Maille

The pretty Maille boutique on the Place de la Madeleine is a showcase for a remarkable line of  gourmet products—mustards in a startling range of colors, from deep rose to vivid green, vinegars flavored with fig and mango, cornichons, capers and spices. Among the thirty-some flavored mustards available in the shop, several, including a blackcurrant version for game and one with crushed pink peppercorns for poultry and fish, can only be found here; there are also limited-edition and seasonal mustards—this winter’s star was flavored with truffles.

The Maille story goes back nearly three centuries, to 1720, when Antoine-Claude Maille began as a maître-vinaigrier, peddling his wares from a handcart in Paris. He became known by touting his product’s antiseptic properties as a preventive measure against the plague then raging through France, advising clients to drink a teaspoonful of his vinegar in a glass of water every morning, and to wash their hands with it as well.  His son, Antoine-Claude fils, made the firm’s reputation by opening his first shop on the rue Saint-André-des-Arts. Beginning in 1747 with vinaigres de toilette (distillations of aromatic plants and flowers used for the hair and complexion), he soon moved on to vinaigres de table, and other kinds as well.

Like most vinaigriers, Maille also sold mustard. In those pre-pasteurization days, mustard lost its flavor quickly, so housewives bought it fresh daily, bringing out their containers when they heard the call of the passing street vendor. Or they could head for Maille’s shop, and choose from some 24 different kinds, including garlic mustard, lemon mustard, and one with capers and anchovies.

A canny marketer and advertiser, Maille soon became official purveyor to the court of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and later supplied the English court as well. In 1845 the company opened a boutique in Dijon and, in 1996, inaugurated the boutique on Paris’s Place de la Madeleine to establish a showcase in the luxury-food enclave anchored by Fauchon and Hédiard.

In a throwback to Maille’s early days, both boutiques offer several fresh mustards pumped to order out of large containers into refillable stoneware mustard pots. Once the cork is hammered in and the jars are tightly wrapped, they travel well and make wonderful souvenirs or gifts for foodie friends.

6 pl de la Madeleine, Paris 8th. 01.40.15.06.00. Head to the Maille website for more information. 

In Dijon: 32 rue de la Liberté