About mustard seeds and caviar

As soon as you arrive at the Senferei in St. Agatha in the Inner Salzkammergut, you immediately feel the passion that Rainer Baumgartner has for his product. He is a mustard maker in the first generation and has been running the mustard factory "Annamax" since 2011. The company owes its name to Mr. Baumgartner's two children, who according to him are the roots of the business.

... the former chef who started his career in gastronomy needed a sweet mustard to complete a dish and no product could satisfy his delicate taste buds. Mr. Baumgartner started the attempt to find a remedy himself and create his own mustard, which worked right off the bat - at least for the moment. Already the second attempt brought him back down to earth and he realised that mustard making is a craft that requires a lot of practice and patience.

However, this only awakened his ambition and passion even more and so the producer of meanwhile 25 different varieties of mustard locked himself in his kitchen until he succeeded in producing a product, which could meet his high standards.

This was the start to a successful career as a mustard maker. For the time being, he was able to pursue his career in a small delicatessen store where he sold his self-created mustards. Today, he can live out his talent for mustard production in his remarkable mustard factory with its own sales room and show production. Mr. Baumgartner has not only focused on the typical sweet and spicy tastes, but also gives free rein to his creativity and therefore creates all kinds of mustard delicacies. This is how mustard varieties such as nut mustard, pineapple chili mustard or also the Styrian mustard, which is considered an absolute bestseller, are created. This so-called "Jausensenf" combines the best of Styria and Upper Austria, forming a perfect symbiosis through adding apples, horseradish and, to round things off, pumpkin seeds.

Another speciality is the original mustard caviar, which Mr. Baumgartner created himself. For this creation, the whole mustard seeds are processed and fermented.

Especially important for Mr. Baumgartner in the production of his mustards is the aspect of regionality. Thus, he obtains the soft water, which is a very important ingredient in making mustard, from a spring in the Salzkammergut and uses natural salt, which is mined in the Ausseerland. These components, paired with the vinegar from Bad Goisern, make his products regional specialties that make every gourmet's heart beat faster. He tries "to fill the taste of the Salzkammergut into a glass", so the statement of Mr. Baumgartner.

Another aim of the mustard maker is to reawaken the interest in mustard and the variety it contains. Thus, in his show-mustard factory, one can gain an insight into the origin and production of the different flavours of mustard and immerse oneself in the history of mustard. To round off the visit, it is possible to purchase a regional delicacy in the company's own store and be enchanted by the uniqueness that each mustard brings with it.