Maille Boutique Place de la Madeleine, Paris. A long way from the 18th century and from Dijon!
Origine de la moutarde de Dijon : l'utilisation du verjus
By the 18th century, Dijon families had established themselves as mustard makers, specializing in replacing vinegar with verjuice. Verjuice (vert-jus or vert-jus) is the acidic juice extracted from imperfectly ripened or unripe grapes (also known as green grapes). Its use declined over time, and by the 17th century it was increasingly replaced by bitter orange or lemon juice. In the early 20th century, verjuice was rediscovered. Verjuice has many uses. The most common is its use in sauces. Other uses for verjuice are little different from those for wine. Today, it can replace lemon juice or vinegar in vinaigrettes, mustards, meat and fish dishes and sauces. It can also be used for deglazing (déglaçage.)
The Grey Pompon brand and what's next with Maille
The Grey Poupon mustard brand was founded in Dijon in 1777, opening a store on the corner of rue du Chapeau-Rouge and rue de la Liberté. Maille mustard was created in 1747 by the famous mustard-maker Antoine-Claude Maille. However, the Maille boutique in Dijon opened in 1845, replacing the Grey Poupon mustard store on both signs and wall plaques.
Maille has long supported its brand with advertising. Their slogan, "il n'y a que maille qui m'aille" ("there's only knitwear that fits me"), is still remembered in every French household. It's a play on words between a knitting stitch called "maille" in French and "m'aille" which means "fits me".
Boutique openings in Paris and abroad
Maille opened its first boutique on rue Saint-André des Arts in Paris. The second boutique, inaugurated in 1996 at 6, place de la Madeleine in Paris, is an exact replica of the historic Dijon boutique. A third boutique, the first outside France, also opened in London at 2 Piccadilly Arcade in 2013.
Finally, two new boutiques opened in France in 2015: the one in the Paris shopping center Carrousel du Louvre inaugurated on May 20, 2015, and the one in the city of Bordeaux, located at 40, cours de l'Intendance and inaugurated on October 23, 2015.
The today Maille House of Paris
In the center of Paris, Place de la Madeleine, sits a beautiful Maille boutique. Here, hundreds of bottles and dozens of beguiling mustards scale the walls with distinctive, complex and audacious flavors to satisfy even the most demanding taste buds. The Maille Mustard Sommelier offers you to taste.
Taking pride of place is a row of gleaming, ingeniously engineered pumps. For it’s here, drawn by hand, that your selection of condiment is freshly filled into earthenware pots and carefully sealed with cork stoppers.
So Maille is not only a mustard manufacturer and distributor. Delicate vinegars, playful vinaigrettes, luxurious tableware and unique gifts for food lovers are also to be found, all accompanied by inspiring food tips and recipes to take home with you. Gift boxes can be taken away for tasting after your return.
The mustard shortage of 2022
In 2022, France suffered a mustard shortage. At Maille, during this period, you'll find a wide range of mustards, oils and vinegars, as well as mustards fresh from the pump... even since the French shortage began. But in limited quantities.
"They only put out 10 kilos a day," explains one customer. That's 40 250-gram jars of Originale and à l'Ancienne mustard on the shelves. Once the 40 jars have been sold, you have to wait until the next day for the shelf to be restocked. Next to it, a sign reads: "Only one jar per family will be sold. Thank you for your understanding". A sort of wartime economy.
Hopes for Burgundy mustard seeds in 2023
France buys 80% of its seeds from Canada. However, the country was severely hit by drought in 2021, causing production to collapse and impacting French imports. The war in Ukraine has also had repercussions on seed exports, since Russia and Ukraine are other major producers.
In France, Burgundy, around Dijon, also produces a small proportion of the raw material needed for mustard sauces. According to the Unilever Group, French production alone is not enough to meet demand. However, according to reports, the recently-completed seed harvest of 2022 was particularly good, pointing to an end to the shortage by the end of 2022.
The experts were right
According to several experts, stocks are only expected to return to the shelves in the last months of 2022. The Canadian Ministry of Agriculture is hoping for a return to normal by 2023. For once, the experts were right: everything is back to normal in early 2023 !
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