Cutting the Mustard
Scott Scholz, the founder of the nation’s only U.S. chapter of the Händlmaier Mustard Club, knows his condiments.
By Cait Barnett
Photograph provided by Scott Scholz
Why did you start this chapter? After losing my job in Dayton, I decided that a change of scenery was in order and I moved to Europe. I enjoyed being part of the club in Bavaria and figured my friends in Cincinnati would enjoy it as well.
How does participation compare? It’s pretty similar. There’s no real requirements of a member to do much of anything other than have a good time.
What’s your favorite Händlmaier mustard? The sweet. It’s called Hausmacher.
How does sweet mustard differ from an American yellow or a Dijon? People who don’t like mustard like it. It doesn’t have that sharp bite. It’s gentler, and you can definitely taste the sugar in it.
What food best accompanies Händlmaier mustard? A Weißwurst is what you traditionally use it with, and at our meetings we always serve Weißwurst. It’s a white veal sausage.
What else do people put it on? It’s common to use it on pretzels. We’ll walk around Oktoberfest and give people shots of it. It comes in a tube, like a toothpaste tube, and we’ll walk around and just shoot it into people’s mouths. That’s pretty untraditional.
What beer would you recommend for washing down a drenched Weißwurst or pretzel? You’re supposed to drink it with a Weissbier, which is a wheat type of beer. The one I would recommend above all others is Franziskaner.
Check out www.mustardclub.org for a complete schedule of Händlmaier Mustard Fan Club events.
Originally published in the May 2010 issue.