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Quick Visual Guide to 5 Mustards

Get to know your favorite zippy condiment.

We held a blind tasting where we sampled the following mustards plain and on hot dogs: yellow, brown, Dijon, coarse/whole-grain, and Creole. Here are our tasting notes on each.

Yellow Mustard

Yellow Mustard: This smooth, mild condiment is made from sweet yellow mustard seeds, which are not particularly spicy. It's the standard “American-style” mustard we reach for to add zip without overwhelming other ingredients.

Brown Mustard

Brown Mustard: Made from smaller, hotter brown mustard seeds, brown mustard packs an assertive, spicy punch. It's thicker and a little more coarse than yellow mustard, but it is still smooth enough to smear on pastrami or rye bread.

Dijon Mustard

Dijon Mustard: Also made from the hotter brown mustard seeds, Dijon mustard packs a wallop of clean, nose-tingling heat. This type of mustard is typically very smooth in texture, making it the ideal choice for salad dressings or creamy sauces.

Coarse/Whole-Grain Mustard

Coarse/Whole-Grain Mustard: These mustards have been ground just enough to bind the seeds into a paste, giving them a coarse texture so each bite provides pops of mustard seeds. They can vary in flavor but typically pack sharp heat cut with some acidity.

Creole Mustard

Creole Mustard: This mustard is coarse and grainy, with a texture somewhere between those of whole-grain and spicy brown mustards. It's “assertively vinegary” in flavor and packs some heat—but not as much as brown mustard or Dijon.

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