Mustard jars from France: packaging designed for reuse

I had the pleasure of living in the south of France for one year while I was a college student. I could go on and on about the culture, food and arts of this fine country, but I won't. Today I want to talk about mustard packaging. Look closely at this photo. You may think you are looking at the glass of milk that my daughter didn't finish from breakfast. And you are. But you are also looking at a jar that once held a commercially produced quantity of Dijon mustard that I bought ages ago at a French retailer and grocery store called Monoprix. I love Dijon mustard for its spicy kick and ability to clear my sinuses. But I also fell in love with the way it was commonly packaged when I was living in France in 1988. You could buy it in glass jars that look exactly like juice glasses when you remove the label and finish the mustard. There is no screw top. There was no plastic safety seal. The lid was a sort of rubbery cap that popped on and off kind of like the covers for the lenses of a pair of binoculars (hopefully that makes sense -- it's the only thing I can think to compare it to). Now this cup has a design with Native Americans on it (and that is particularly why it is the most popular drinking glass in our home -- the kids fight over who gets this cup daily).

Most of the other mustard jars/glasses I bought during my year in France were clear glass, with no designs. I had no plans to have kids when I was 21 and living in France, so buying kid-themed glasses had no appeal for me at the time. They also came in bigger sizes -- short glasses about the same height at the one pictured, but wider -- like a "on-the-rocks" glass. I don't know if regular French people use them as drinking glasses. As I student, my roommate and I did. Sadly, I've broken all the rest of them over the years, and all that remains is this one "Hopis" glass.

I don't recommend that you travel to France to buy a caseload of Dijon to stock your cupboards with mustard-jar glassware. I don't even know if they still package mustard this way in France. But I do think it's important to see that there are better packaging options than how I typically see Dijon mustard packaged in the US. Food for thought.