Düsseldorfer Mostert

Appearance & taste

Düsseldorfer Mostert is creamy and glossy and malty brownish in colour. It contains tiny visible pieces of husk, the Stippen. According to the specification, its special feature is the hot, malty, spicy flavour, which comes from the mustard husks ground three times. The finished mustard has at least 25 % dry matter, a pH below 4.1, more than 2.3 % total acidity and more than 3.5 % salt.

The label carries one of the names Düsseldorfer Mostert, Düsseldorfer Senf Mostert, Düsseldorfer Urtyp Mostert or Aechter Düsseldorfer Mostert. Producers who report their production to the protection association may use its mark with an anchor, a lion and the words “Senfspezialität aus Düsseldorf”.

Production

The ingredients are brown and yellow mustard seeds, unfiltered spirit vinegar made in Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf water, salt, sugar and spices. Preservatives, flavourings and thickeners may not be added.

The cleaned and sieved mustard seeds are first pre-ground separately by colour. They are then mixed cold with salt, sugar, spices, water and vinegar into a brown mustard mash, which is then ground twice, finally with granite stones that smooth and de-aerate the mustard. After a ripening period it develops its hot, malty, spicy aroma and is filled. Because heat and flavour are delicate, the mustard masters on site decide when it is filled. All steps up to filling, packing and labelling take place in Düsseldorf. The minimum durability is only ten months.

Origin & history

The area is the state capital Düsseldorf. The water, the largest ingredient of the mustard, is seeped Rhine water that becomes particularly rich in lime and minerals as it passes through layers of sand and gravel up to 30 metres thick; it is treated by a process developed in Düsseldorf. The spirit vinegar is also made with this water, using an acetic acid bacteria culture from the immediate surroundings of the mustard works that has been in use since 1969.

According to the specification, the first German mustard factory was founded in Düsseldorf in 1726; its speciality was Düsseldorfer Mostert. In 1884 it entered art history with Vincent van Gogh’s “Still Life with Earthenware, Bottle and Box”. In 1896 there were eight mustard factories in the city. At the end of 1920 Otto Frenzel from Lorraine founded a mustard works in which he made a very hot mustard that was light-coloured for the first time; from 1930 the medium-hot Düsseldorfer Tafelsenf followed. Since 1938 mustard from Düsseldorf has been exported to many countries, to the USA as “Genuine Dusseldorf Prepared Mustard”.

In the restaurants and Altbier brewhouses of the city, the mustard is traditionally served in small stoneware pots; in two shops it can be filled loose into containers customers bring along. The mustard from Düsseldorf has a museum of its own. An estimated 65 tonnes of Düsseldorfer Mostert are made each year.