No, we have no Grey Poupon!

June 28, 2012 6:08 PM

My family hates the taste of Dijon mustard. But so many recipes that sound delicious include Dijon as an ingredient! Can I just skip the Dijon, or should I substitute something else? And, if so, what?
posted by Malla to food & drink (17 answers total)

Substitute regular mustard
posted by lemur at 6:10 PM on June 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

What about a spicy brown mustard?
posted by Rock Steady at 6:11 PM on June 28, 2012

I don't like Dijon either. I substitute any high-quality, whole-grain mustard.
posted by pupstocks at 6:20 PM on June 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

I find that a lot of things that call for half a teaspoon of dijon mustard don't actually taste that much like dijon mustard. Especially if the intended eaters are OK with the general flavor of mustard, but just don't particularly like dijon. Nobody's palate is that refined.

Example: I'm very meh on mustard in general, but I'm down with a dab of it to stabilize the emulsion of a vinaigrette. The resulting dressing barely tastes like mustard at all.

Then again, if the recipe calls for a half cup of mustard and is called "These Scones Really Cut The Mustard If You Know What I Mean" or "Mustard And Cornstarch Surprise", then maybe you should just find a new recipe.
posted by Sara C. at 6:21 PM on June 28, 2012 [8 favorites]

There's a great mac and cheese recipe that calls for Dijon that is just the greatest, but you really truly get that dijon taste. We've used mustard power, which is suboptimal, but the mustard flavor was still there.
posted by two lights above the sea at 6:29 PM on June 28, 2012

Some Dijon mustards taste good to me and some just… don't. Have you possibly tried different brands? Maybe you hate Grey Poupon but would like Maille, for example.

Otherwise, I'd just substitute a mustard you do like. It might be interesting to try making the same recipe using different mustards to see what you like best.
posted by Lexica at 6:34 PM on June 28, 2012

Is the part you object to the sharp, horseradish-like flavor of Dijon, or is it the mustard-seed element? There's an awful lot of different mustards in the world. Dijon and ballpark mustard aren't your only options.
posted by mhoye at 6:34 PM on June 28, 2012

agree with pupstocks, substitute a quality whole-grain mustard
posted by spinturtle at 6:40 PM on June 28, 2012

Can I just skip the Dijon, or should I substitute something else? And, if so, what?

Dijon mustard adds a few things: moisture (usually not very much, depending on the amount used), acidity (vinegar or dry wine are the usual bases, plus some Dijon mustards include additional acids), pungency (the mustard itself), and color. So depending on what aspects of Dijon bother you, you could use water, vinegar, dry wine, dry mustard, turmeric, etc.

The main difference between Dijon and other types is that it uses wine (or wine vinegar) as the base, and is usually a bit stronger (i.e. more pungent) than typical American mustard. You might try making your own mustard up from mustard powder and a base. Limiting the amount of dry mustard and using a milder base (e.g. dilute vinegar, some honey, and some oil) could do what you need.
posted by jedicus at 6:43 PM on June 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

If you are mixing it into a sauce, fish sauce provides many of the same qualities without tasting like mustard. It sounds weird at first, but it's amazing in cheese sauces, etc.
posted by SakuraK at 7:11 PM on June 28, 2012

Nthing the wholegrain mustard!
posted by hot soup girl at 7:26 PM on June 28, 2012

Jack Daniels makes a mustard I have used in place of dijon. It's pretty strong (for supermarket mustard) but has quite a different "bite" than dijon. But yeah, it's supermarket mustard, not gourmet, so you can find it at an decent supermarket. There are also beer mustards, which I think are somewhat specific to the midwest, but there must be some company that sells beer mustard nationwide.

Anyway, I've substituted it for dijon in various recipes and while it's a different flavor, it's still a good flavor for all the recipes I've tried that call for dijon and the recipes work great.

(I like dijon, my husband doesn't, I had gotten this for sandwiches, ran out of dijon while cooking, and substituted this. Happy with the results!)

Sometimes in the fall (bratwurst season) supermarkets or gourmet shops around here will do mustard tastings (or bratwurst tastings with different mustards, or just brat-and-mustard samples). That could be a good time to experiment. This is how I learned sweet mustards are an offense against God himself.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:11 PM on June 28, 2012

In a lot of recipes with mustard, it's just there as a sort of sharp lively note to brighten up a dish that would otherwise be too dull or rich or heavy. Really, anything tangy or spicy can play that role. Depending on the recipe, you might try black pepper, hot peppers, horseradish, vinegar, wine, worcestershire sauce, lemon or lime juice, or even some sort of hot/sharp/tangy garnish (chopped raw onion, parsley, capers, radish slices, pickle relish....).

But yeah, if it's Dijon specifically that they don't like, sub in another kind of mustard and it'll probably be fine.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:35 PM on June 28, 2012 [3 favorites]

Ah, but have you had Dijon mustard made in France? I promise you it's ever so much better than any made in the U.S. Amazon now carries Amora, which is a wonderful French-made Dijon. You should try it before you give up!
posted by HotToddy at 8:56 PM on June 28, 2012

I agree with Sara C., I don't like the taste of Dijon by itself (it's really really pungent in a vinegary almost metallic way, for me), but there's TONS of recipes I can put it in and don't notice. Like this one, for instance.
posted by agress at 5:14 AM on June 29, 2012

I agree that it depends on the ratio of mustard to other ingredients; if it's a teaspoon going into a quart of other stuff, nobody's going to be able to pinpoint the mustard, much less that it's Dijon. If it's two tablespoons going into only half a cup of other stuff, then you might want to play with substitutes. (Gulden's Spicy Brown is a nice in-between and not actually all that spicy.)
posted by usonian at 5:16 AM on June 29, 2012

It's also used as an emulsifier when oil and water based ingredients need to be mixed, such as in a vinaigrette. It's more common to have around that the other powders, less of a pain than egg yolks, and of course adds flavor. You can use lecithin powder for the same purpose, plus another flavoring ingredient if needed.

I used to hate Dijon completely, but it goes well with some strong flavors. On a burger it works weirdly well. Less strong flavors like a dressing is usually hell for me though. Pepper is similar. Can't stand it.
posted by jwells at 6:33 AM on June 29, 2012 [1 favorite]