Knives, Diamonds, and Intrigue …

Cutting the mustard, and the cheese. We have all heard the phrase about someone “cutting the mustard.” It refers to someone doing a difficult task well. We also know about “cutting the cheese” but we will not go into detail as to its fragrant meaning.

But here in Wisconsin “cutting the cheese” is an important culinary skill. We have found a knife that is perfect for cutting soft and semi-soft cheeses, without the mess and stickiness that often goes with serving these cheeses with regular knives. The 3-inch blade is made of a new plastic resin that cuts cheese effortlessly and neatly. You can buy the knife individually for $14.95 or get one WITH a jar of Baumgartner’s Horseradish Mustard for just $21.00.

Why Baumgartner’s? Because when you come to Wisconsin you have to go to Baumgartner’s in Monroe, where they serve the best limburger cheese sandwiches in the world. With mustard, of course.

But why the phrase “cutting the mustard”? Read on…

Like diamonds in the rough.

In the late 1800s, French peasants smuggled uncut diamonds into Belgium where they would find skilled diamond cutters to transform their rough nuggets into valuable gems. Diamond cutting is, of course, a difficult task requiring great skill. To avoid detection at the border, the peasants hid their rocks in large crocks of mustard. To further avoid suspicion in seeking out a cutter willing to do the work, they would hold up their mustard crocks and ask, “Do you know anyone who can cut the mustard?” That came to mean “anyone who can do a difficult task well.”

That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

How about a fine crock of French mustard, suitable for smuggling diamonds or, even better, for holding a jewel of a moutarde? The Pommery Moutarde De Meaux Grained Mustard is a whopper at 17.5 oz, and would fit the bill for storing your irreplaceable jewels after the mustard is gone.