Mustard On Watermelon Is The Odd Summer Combo We're Not So Sure About

When I saw the #watermelonmustard trend on TikTok (4,673 posts as of this writing), I had to try it. I'm a mustard devotee — I put it on potatoes, pizza, eggs, you name it. It's my go-to condiment, and I've even made homemade mustard. Plus, I eat tons of fruit and love watermelon when it's perfectly crisp.

Going into this, I was skeptical. Could I really have missed a magical pairing of my favorite foods? It seemed too good to be true, but if mustard Skittles can exist, maybe watermelon and mustard isn't that far-fetched. I squeezed some yellow mustard onto a plate, and dove in with high hopes. The flavors were ... not harmonious. It tasted like a glob of mustard with nothing to soak up the flavor. It was cloyingly tangy, acidic, and overwhelmingly salty — strange against the watery texture of the watermelon. I'm used to mustard being balanced by heavy foods like potatoes, but here, there was no relief.

Still, I took another bite, hoping for a different outcome. Again, the mustard overpowered and clashed with the watermelon instead of blending. Maybe it was the amount of mustard I used (I didn't hold back), or maybe it was the watermelon itself, which wasn't the best. However, I wasn't ready to throw in the mustard-stained napkin just yet. With thousands talking about this trend, there had to be something to it. I decided to test different mustard flavors to see if I could find a winning combo.

Let's get straight to it: every mustard flavor I tried tasted better with watermelon than basic yellow mustard (which, bafflingly, was used in the original recipe). The mustards I tested were country Dijon, spicy brown, and honey mustard. The honey mustard combo was a game-changer — smooth, sweet, fresh, and luscious. It had the right balance of spice and sweetness, with a creamy texture that blended perfectly with the watermelon. Dijon was a close second, adding a sophisticated spiciness without being overly tangy. It felt classy, like something you'd dip watermelon cubes into at a fancy party.

Spicy brown mustard was ... well, not necessarily bad, but not good either. It leaned heavily into the spicy side, almost to the point of bitterness. Usually, hearty foods balance that flavor, but with watermelon, the spice overwhelmed the sweetness. The key to a mustard that pairs well with watermelon, at least for my taste buds, seems to be a complex mustard with layers of spice and, most importantly, enough sweetness to complement the watermelon. That's why honey mustard was the clear winner (why not give it a try?). I also found that creamier mustards created a smoother texture and helped tone down any excessive tanginess or saltiness. Adding cottage cheese or yogurt to thicken the mustard dip could be a fun experiment for next time.

Now that we've survived the mustard taste test together, you might be wondering, how did mustard on watermelon become a thing? The answer lies with Young Yuh on TikTok. His video, which came out in 2021, has racked up nearly 240K likes and continues to attract new viewers daily. Yuh first tried mustard on watermelon back in middle school. "The lunch sets used to have watermelon slices, and the school also provided those small packets of ketchup and mustard. I was bored one day (as a kid usually is) and I put ketchup on the watermelon. It was too sweet, so I then tried the mustard, and that tang was perfect," he explained (via Clean Eating Magazine).

Since then, it's become a bit of a sensation, with some folks finding it surprisingly tasty and adding twists like chile powder to the top. Let's be clear, though — there are also plenty of people who find it off-putting, with TikTok videos showing them gagging or calling the combo disgusting after trying it. The world is truly divided here, like the great pineapple-on-pizza debate. I can't help but wonder if it's the nostalgia for Yuh that makes it taste so good – a known phenomenon where the memories tied to food enhance the experience. Whether it's a quirky flavor pairing or a trip down memory lane, one thing's for sure: mustard on watermelon has certainly made its mark.