unique as each mustard is, most of them can be applied throughout the menu. Take Dijon mustard, for example. Savor Imports Corporate Chef Don Turley recommends using Dijon mustard as an adhesive for pork and fish before applying a bread crumb or almond coating. But he also eats Dijon mustard straight with smoked oysters and wheat crackers.
Your Sourcing Solution
Going back to the fruit and mustard, let’s imagine a different scenario. Instead of crowning a slice of pineapple with mustard, what if Datassential had given out hot dogs topped with a condiment that mixed mustard and pineapple sauce? The visual would’ve been much more familiar and the flavors might’ve been better balanced. Whenever chefs play with unexpected combinations, familiarity and balance are key to broad appeal.
Condiment, sauce, dressing, marinade, dip—however you decide to make use of mustard, get your mustard from Dot Foods. Discover several brands and flavors today on our website.
Dot Foods customers can discover a whole universe of mustard.