Mustard with figs

Mustard with Figs, fruity and medium-hot

Mustard with Figs from Delouis is a French fruit mustard from Champsac, in which ripe figs round off the heat without covering it up. A mustard with fruit, not a fig sauce with a mustard note – the difference is in the jar and can be tasted immediately.

Mustard with Figs is a medium-hot fig mustard from Maison Delouis, made from mustard seeds, spirit vinegar, water, figs, and salt. With a fruit content of 18.5 percent, it clearly remains a mustard, to which the fig adds sweetness and depth. Anyone expecting a spreadable fruit sauce is grabbing the wrong jar.

The fig brings a dark, almost caramelly sweetness, along with those tiny seeds that crunch quietly between the teeth. Beneath that, the mustard heat continues to work, muffled but alert. It comes after the sweetness, not before it – and this order is exactly what makes it so appealing.

First the fig, then the heat

Fruity, spicy, medium-hot – the Mustard with Figs lies exactly in the middle between a Dijon and a chutney.

18.5 percent figs is enough to clearly taste the fruit, and little enough that the seeds remain in charge. The spirit vinegar keeps the sweetness in check, so that nothing becomes sticky. For comparison: the Fig Mustard from Königskind works with 60 percent fruit and thus moves noticeably closer to a fruit spread.

Both have their justification; they simply answer different questions. If you want fruit with a hint of mustard, choose the one with the high fruit content. If you want mustard that responds with fruit, this jar is the right choice. Side by side on a board, you can taste in a single bite what the fruit content makes of it.

With goat cheese, lamb, and chicken

It likes cheese that brings some acidity of its own: fresh goat cheese, aged feta, a strong blue cheese.

With lamb, it provides the sweet-spicy note that mint usually takes on; with chicken, it turns a simple breast into something for a Sunday dinner. In a vinaigrette made from one teaspoon of mustard, one tablespoon of vinegar, and three tablespoons of oil, the fig carries the salad further than vinegar alone could. On a cheese platter, there’s no need for a spoon – a dollop next to the bread is enough.

Philippe left the beaten path

“Move forward and leave the beaten path,” as Philippe Delouis has formulated the motto of his house for decades.

It explains why, alongside the classic Dijon style, varieties with fruit, herbs, and wine are created in Champsac. As early as 1964, Philippe had pushed through the first apple vinegar made from Limousin apples against resistance, long before anyone asked for it. Anyone who thinks that way eventually arrives at the fig.

In 2004, at the age of 65, he handed over the reins to the Brabant family and accompanied Gaël for a whole year as he took on the task. For this transition, the house received the transmission d'entreprise du patrimoine vivant award in 2007. An award for passing the torch – you have to earn that one first.

Twenty minutes out of the fridge before serving

The mustard seeds soak for two hours before they are crushed and processed with the house's own vinegar – only then is the fig added.

Feel free to take it out of the fridge twenty minutes before eating, because when cold, the fruit holds back its sweetness and only shows it fully at room temperature. It goes wonderfully with a glass of dry white wine or a cider, because the acidity in the glass catches the sweetness on the spoon.

Once opened, the jar belongs in the fridge, where it stays for many weeks thanks to the vinegar and fruit, without losing its kick. You can find more varieties in our Mustard category, and more from the land of "moutarde" in France.