Cutting the Mustard in Hamilton
If you are looking for an "Excuse" to visit Hamilton and the
famous Black Forest Inn – for their delicious European
cuisine and wonderful ambiance - then visiting the 11th
Annual Mustard Fest – on the coming Labour Day Weekend –
could be a valid excuse for you to pick one of the three
holidays for an outing. And bring the wife and kids because
there is a lot going on of interest to the whole family.
This event is run by the International Village and takes place
on Ferguson Station (at King Street) and goes north from there.
Actually it starts right at the corner where Rosa and Fred
Oberreiter decided to open a German-style restaurant in 1967.
The Black Forest Inn – as it is also known as the "Schwarzwaldhaus"
- quickly became a landmark in Hamilton – unsurpassed in
reputation - and is now run by Chef Wolfgang Schön and his wife
Gaby.
The large outdoor patio (or Biergarten), where you can
also eat and drink, is ideal for watching the turmoil on
Ferguson Street with kid’s carnival, horse and wagon rides,
games, prizes, friends of the aviary, reptiles and other
exotics, balloons, clowns, face painting, candy floss, cold
apple cider, popcorn and more. Different band perform every two
hours, lots of interesting kiosks and display booths where you
can learn all about mustards and taste it as well.
Speaking of mustard, it was the condiment, not the plant that
was originally called mustard. The condiment got its name
because it was made by grinding the seeds of what was once
called the senvy plant (guess where the German ‘Senf’ came
from) into a paste and mixing it with ‘must’ – an
unfermented wine. Mustard is one of the oldest and most widely
used spices. The Chinese were using it thousands of years ago
and the ancient Greeks considered it an everyday spice. The
first medical mention of it is in Hippocratic writings, where it
was used for general muscular relief. The Romans used it as a
condiment and pickling spice – mentioned already in 62 A.D.
King Louis XI would travel with his own royal mustard pot, in
case his hosts did not serve it. Today the world consumption of
mustard tops 400 million pounds.
The varieties are legend. From the hot mustard you get in little
packages in a Chinese restaurant to the mild sweet mustard the
Bavarians enjoy with their ‘Weisswurst" (White Sausage)
and a plethora of stages in-between – Dijon; Yellow; Wholegrain;
Honey Mustard; English & French mustards; American Ballpark;
Bordeaux; German; Irish; Horseradish; Grey Poupon and Meaux. It
can be coloured from white to black.
The Romans most likely developed the prepared mustards we know
today. They mixed unfermented grape juice, known as ‘must’, with
ground mustard seeds (sinapis) to make "burning must",
mustum ardens – hence "must ard".
Mustard is often used at the table as a condiment on meat and
can also be used as an ingredient in mayonnaise, vinaigrette,
marinades, adds piquancy to sauerkraut and barbecue sauces, as a
base for salad dressings – combined with vinegar and/or olive
oil – and used on hot dogs, pretzels and bratwurst.
But you can find out all about the various "brassica"
families at the Mustard Festival on Ferguson at the various
information centers – after your lunch at the Black Forest Inn.
When done and suitably exhausted, the restaurant patio will help
you relax with a cool blonde or any other - hot or cold -
beverage you desire.
This shows that there are more ways than one, to enjoy the
Labour Day weekend – without having to actually "labour"!
As always
Dick Altermann
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