The brand name itself refers to Zakuski: the traditional spreads of light snacks intended to be consumed with vodka. This guy (who, to raise hackles further, appears via a photo whose quality noticeably clashes with that of the illustrated onion domes behind him) also shows up on two horseradish mustard variants as well as horseradish beets, which to me indicates a possible (linguistic?) association between blackness and horseradish itself, especially since this mustard/mayo mix also has a noticeable horseradish zing. The brand's other jars typically feature a more ordinary Russian babushka, with the version shown here specifically described as “Teshchina Gorchitsa,” or mustard from Teschin (a bridge in Odessa). This indicates these spreads may not even be Russian to begin with, although another source does transliterate the word to Tyosha. The latter makes a bit more sense, since Teschin Bridge does not seem nearly impressive enough to have a mustard named after it (assuming, of course, it never served as a site where famous home-made mustards were sold). There’s only so far you can go, however, without a knowledge of the language the item is originally printed in, and so I must call off the search before I go insane. The mustard/mayo (mustardo?) itself is pretty good, at the very least.
Following up on the Russian theme of the previous post, it seems as good a time as any to delve into this mysterious mayo/mustard combination, bought at not-great cost from the great NetCost supermarket in Sheepshead Bay. The use of a black man as a logo (silent spokesman?), one whose connection to either mustard or mayonnaise seems highly tenuous, seems to be aiming for humorous (perhaps through the overall oddness of this goofy-faced fellow touting a characteristically Russian product?), but lands closer to cringe-inducing. I could, perhaps, leave it at that, writing this one off to a poor choice made from the remove of an often not-so-tolerant culture, but as always I feel impelled to push further, toward the exact set of circumstances that led to this specific abomination of design. Despite heavy Googling (over 30 minutes logged, at least), I found only scant information online about this product, although one clue is that the spokesman appears (at least from my barely-informed outsider perspective) to be dressed like a robe-cloaked Orthodox priest, albeit one clad in an ushanka while gripping a hammer and sickle mounted on what might be a crosier. Or a crucifix? Specifically a blessing cross?
The brand name itself refers to Zakuski: the traditional spreads of light snacks intended to be consumed with vodka. This guy (who, to raise hackles further, appears via a photo whose quality noticeably clashes with that of the illustrated onion domes behind him) also shows up on two horseradish mustard variants as well as horseradish beets, which to me indicates a possible (linguistic?) association between blackness and horseradish itself, especially since this mustard/mayo mix also has a noticeable horseradish zing. The brand's other jars typically feature a more ordinary Russian babushka, with the version shown here specifically described as “Teshchina Gorchitsa,” or mustard from Teschin (a bridge in Odessa). This indicates these spreads may not even be Russian to begin with, although another source does transliterate the word to Tyosha. The latter makes a bit more sense, since Teschin Bridge does not seem nearly impressive enough to have a mustard named after it (assuming, of course, it never served as a site where famous home-made mustards were sold). There’s only so far you can go, however, without a knowledge of the language the item is originally printed in, and so I must call off the search before I go insane. The mustard/mayo (mustardo?) itself is pretty good, at the very least.
2 Comments
maria
9/29/2018 04:28:42 pm
Found this one and its companion condiment which features an unflattering racist image of whom I believe is a Jew, due to caricature of large hooked nose. I too have been trying to learn more.
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Anon
12/23/2021 05:58:16 am
Teschina means "Mother in Law's". Mother in Law's mustard
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The coded language of snacks, sandwiches and seasonings, in NYC and beyond.
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