ds nitrogen to soil and helps keep the dirt in place during heavy winter rains. The golden flowers should find themselves quite at home in Napa's vineyards. The very word "mustard" derives from the way the Romans prepared the condiment, mixing the powder from ground mustard seeds with unfermented wine, also called must or verjus.
Although mustard seeds have been unearthed from Egyptian tombs, it seems that the first written records of the spice as a condiment weren't made until the 14th century. Most notably, the city of Dijon restricted the condiment's ingredients exclusively to high-quality vinegar and mustard seeds. Mustard has evolved since then, however, especially in the United States, where, oddly, no federal standard defines what constitutes a mustard, although ketchup is not so neglected.
As new mustard condiments become more creative, some are also getting more honest. Robert Curry, executive chef of Auberge du Soleil and host chef of this year's festival, explains that since the 1990s there has been a trend toward making better mustard more accessible. "Instead of being this kind of bland, plain, American mustard, it's gone to a stronger, Dijon-style mustard that you'd recognize on your grocery shelf. There's more acidity now. It's more tangy, more honest, truer to what mustard really is," he comments casually.
But the mustard green itself has always had a solid, honest and sensible presence in regional cuisines worldwide. Peter Pahk, executive chef of Napa's Silverado Resort and winner of last year's People's Choice Chef Award, focuses on the mustard green as a soul food, cheap and slow cooking. He remembers his mother pickling mustard greens to make kimchi. Although the Korean dish is traditionally made with cabbage, mustard was widely and cheaply available where Pahk grew up with modest means on the island of Oahu.
Later, as a longtime employee of the international Ritz-Carlton, he tasted different regional preparations of mustard greens, from the Philippines, where it's often braised, to Singapore and Hong Kong, where it's stir fried with dried shrimp and fermented black bean sauce, to the American South, where it's braised again, but with beans and pork.
Mustard's identity, however defined, is transcendent. Gritty Manhattan street vendors offer steaming potato knishes, which they'll slice deeply into, generously filling the void with day-glo yellow mustard squeezed from a French's container. But whether zigzagged across a ballpark dog or piled into a thimble-sized bowl between charcuterie and cornichons, it unifies us, or at least, our palates. And rest assured. Says Pahk of the Great Unifier, "It's not going away."
Fields of Fire
Napa Valley Mustard Festival: a quick glance
Mustard, Mud and Music Spend a lazy day quaffing wine and listening to jazz in this darling hot springs town at the top of the Napa Valley on Saturday, March 11, in downtown Calistoga. 11am to 4pm. $10 includes music and first five winetastings. 707.942.6333.
Spicy Competition The international crème de la crème of mustard contests is "the competition for mustard makers," according to Barry Levensen, judging coordinator for the contest. Levensen curates Wisconsin's irreverent Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum, and makes a point to sign all his correspondence "Condimentally yours." This year, the festival received 350 mustard entries for its Worldwide Mustard Competition, far more than any previous year. The black-tie event also includes a chef's competition. Meet the men and women under the toques, when 18 chefs vie to win the People's Choice Award or the Critic's Choice Award for mustard-focused recipes. Moutardiers and chefs abound at the awards on Friday, March 17, at the Lincoln Theater. 100 California Drive, Yountville. 7pm to 10pm. $100-$150. 707.944.1300.
Tongue Sizzles Tasting mustards from around the world is set to the tunes of internationally acclaimed pianist Henry Butler, a musician from New Orleans. Other Naw'lins-inspired musical treats slated are swamp-boogie, blues and zydeco music (a portion of the festival's proceeds will be