France is one of the countries in the world that consumes the most mustard. The average French person eats around one kilo a year, according to the Association moutarde de Bourgogne (AMB).
During the spring and summer, however, it has been difficult to find the popular flavoring in grocery stores, and where it can be found, prices have risen by over 13 percent, according to research firm IRI France.
Forced to change the menu
Even French restaurants have difficulty getting hold of mustard, to the mild degree that some restaurants have been forced to change the menu. At La Petit Bouchon de la Place in Lyon, mustard has been removed from some dishes.
“We usually serve ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard with our homemade fries, but now we only serve ketchup and mayonnaise,” says restaurateur Rebecca Guyon to the French media company BFMTV.
— We save the small amount of mustard that we manage to get hold of for dishes that really must have it, such as andouillette.
The reason for the shortage is the drought that hit Canada last summer and led to a very poor harvest, French media reports. France imports about 80 percent of the seeds used in the production of mustard from Canada. The war in Ukraine also affects supply, as Russia and Ukraine are the world’s second and fifth largest exporters of mustard seeds.
Mustard in long rows in Dijon, France, this spring. But now the supply is running out. Stock photography. Dijon mustard from Canada
The classic Dijon mustard, which has made the city of Dijon world famous, has therefore been manufactured for many years from mustard seeds that come from countries other than France, and then mainly from Canada. The actual production, however, still mainly takes place in the Burgundy region where Dijon is located. The name Moutarde de Dijon is not a protected designation, which means that Dijon mustard can in principle be produced anywhere in the world. That said, around 50 percent of all mustard consumed in Europe, and 90 percent consumed in France, is produced in Burgundy, according to the French Ministry of Agriculture.
In France, they are now trying to find different ways to counteract this mustard shortage. In the media, people suggest different substitute products that can be used as flavoring agents, among other things horseradish and wasabi are suggested, and various sauces such as Worcestershire and vinaigrette are suggested for the piece of meat.
Too little production
There are some smaller French producers growing mustard plants on French soil and this year the harvest has been unusually good. François Lorin in Eure-et-Loire has increased the harvest by a third.
“It’s good, but it doesn’t fundamentally change anything,” he tells BFMTV.
The small producers produce too little to be able to fill the shelves of the large grocery chains, but those products usually end up in local delicatessens and luxury restaurants.