Mustard Royalty

[rlibkind]

Eric Rygg of Kelchner's Horseradish Products, based in the Philly suburb of Dublin, is mustard royalty.

That honor was certified Friday night by none other than the Clown Prince of Mustard-dom, Barry Levenson, founder and Grand Poobah of the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin, just outside Madison.

The event celebrated the winners of the 2011 World Wide Mustard Competition and also featured the First Annual Iron Mustard Chefs Challenge. And no, I'm not kidding, though Levenson frequently does.

At the event Rygg accepted medals for three mustards produced by his family-owned business, which includes Kelchner's and Silver Spring Farms of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Within the Horseradish/Wasabi Mustard competition Kelchener's Hot Mustard with Horseradish took the bronze medal, while gold went to Silver Spring's Beer 'n Brat Horseradish Mustard. (Brats, keep in mind, are almost as identified with Wisconsin as cheese curds and the Green Bay Packers.) Silver Spring's Organic Deli Mustard took the silver medal in the Organic Mustards category.

Rygg is president of Kelchner's, a firm which has another Philadelphia area connection since it markets condiments under the Bookbinder's brand, which it acquired a few years back. Kelchner's also has a substantial distribution business of products from other manufacturers, so they handle the oyster crackers you find filling the bowls at the Oyster House on Sansom Street, as well as providing the horseradish. (Rygg is trying to convince Sam Mink, owner of the Oyster House, to ice the tableside horseradish because the product rapidly loses pungency once opened and allowed to reach room temperature.)

It's horseradish, rather than mustard, however, that flows through Rygg's veins. In 1929 his great grand-father Ellis Huntsinger started Huntsinger Farms in Eau Claire. Today Huntsinger is the world's largest grower and processor of horseradish, so it was no accident that when Kelchner's was put up for sale a year or so ago the Wisconsin family firm acquired it.

You can read more about the event, including the Iron Mustard Chefs Challenge and details about the National Museum, in my blog post.