Williams-Sonoma is a store that houses a variety of kitchen ware and ‘gourmet’ foods. A shop for those that need tweaky kitchen utensils or are looking for interesting food materials such as: sauce-bases, pepper, salt, batter mixes, and so on. In the downtown area of where I live the Williams-Sonoma has been a long-time fixture. Recently I went there and picked up this container of Whole-Grain Mustard. It’s Williams-Sonoma branded. I tried looking for it online to get a link to it, but I couldn’t find any. Maybe it was a limited release or discontinued? Not sure.
Anyway. This mustard comes in probably the most interesting mustard jar I’ve seen. It’s super solid and has, instead of a lid, a cork with a nice design on it.
Had to use a knife to pop it open. The inside is expected: filled with mustard!
The mustard has a sort of muddy-creamy texture. Of course, it’s filled with that grainy bits true to title. It’s not runny—it’s thick. Not really something to dip into if you’re fan of dipping roast veg or fries into mustard. It doesn’t have that type of consistency. And the flavor is…well, no good for that either.
Like Dijon Mustard, the Williams-Sonoma is made with white wine. I suppose it’s a Dijon-relative then. Whatever. Point is: it has that edgy, sort of vinegary, component to it.
And by component I mean that’s all I got from it. I wouldn’t go so far to say it tasted like vinegar, but it was super, super strong. If you’ve ever had some food that was cooked with alcohol or vinegar and all of it didn’t seem to go away in the cooking process, the Williams-Sonoma Whole-Grain Mustard has that quality. A vinegar-alcohol-ish sharpness that makes it more inclined to be mixed with something else than to stand alone.
Recommendation:
Some may find this type of flavor overpowering, I did, but some may also find this to be a plus. Kudos to you! Find this mustard if you can. For others…stay away unless you need that flavor profile to make some sauce, dressing, or whatever you need this sort of mustard for. So, basically, if your tastes align with what this mustard has to offer, or it sounds intriguing, go for it. Else I’d say pass.