grey poupon - no rolls royce required!

How awesome is this? I was selected to do a product review for Grey Poupon mustard. They sent me two flavors for my family to try, and asked for an honest review in return. I was more than happy to oblige.



You know the name. You know the image - the old "chap" in the back of his Rolls Royce limousine experiencing the dilemma of the day, when his jar of Grey Poupon runs dry. It's only natural that he would ask the distinguished gentleman in the Rolls next to him to borrow a smidgen.

Honestly, this image is the precise reason why I haven't been purchasing Grey Poupon in the past. No, I'm not some reverse elitist who scoffs at high-ticket grandeur or "gourmet" delicacies. Rather, I'm a budget-minded cheapskate who never bothered to look at the price because I assumed it would be too costly based on the commercials. In fact, when I was selected to do this product review, I figured that I would be receiving the mustard equivalent of Taco Bell's hot sauce packets in the mail. Imagine my surprise (and penny-pinching delight) when two full size 8 oz. jars of Grey Poupon arrived at my doorstep. (Okay, so I'm easily excited, but this is GREY POUPON after all!)

Suddenly my family found itself struggling to devise a dinner worthy of this kitchen connoisseur's condiment. Not one to break too far from culinary tradition, we settled on a turkey, lettuce, tomato and bacon sandwich creation. I tried the Hearty Spicy Brown and my wife selected the Harvest Coarse Ground. The kids, weenies that they are, opted for the usual generic brand yellow. The "brown things" in the mustard frighten them. Talk about coddled kids, eh?

Anyhow, the Hearty Spicy Brown was scrumptious. It tasted like it had fresh onions in it, and the flavor was powerful enough to still stand out among the bacon grease and tomato juices. If there's one thing about mustard, I want it to be strong on my sandwich. Mustard is one of those love it or hate it condiments, and while it is easy to put too much on a sandwich, it's also not something that you use to add subtlety. In my book, mustard is for adding robust flavor, not just an accent. I guess that's why I chose the flavor with the word "Hearty" in the name. My wife really enjoyed the Harvest Coarse Ground. When Grey Poupon says "Coarse", they really mean it. It looks like it has whole mustard seeds in it!

So now we've got two full size jars of Grey Poupon to digest by July of this year (when they expire). It's difficult to say if we'll be able to purchase Grey Poupon regularly after that, as I still have no idea what it costs and if it will fit into our tight budget. However, I have to admit that the flavor may well be worth the extra dollar or two compared to generic brown mustard. I can think of all kinds of meals that this mustard would be complimentary with - sandwiches, brats, steak, even liver. Yep, I'm convinced that fried chicken livers would be awesome with Grey Poupon, assuming that you're not too much of a wimp to try chicken livers. My family loves them.

There are certain things in life that still support the theory that you always get what you pay for. As such, there are certain products that I will not buy in generic brand fashion, regardless of how much money it would save us. Toilet paper, orange juice and paper towels immediately spring to mind. By the time we finish these two jars of Grey Poupon, I may just have to add brown mustard to that list. Sometimes you need to live a little.