Mustard is running out in France

Mustard is running out in France

In recent weeks, mustard sauce, one of the most commonly used condiments in traditional cooking, has become scarce on the shelves of many French supermarkets: some stores have posted notices explaining that purchases are limited to one or a few jars per person. The shortage of the typically French sauce is determined by the shortage of mustard seeds, the harvest of which was affected by the climate last year: according to the specialized research institute IRI, the price of the sauce has already risen by more than 9 percent in comparison to the same period last year, and it is expected to become even more expensive and difficult to find in the times to come.

Mustard sauce is made from mustard seeds – brown or yellow – that are powdered and dissolved with water, must, vinegar or lemon juice and then flavored with flavors and spices. The final product is a yellow paste with a more or less savory taste, used to flavor various dishes but also to dress sandwiches or salads. Among the different mustards produced in France, the best known is Dijon mustard, which was produced as early as the 16th century; There are also many other varieties that are particularly produced and widely distributed in Northern Europe, for example in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Most of the seeds used to make French mustard are imported from Canada, which is a major producer of mustard seeds along with Nepal and Russia. The problem is that the prolonged drought that hit the western part of Canada in 2021 seriously affected mustard seed production: it fell from 135,000 tons in August 2020 to 99,000 tons collected in the same month of the following year. summarizes Le Figaro and according to estimates by the Canadian government this year will reach a maximum of 71,000 tons.

Mustard is running out in France

(John Cummings, Wikimedia Commons)

Things were also not going well for the mustard seed crops in Burgundy, the region around Dijon, the area of ​​France where they are produced the most: due to wet winters and cold springs in recent years, production has been steadily declining, with 12,000 tons being produced in 2016 to 4,000 tons this year, resulting in a sharp price increase from 800 euros to 1,300 euros per ton.

In order to at least partially compensate for the scarcity of seeds, various French producers originally thought of increasing imports from Russia and Ukraine: an initiative that understandably could not be carried out due to the ongoing war.

Luc Vondermaeson, chief operating officer of Reine de Dijon, the third largest mustard producer in France, told the BBC that production was 20 to 25 per cent below the norm. Manufacturer Edmond Fallot, also from Burgundy, added that in addition to the problems with the availability of the raw material, there were also problems related to the scarcity of glass, paper and cardboard, which would slow down production and further increase prices for the product.

– Also read: America’s favorite spice