Honey mustard, in a recognizable form, has been around since at least the 4th or 5th century.
Here's a breakdown:
According to historical food records, a recipe remarkably similar to modern honey mustard appeared in the ancient Roman cookbook De re Coquinaria. This cookbook contains a recipe for a mustard sauce that included:
- Mustard seeds
- Honey
- A blend of spices and herbs, such as black pepper and dill.
This sauce was intended for basting roasted boar, showcasing its culinary use at the time. While this ancient sauce may not be exactly the honey mustard we find on grocery store shelves today, it demonstrates the fundamental combination of mustard and honey has been appreciated for many centuries, dating back roughly 1600-1700 years.
Therefore, the basic concept of honey mustard has a long and established history.
