A National WHAT Museum!

                    
Yes, Virginia, there really is a National Mustard Museum.

It’s in Middleton, WI near Madison and started in 1992.  Today it is a popular attraction in the state located on the main street next to the train station in an older building that was probably once a hardware store.

The gift shop is on the main floor where you can buy all different kinds of mustards from the USA and the world.  They have a tasting bar too where you can sample the mustards.  Along with the mustards there are other things you can buy – cookbooks, pretzels, other dippers, mugs, key chains, hats, and of course, T-shirts.

                                      



You can get a degree too!

  The museum is in the basement down a doublewide staircase.   Along one wall is the Great Wall of Mustards – about 5,300 mustards from each state and around the world.   There is a display of mustard pots, antique tins and jars, and vintage advertisements.  You will also learn the background of the phrase “can you cut the mustard”.*



Photo ops too!



  Of course we ended up buying a few jars so we won't be out of mustard for awhile.

*BTW, "cutting the mustard"  or "Can You Cut the Mustard?" was a term mustard seed farmers would ask their workers at mustard seed harvast time.  Why, you ask?  During the early days of harvasting it was done by hand and it was a difficult plant to cut in the fields so either you can cut the mustard or you can't.  :-)