The museum
Six exhibits, antique tins, vintage labels and mustard pots. A collection spanning all 50 states and more than 70 countries.
Floor-to-ceiling shelves of jars and bottles bring together mustards from all 50 states and more than 70 countries. The collection began with a dozen jars in 1986.
A closer look at the museum’s own collection photograph.
Porcelain, sterling silver and other mustard pots collected by James Arthur Gibbons. Donated by his family, the collection has been part of the museum’s permanent collection since 2000.
A closer look at the museum’s own collection photograph.
Take a seat for videos about mustard, including “Mustard: The Spice of Nations”, shown daily on a big screen.
An interactive kiosk at the museum invites you to test what you know about food. Try the Curator’s own quiz during your visit.
Follow the seed in “Canada’s Mustard is the World’s Mustard”, an exhibit with the Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commission.
The collection’s cooking corner connects the condiment to the kitchen. Its advice: “we recommend refrigerating all mustards (even before opening) for maximum flavor and to keep that characteristic mustard bite!” For dishes to make at home, follow the shop’s Recipes & Tips.
Cooking destinationsAccording to founder and curator Barry Levenson, you can blame it on the Boston Red Sox. After the World Series loss in October 1986, he wandered into an all-night supermarket and bought a dozen jars. In his telling, the mustard aisle offered a thought: “If you collect us, they will come.” That collection became a museum.
Levenson was an Assistant Attorney General for Wisconsin before leaving the law for mustard. The collection’s story and the museum’s public opening are different dates.
“I argued a case before the Supreme Court with a jar of mustard in my left pocket,” he says. “We won!”
Barry Levenson, founder & curator — the museum’s own story
On October 28, Barry Levenson bought a dozen jars after the Boston Red Sox lost the World Series.
The collection opens to the public in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.
The museum moves across the street in Mount Horeb.
The museum moves to downtown Middleton and becomes the National Mustard Museum.
Old labels and jars put the familiar condiment in a different light.
Antique mustard tins join jars and vintage advertisements in the collection.
A commemorative mustard pot for the 1939 royal visit, behind museum glass.
The museum is a nonprofit. The gift shop and online store are a separate for-profit business, MustardMuseum.com LLC. Buying a jar is not a donation and purchases are not tax deductible.