The Magic of Raye’s Yellow Mustard from Maine

Traditional stone-milled mustard with marvelous flavors

Looking for something to spread on the turkey sandwiches you might make this coming weekend? Something to perk up the school lunches you’ll be packing in the weeks leading up to the December holidays? The perfect mustard to make a pastrami sandwich with, and what I think is the best yellow mustard in America? 

Raye’s Mustard is absolutely worth paying attention to. Stone ground in small batches by the same family since the turn of the last century, it is in a yellow-mustard class by itself. How good is it? Really, really good. It’s got complexity, striking a great balance with a gentle vinegary push and a creamy stone grind. And it has a lovely, long finish that can take anything you use it on to the next level. Most people who tend to turn the other way at the mere mention of yellow mustard have a change of heart after they taste Raye’s. Oh yeah—Rachael Ray (no relation to the Rayes) called it a “home run” and “the best ballpark mustard in America.”

Raye’s is located in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine—almost as far north up the coast as one could go without actually crossing the border into Canada. Writing in the New York Times in the summer of 1997, Pamela Petro described the landscape like this:

[It has] a crinkle-cut shoreline where the wind is weighty and cool, where blue spruce and balsam grow with a proprietary air along the rock-rimmed sea, and where houses inhabit the landscape with less ease than do the forests and blueberry barrens. These are the easternmost lands of the United States and perhaps because this is where the sun rises first, flowers grow tall, crisp and tasty—residents harvest them as readily as lettuce—and in colors that rebelliously tweak the stern cast of navy sea and evergreen shore.

The original Raye’s mustard mill was built at the turn of the previous century by Karen Raye’s husband’s great-great uncle, J.W. built the mill at the turn of the previous century, around when the Disderide family constructed the building that now houses the Deli in downtown Ann Arbor. “If he were here today,” Karen told me, “J.W. would see the mill pretty much as it was working when he built it. We’re still using the original stones,” she said, referring to the eight quartz wheels that were quarried, carved, and carted over from France in 1900. Each one weighs 2,000 pounds! The milling and mixing started up back then, in great part to provide mustard for Maine’s booming sardine industry. (For more on that, check out my handmade chapbook “Sardines!”) The sardine trade in Maine is no more, but mustard milling is still going strong. And as the Rayes proudly remind anyone who will listen, “No one else makes mustard this way anymore! No one!” Mustard made in this old-school stone-milled style would have been far more common back in the 19th century, in the same era that cultured butter was far more easily found.

Raye’s is the only traditional stone mustard mill left in the U.S., and right now, it’s in the middle of a once-in-a-century renovation—lifting, stabilizing, preserving, and preparing for its next 125 years. The project is, I realize, a variation on what the Roadhouse will go through in the six-week closure and construction period after January 3. The Raye’s renovation will, like the Roadhouse work, allow them to continue making high-quality products for many years to come.

The Rayes’ work, and their mustard, is all about dignity, and the results are delicious. They treat the mustard seed, the milling, their community, and their customers with grace. As they share:

While most modern mustards are either cooked or ground by high-speed technology, only Raye’s maintains the traditional cold grind process using the original stones from France and made in the same mill since 1900. No one else can make that claim. The cold grind process preserves the volatile taste qualities of the whole seeds.

The mustard-making process at Raye’s starts with whole mustard seed. By contrast, most other commercial products these days start with already-processed mustard powder. The Rayes’ work is all based on cold-stone milling—as the mustard seed passes through each of the four sets of stones, the resulting paste gets ever creamier, which explains why the finished product you and I get out of the Raye’s jar is so smooth. To protect the stone-milled seed, the Rayes use cold water from their 400-foot well. Cooler water takes longer but protects the flavor of the seed. (Most commercial producers today use heat in the production process to speed production and increase yields.) The mustard is then allowed to age for a few weeks before it gets packed up.

Raye’s mustard is darned creamy, with a mellow but mouth-filling flavor. Try it on a sandwich at the Deli, on a burger at the Roadhouse, or added to a grilled cheese. It’s also in the South Carolina Mustard BBQ sauce at the Roadhouse. Put it in potato salads, egg salads, sandwiches, or sauces. It’s great with hard cheese, salami, or fresh salmon. And, in the spirit of its historical origins, put some great sardines on a plate and spoon on a bit of Raye’s. With a few crackers or a slice of toasted rye bread from the Bakehouse, you’ll have a world-class lunch ready in under two minutes! If you know a mustard lover, bring them a jar—once they taste it, it’s pretty sure to make their day!

Yay for Raye’s!