If you’re a honey mustard fan, you’ve probably dabbled in all kinds of creative ways to use the sauce with a variety of different brands (or maybe you’ve even made your own from scratch, you ambitious person, you). In case you haven’t already done exhaustive mustard research on your own, though, we’ve compiled a list of popular brands that make honey mustard and done the work of ranking them for you. This list has some soaring highs and some tragic lows, with the lowest of them all being 365 by Whole Foods Market’s Honey Organic Mustard.
So, why should you pass this one up? Simply put, it doesn’t really qualify as a honey mustard in the first place. This mustard does have a nice Dijon flavor with the usual kick of vinegar and spices, but that’s as far as it goes. It doesn’t actually have any honey flavor. We tried our best to find some, but the flavor profile is truly all vinegar and no sweetness. While it’s not a bad mustard by itself, it’s automatically our least favorite since it fails the assignment completely.
The makings of a good honey mustard
There are plenty of winning honey mustard brands out there, so don’t lose hope just yet. For example, our number one pick, Inglehoffer Honey Mustard, really fits the bill. So, what are we looking for in a honey mustard? In short, balance. Mustard is all about that acidic, vinegary tang, but the honey part is important, too. A good honey mustard not only has an unapologetic kick of brine, spice, and vinegar, but it also has some of those dulcet notes of sweetness from the honey. You can’t have a good honey mustard that lacks either component.
Striking this balance also usually means that good honey mustard carries a bit more of that mustard pungency than your average jar. After all, the vibrant flavors need to compete with the mellowing effect honey tends to have, so you want a mustard that really lingers on your tongue in the best way. This unique combination of acid, tang, sharpness, and sweetness also makes a good honey mustard the perfect pairing for everything from charcuterie and cheese boards to warm, soft pretzels to chicken nuggets and then some, so you really get your money’s worth. Again, while Whole Foods Market’s Honey Organic Mustard does have a tasty Dijon vibe, that just isn’t what makes a honey mustard. You’re better off perusing your local grocery store for another pick and leaving this organic honey mustard on the shelves.
