Make Your Own Mustard
These are instructions for making a basic yellow style mild mustard.You will need:
3/4 cups yellow mustard seeds (aka: white)
2 to 2.5 cups white distilled vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp turmeric
- First put your whole mustard seeds in a nonreactive bowl.
- Pour 1.5 cups of the vinegar into the bowl. If that doesn't cover your seeds by about an inch, then add more.
- Stir the seeds around to make sure they all get submerged. This is probably an unnecessary step because surely the seeds will sink on their own after a while. But why keep things simple when you can live inside all the tiny details?
- Now you will leave the seeds sitting out to soak for two days. Don't be squeamish. There is no ingredient that can go bad when submerged in vinegar.
I really don't understand why we must use toxic chemicals like formaldehyde to preserve the dead when all we really need to do is saturate them with vinegar for the same result (make sure it's 5% acidity to be SAFE?) Maybe we have never taken to this method because then we would have to put our dead in huge vats of vinegar and wait for a couple of weeks to have the funeral. Then we'd have to tell people that Uncle Bob is pickling in the bathroom which would be pretty unseemly and also inconvenient.
- After two days the seeds will have soaked up quite a lot of the vinegar and they will actually smell like yellow mustard. Dry mustard seeds are odorless.
- Pour all the seeds and remaining liquid into the bowl of your food processor (a blender would probably work just as well).
- Don't bother pulsing it. Just put that baby on "ON" and let it go.
This part will take a while. You may as well have your own personal Barista prepare a latte for you while you wait for those seeds to process.
Six hours later... It takes a long time for the processor to puree those little seeds. I like a pretty smooth mustard. If you like yours with lots of mustard seed texture it won't take nearly as long. I think I may actually benefit from using the already powdered dry mustard next time. The more you break down the seeds the more vinegar you will need. Mustard will continue to thicken as it soaks up the vinegar when you've set it by so don't make it too thick to start off with.
- Turmeric is the magic ingredient that colors mustard. I was going for a slightly earthy yellow as opposed to the bright yellow of the ballpark variety. If you want a natural hued mustard you can leave the turmeric out.
Put The Turmeric down, lady...nice and slow...I SAID- PUT THE TURMERIC DOWN!!
I have indicated that the amount of turmeric that you should use is 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. That isn't the amount I used. I put a little too much turmeric in this batch*. I think it's lovely**, but not quite the earthier look I was intending.
Although it looks just like ballpark mustard it has some grainy texture to it. It's also quite hot. The mustard seeds I used are the mild ones. When mustard is freshly made it will start off spicy and as it sits and ages a little it will mellow out. I don't like hot mustard so I'm going to let mine sit for a while. I did have it on my eggs and toast and the flavor is FANTASTIC. It is exactly as I hoped it would be. (Except for the too spicy part) Classic yellow mustard; tangy and zesty.
That's what most sources recommend. However, I have also read that it can be stored for months in a cool dark place and, to be honest, if you don't have any fresh ingredients such as shallots and herbs in it, I don't see what bacteria could possibly make a happy home of such an acidic environment. I will probably store one jar in the fridge and the rest in my pantry.
The yield on this recipe is about 2 cups mustard.
*Total understatement
**I think the color of my homemade mustard is lovely in the same manner in which i think all neon hues are lovely and not at all reminiscent of the 80's.
- To store mustard you should put it in hot sterilized jars, cap it and refrigerate it.
That's what most sources recommend. However, I have also read that it can be stored for months in a cool dark place and, to be honest, if you don't have any fresh ingredients such as shallots and herbs in it, I don't see what bacteria could possibly make a happy home of such an acidic environment. I will probably store one jar in the fridge and the rest in my pantry.
The yield on this recipe is about 2 cups mustard.
*Total understatement
**I think the color of my homemade mustard is lovely in the same manner in which i think all neon hues are lovely and not at all reminiscent of the 80's.