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Are you fond of spicy dishes? Delight in creating your own spicy, sweet, or hot mustard to elevate your culinary creations. Here, you'll find general instructions for mustard-making, along with several recipes and a helpful video guide.
Ingredients
- Mustard Seeds (Dark Seeds Pack More Heat)
- Dry Mustard
- Light Brown Sugar
- Salt
- Turmeric
- Garlic Powder
- Water (strong orange pekoe tea adds depth)
- Cider Vinegar
For specific ingredients and measurements, refer to the Recipes section below.
Steps
Opt for glass or ceramic utensils and mixing vessels instead of aluminum, which can be corroded by vinegar.
Acquire mustard seeds or ground mustard powder. Whole seeds are available in white (yellow), brown, and black varieties. The deeper the hue, the more potent the mustard.
Soak the seeds for two hours prior to grinding. Avoid hastening the process by boiling, as heat activates an enzyme that diminishes mustard flavor.
Grind the mustard seeds if they are not already powdered. A mortar and pestle, a clean coffee grinder, or even a blender can be used. Listen for a change in the grinding sound, indicating an evenly ground consistency.
Transfer the mustard to a container and blend with liquid until it resembles thick ketchup. For an immediate, fiery mustard, opt for water; otherwise, choose wine, beer, mead, vinegar, or grape juice. Mix and match liquids as desired.
Incorporate preferred sweeteners, such as honey, sugar, artificial sweeteners, ground dates, or raisins, to your liking.
Add ground spices. Experiment with anise or cinnamon for sweetness, or ginger, cloves, horseradish (common in Europe), or various black peppers for heat. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.
Combine the ingredients, cover, and let sit on the counter until the desired level of spiciness is achieved. Heat and bitterness will peak within 5-15 minutes for water-based mustard. Other types may require 2 hours to a day for flavors to meld.
- Aging for a day is usually necessary for flavors to mellow, although some prefer a few weeks for optimal taste.
- Refrigerating the mustard during aging prolongs its heat.
- Aging mustard in a sealed container on the counter or in a cupboard is generally safe due to its antibacterial properties.
Adjust the consistency as needed with juice, vinegar, or other liquids; mustard thickens with time.
Alternate Approach
Take the dry ingredients. Grind them in a spice grinder until fine. This eliminates the need for soaking.
Add the liquid ingredients to a glass bowl.
Incorporate the dry ingredients into the liquid and mix thoroughly with a fork.
Heat in the microwave on high for 1 minute.
Blend well with a stick blender until smooth and creamy.
Allow the mixture to sit. It will thicken as it cools down.
Done.
Recipes
-
Dijon Mustard
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 oz dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 drops Tabasco sauce
- 2 cups dry white wine
- Beer-Thyme Mustard
- 1/4 cup brown mustard seeds
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
- 3/4 cup flat amber beer (or beer of your choice)
- 1 tablespoon mustard flour
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Basic table/dipping mustard
- 1/4 cup mustard seeds (Dark seeds are hotter)
- 1/4 cup dry mustard
- 2 tsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp Non-Iodized Salt
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1/4 tsp Paprika for color
- 1/4 tsp Garlic powder
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup sweet pickle juice
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
Tips
-
Various liquids like wine, beer, mead, vinegar, verjuice, or clear fruit juice (such as white grape or apple) can be used to create a diverse range of mustards. With over 4,300 different mustard varieties available in the mustard museum, your creativity is the only limit.
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The level of spiciness in the final product can be controlled by the timing of adding vinegar to the mixture. When water is added to ground mustard seed, a chemical reaction begins, intensifying the heat of the mustard. The heat reaches its peak after about 15 minutes, then gradually diminishes. Adding acid (like vinegar) halts this reaction and locks in the heat at the level it was introduced. For a milder mustard, add vinegar simultaneously with water.
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Consider checking Indian grocery stores for competitive prices on mustard seeds.
Warnings
- Avoid getting mustard powder in your eyes.
- Initially, freshly mixed mustard has a very hot and bitter taste, which mellows over time. Most enthusiasts of spicy mustard find one-day-old mustard satisfactory, but in some cases, aging for several months may be necessary.
- Delaying the addition of vinegar too long can produce a form of hazardous and caustic mustard gas.
Things You'll Need
- Spice grinder
- Stick blender
