5. A museum celebrating mustard
Those who consider yellow mustard the only acceptable variety for human consumption probably wouldn’t have much interest in the National Mustard Museum. Created in 1992 in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, the museum displays over 6,000 different mustards from over 70 nations around the world. According to the museum’s website, it opened in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. Within a few years the size of the crowds it attracted, and its growing collection, led it to relocate to more spacious quarters in Mount Horeb in 2000 and to still larger quarters in Middleton, Wisconsin in 2009. Since 2010 it has celebrated National Mustard Day on August 7, with an annual mustard festival.
Since 1995 the museum has sponsored the World-Wide Mustard Competition. The competing mustards are subjected to blind tastings by food writers, chefs, and other experts in the use and taste of mustard. There is a prize for a category called American Yellow. Its most recent Gold Medal winner (2021) went to Plochman’s. Visitors to the museum are offered tastings of some but by no means all, of the mustards displayed in the collection. A gift shop offers others for sale, including online. By the early 21st century the National Mustard Museum became one of the most popular tourist destinations in Wisconsin. All for a condiment which many regard with disdain. The museum also features mustard memorabilia, such as vintage advertising and packaging, including antique mustard pots.