In the same spirit as French candies playfully linked to the idea of body parts, these mustard dispensers are associated with bodily functions. (click on the photo to zoom out and see all of the mustard toilets). The idea of toilet mustard containers makes me laugh because it’s silly but it also makes me cringe at the same time.

These mustard toilets were in the la Musée de la Moutarde / Mustard Museum housed at the Amora/Maille mustard factory in Dijon. Both of these brands are now owned and operated by Unilever. You can take tours of the museum for only 3 euros, and I was looking forward to seeing the factory but the tour doesn’t let you see the factory! It is a bit misleading when they say there are tours AT the mustard factory. When we got there, the tour guide did not hesitate to state the disclaimer: “…Of course you all KNEW that this tour only takes you into the museum and NOT to the factory.”

Me: “NoooOOOoo!!!”

The little mustard toilets were the most interesting things in the tour, I’m sorry to say. Well, some of the old posters in the museum were pretty cool I suppose. The tour is a bit of a tease since we were at the factory and could smell mustard during the entire tour. We were probably just on the other side of the wall from the whole making of!

Mustard Trivia
1. Mustard plants are part of the cabbage family.
2. Today, nearly all of the world’s mustard seeds are grown in Canada.
3. Maurice Grey & Antoine Poupon were French mustard makers and their original store is still in Dijon (but now it’s called Moutarde Maille. Maille was also a mustard maker.).
4. The mustard Grey Poupon is made in Oxnard, California.
5. French’s Mustard has no relation to France or anything French and the company sent out press releases emphasizing this information during the “freedom fries” year of French bashing in the U.S.
6. When you order a salad in French restaurants, the dressing is usually made of a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

[For the history of Dijon Mustard, click here]