The American novelist, Henry Miller, once said that Americans can eat garbage, provided you sprinkle it liberally with ketchup, mustard, chilli sauce, Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper or any other condiment which destroys the original flavour of the dish. While one may or may not agree with the veracity of this statement, when it comes to the ‘King of Condiments’ most agree that the title goes to the ever popular mustard.

Of course, there will always be those who believe that ketchup is the more versatile of the two, but there is no doubt that mustard has a lot more character.

Depending on its origin, mustard can be sweet or spicy, mild or bold; its devoted fans describe it as being charismatic, dynamic and full of zest, and so it is, for what is roast beef, corned beef or Hunter’s beef without mustard! Without some snappy mustard on it, a hot dog would be nothing but a sad little sausage sitting in a roll.

Native to western Asia and Europe, the mustard plant is now grown in many parts of the world. There is recorded evidence that 7,000 years ago in India, the mustard seed was regarded as the seed of ‘fertility’. It was widely used in Africa and China, by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and for medicinal purposes by ancient physicians including Hippocrates.

The Romans took mustard to Gaul where the French fell in love with it; the town of Dijon in France is said to have begun making its now famous prepared mustard as early as the 13th century. In 1720 a Mrs. Clements of Durham, England began milling the white or brown mustard seed into a fine flour which later became the standard industrialised process for using mustard as a seasoning and for preparing a hot and pungent mustard paste. In 1804, Jeremiah Colman started producing his now famous mustard, which is still prepared by a similar process.

You can’t fool around with English mustard for it is as deceptive as wasabi, which is why, if you notice, English mustard comes in smaller packages as compared to American types which are made with white mustard seeds that produce a mild sweetish condiment.

The English prefer the smooth, pale variety consisting of finely powdered English mustard combined with ground horseradish root, wine vinegar and salt. It is on the hot side, pungent and tangy, the ideal complement to both cold or hot roast beef and roasted vegetables.

The French continued to make it with brown mustard seeds, adding to it wine vinegar or grape juice, producing a sharp, pungent mustard (but less so than the English variety), known as Dijon and Bordeaux. This not only goes well with meat, chicken and veggies but is also used in salsa dressings or as dips.

The Dutch like their mustards dark, spiced and flecked with specks of seed. They generally have a mild biting and sour flavour that goes well with meat, cheese or sausage and is sometimes even used in soups. Some German and Austrian mustards are hot, while some are heavily sugared. Usually dark and grainy, they contain spirit vinegar, salt and spices which leave a lingering after-burn.

Irish or pub mustard is grainy and thick; though mild it is richly flavoured with a combination of apple juice, vinegar, herbs and spices, and a touch of sugar. Polish mustards are dark, flecked with spices, combined with horseradish and hence quite pungent.

Russian mustards are generally made with black mustard seed (the fieriest), water, sugar, oil, salt, vinegar, bay leaves, and black pepper. The Scottish use whole mustard seeds, leeks, wine vinegar and sea salt which delivers a mild mustard used as a relish with hot or cold meals. The Swedes add white vinegar, heavy cream and vegetable oil to make a pungent but mild and sweet mustard to go with salmon, potatoes and meatballs.

Americans too, take mustard very seriously. A French bistro in Brooklyn called Moutarde (used in a scene in the movie Julie & Julia) is a shrine to mustard. Mustard jars on shelves adorn the walls throughout the restaurant. Nearly all the recipes contain mustard and instead of the usual bread and butter, diners get a ceramic palette daubed with various mustards.

According to Alexandre Dumas, Louis XI kept his own pot of mustard with him most of the time, when he visited friends unannounced. Pope John XXII, during the time the papacy was located in Avignon, France was said to be highly appreciative of mustard. But you don’t have to be the Pope or even royalty to appreciate good mustard.

If you are a once-in-a-blue-moon hot dog type person who timidly dabs some mild mustard on the sausage, pep up your life with all the different types of mustard. Make a honey-mayo-mustard dip for chicken nuggets, sandwiches get an oomph with French or English mustard. Smear some wholegrain mustard on your fish fillet burgers or fish steaks. Dijon mustard adds a kick to your beef burgers and vegetarians don’t need to feel left out for mustard goes very well with baked veggie and veg and cheese fillings. Like they say, can’t cut the mustard!