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Mustering up the best of mustard |
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Written by Renee Enna, MCT
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Monday, 14 May 2007 |
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What's that sound? Could it be the sizzle of grills starting to fire up across the land, awaiting hot dogs, brats and burgers? OK, maybe it was just our imagination — but we still thought it was time to test something that will adorn those outdoor delicacies, so we settled on horseradish-spiked mustard.
Horseradish is one of those foodstuffs that send people into extremes. It's not necessarily a love-hate thing, but it most definitely is a love-a-lot-of-it versus love-a-little-of-it. So for purposes of full disclosure, the Good Eating staff members who tasted 10 brands of horseradish mustard are of the sinus-clearing, "bring on the heat!" contingent.
That is partly why French's horseradish mustard scored a close-to-perfect score. But it also was because it had a balanced approach that let the mustard flavor come through. This also applied to our second — and third-place winners, which earned high marks: Countrys Delight (the private label sold at Certified Grocers stores) and Koops', which we purchased at Dominick's.
Here are tasters' comments for the top three. The remaining mustards are listed in order of finish.
THE RESULTS
1. French's (8.2 points. 12 ounces, $3.10; 26 cents per ounce) "Like the sass; tingly heat." "Quite spicy! One of the hottest!" "Great flavorful start with lovely, lingering horseradish sear."
2. Countrys Delight (7.6 points. 12 ounces, $1.28; 11 cents per ounce) "Hot, spicy, nice balance with horseradish kick." "Hot! Good! Yum! Where's the rare roast beef?" "Too much vinegar."
3. Koops' (7 points. 12 ounces, $2.26; 19 cents per ounce) "Decent heat with vinegary snap." "Sweet and sour; filled with fresh horseradish taste." "Sharp, acidic, OK."
ALSO TASTED:
4. Silver Spring Deli Style (6.2 points)
5. Robert Rothschild (5.6)
6. (tie) Inglehoffer Extra Hot, President's Choice Stone-Ground (5.4)
7. Grey Poupon Deli (5)
8. Jack Daniel's (4.6)
9. Annie's Naturals Organic (4.4)
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Products are scored on a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 being highest. Prices are based on what we paid for them at the market and may reflect sales or discounts from frequent-shopper cards. | Only registered users can write comments.
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