Mustard seeds and vinegar makers in 1765

Mustard seed merchants had to wait until vinegar makers, who also made mustard, had inspected and chosen the seeds they wanted. Large scale mustard grinding from Diderot's encyclopedia. Upcoming talk on Colman, the "mustard king."


Oct 6 Wed 1 The Colman Collection. “personal library of Norwich 'mustard king', Jeremiah James Colman from the 1870s- .” Norfolk Heritage Centre HERE TAPE may be HERE

J & J Coleman, Mustard Manufacturers, Norwich and London. in Wyman's commercial encyclopædia of leading manufacturers of Great Britain. London: 1888 p362-365 HERE

Diderot's Encyclopedia entry for mustard 1765 -

"Mustard, mustard seed, a plant bearing seeds which are commonly known as mustard seeds, because they are used in the composition of mustard.

There are three sorts of mustard: wild mustard, garden mustard, and a third which is derived from the first two. The second and third are raised from seed, and the black seeds of garden mustard are used to make mustard. [1]

Seed merchants are forbidden from having mustard seeds brought in, or putting them on display, until the seeds have been inspected by the vinegar-maker’s panel, and the merchants may not even buy mustard seeds until the vinegar-makers have been supplied. See Mustard and Vinegar-maker.

Notes
1. This ‘wild mustard’ is Brassica hirta or white mustard, which is native to southern Europe. Its seeds are sometimes blended with those of Brassica nigra (black or brown mustard) or its cultivars (Mabey, 1996, p. 154). See D. J. Mabberley, The Plant-book: a Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants (Cambridge, 1997), 99-100.

'Mustard, mustard seed.' The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Ann-Marie Thornton. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2013. Web. 12 Aug. 2021. . Trans. of "Senevé," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 15. Paris, 1765."

Philadelphia mustard mills 1760

Wagstaff & Hunt, mustard manufacturers, had in operation, in 1760, a mustard-mill, claimed to have been invented by Wagstaff, and made in England from drawings sent thither. The machine was also said to have been immediately adopted in England by the mustard makers, and afterward obtained by others in Philadelphia.

Benjamin Jackson also at that time made flour of mustard “superior to English Durham,” by machinery driven by water, in a rival establishment at the Globe Mills in Northern Liberties.
"Mustard-mills, Philadelphia mills and machines." A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860. Phila: 1861

Vinaigrier et Moutardier

TAPES

Raye's 1903 Mustard Mill – cold grind, last stone ground mustard mill in US at Eastport ME. 4 min. TAPE HERE

Historic mustard mill in Cologne, Germany – cold grinding process to make two traditional recipes from the 15th and 18th centuries. Writeup and 40 sec TAPE HERE

DIDEROT LINKS

Diderot, Denis. Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des Arts et des Métiers 1765 UPenn. le vinaigre p303-305 HERE

The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. U of Michigan HERE

MUSTARD BLOG POSTS

Mustard Balls and Cannon Balls blog post HERE

Mustard flour, French mustard recipes 1725, pots & casters, and fireplace poker. blog posts HERE

CALENDAR of virtual food history talks HERE

©2021 Patricia Bixler Reber
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