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Making Revolution…Now, Mustard

Even though I’d previously visited Dijon, I didn’t “discover” Dijon mustard until Grey Poupon started marketing the stuff on a mass scale in the US. This was in the early 70’s; as a kind of pre-celebration of the bicentennial of our great American Revolution, I hitchhiked to Boston with a block of Cheddar and Grey Poupon in my backpack. Along the way, my hippie lady friend (who I affectionately referred to as Ride Bait) thrilled to news that Patty Hearst had joined the Symbionese Liberation Army and was doing her part to smash the state by robbing banks (“I’m Tania; up against the wall motherf*ckers!”).

We have had Grey Poupon in our refrigerator for several decades, but recently I took the plunge and made my own mustard: one regular and one with turmeric and clove; both were so good, I may never buy mustard again. The recipe is supremely simple:

1/3 cup dry mustard
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup white wine dry
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks

Then add whatever spices you want: for the “fancier” version, I put in like a half teaspoon each of turmeric and clove. It was very tasty, and with a dash of oil, yielded a spectacular dressing for green salad. My world will never be the same.

David “Revolution Now Limited to Condiments” Hammond



PS. Viva Fidel! (circa ’59, that is, before he became the "brutal dictator" we of the US have been trying to off for the past half-century or so. El Jefe has left the building).

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Note: According to an article I'd read (probably Cook's Illustrated), the 'heat' of mustard begins growing when exposed to water, to a peak, and eventually diminishes. The heat level can be 'fixed' by applying acid, hence the vinegar. If you like a stronger mustard, add the vinegar later in the process. I don't recall how long is 'longer' -- your mileage may vary. Dijon-style mustard probably adds them both together, keeping the sinus-clearing properties at a minimum.

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What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang

We recently discovered the joys of homemade mustard also.

One thing to try is using different types of mustard seed. The Spice House has yellow mustard seed, brown mustard seed, and Oriental mustard seed. See http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices-by- ... tard-seeds

It's fun to try different kinds, or combine them in various proportions.

Also, Alton Brown notes in his pretzel show that when mustard seeds are mixed with water, the heat level begins to increase until vinegar is introduced. So by varying the time before introducing the vinegar, you can control the heat level of the mustard.

(I was too slow to hit "submit" and you beat me to this.)

The Alton Brown transcript for the show I mentioned is here:
http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season11 ... _tran.html

He says that the heat level peaks 15 minutes after the mustard and water are combined.

Thanks for the recipe David, "making mustard" is now on my list. I don't recall seeing egg yolks in a mustard recipe before. Is that for emulsification?

Emulsification is a good guess -- the mustards were quite creamy as a result. In my brief recent forays into mustard making, I ran across egg yolks in a few recipes.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

My all time favorite celebrity sighting: 1977, Palo Alto California Vegetarian restaurant: Patty Hearst-cum-bodyguard. No one else in the place seemed to recognize her. Very surreal.

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Man : I can't understand how a poet like you can eat that stuff.
T. S. Eliot: Ah, but you're not a poet.

Now that it was mentioned, it was Good Eats where I'd heard about the mustard/water reaction. I'm also puzzled about the yolks, though, as dijon mustard is also used as an emulsifier in vinaigrettes, and with no oil, just what are you emulsifying?

I just checked the jar of Grey Poupon in my chill chest, and no eggy stuff in there, but there is fruit pectin -- that will serve as a thickener, perhaps a similar behavior as the yolks?

It does sound good, but of course less long-term storable than one without. Any chance you can check the pH of your final mixture? That would assure me of safety.

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What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang

I like Grey Poupon, but this statement bothers me. Why do you need a thickener in your mustard? All the more reason to make your own.

I was always kind of disturbed at her for dumping of Steven Weed, who seemed like a very nice guy.



Your concerns about the yolks are worthy, but if you Google for mustard recipes, you will discover that it is not an uncommon ingredient. We do refrigerate all mustard, of course.

How might one (meaning a regular kind of guy) check the pH of a mustard?

Hammond

PS. Fun-ish fact. My brother named his boat Mizmoon. If you have to Google the reference, it won't mean anything to you.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Pour boiling water over grated cabbage and use as a test solution. Now that I've said that, I have to give you a way of telling what's safe: A pH under 4.6 is good. Too bad the cabbage indicator is really only good to about +/-2 pH units.

Serious canners may use pH test strips for pickles and such. If you're morbidly curious, you can probably pick up test strips from an aquarium store. You're right though: a small quantity in your fridge is probably fine. I'm a bit nervous, and might use pasteurized egg product.

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What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang

Some recipes for mustard with egg yolks call for heating the mixture slowly for about 5 minutes, which will cook the yolks. I haven't made mustard with yolks before, so I can't comment much more than this. But it's an alternative to try.

So, is this just the Coleman's English Mustard powder one gets in tins? Or are you buying seeds at the Spice House and grinding them? Or is there something else out there to try?

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"Nothing important is easy." Patrick White (Australian Nobel laureate)

http://waltzingaustralia.wordpress.com

I'll bet it would be fun to experiment. I think I've purchased at least 3 different varieties of mustard seed at The Spice House.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Spit out the gum, sister!

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Cynthia, I'm still experimenting here, so I can't speak with authority, but I bought a buck's worth of ground mustard at Caputo's ($4/lb). I'm sure Coleman's would work just fine, too.

There are no doubt different qualities of mustard, seeds or ground, but what I think made the difference was the decent wine (not expensive, but probably better than used in most mustards) and other better quality ingredients than might be used in store-bought mustards.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Cool. Thanks. I'll have to check out the offerings at Caputo's. (I hadn't thought of making my own mustard before, having previously only bought mustard seeds for cooking Indian food, so I didn't realize dry mustards other than Coleman's were available.)

And have you tried tarragon yet? Tarragon mustard may be my favorite form of Dijon mustard. If you do try it, let us know how it turns out.

Thanks for staying on the cutting edge -- and inspiring the rest of us.

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"Nothing important is easy." Patrick White (Australian Nobel laureate)

http://waltzingaustralia.wordpress.com

I used to make a lot of homemade condiments. I caution you that it can become addictive. I had to give it up because our refrigerator was always too full of little jars, particularly mustards -- since I could never resist buying different kinds, as well (from time to time, we've had to declare a mustard moratorium in our household).

As I recall, however, I got the tastiest results by starting with mustard seed, rather than mustard powder. Also, we prefer grainy mustards for most uses. I typically used brown mustard seed, which is hotter.

Coarse-ground red-wine mustard

1/4 cup brown mustard seeds
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 bay leaf, crumbled

Combine the mustard seeds, wine and water in a small bowl and let stand at least three hours. Place into a blender and add the remaining ingredients. Blend till it reaches the desired coarseness. (If you have a mini food processor, it works great for this.)

Scrape into the top of a double boiler over simmering water and stir 5 to 10 minutes until thickened (it won't get as thick as commercial mustards). Let cool and refrigerate.

Makes about 3/4 cup.

You can add stuff to this, like garlic or tarragon, and substitute other kinds of wine and vinegar.

Adapted from Better Than Store-Bought by Helen Witty and Elizabeth Schnieder Colchie, a really wonderful resource for this kind of thing.

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LAZ
Dining Chicago
Index to LTHForum Recipes, 2004-2008

My house is a mustard laboratory this week. Anyone have a good beer mustard recipe?

Thanks,
Sharon

Not beer mustard, but this is my favorite whole seed recipe and is fairly easy.

I can't believe you got through the original post without quoting "Mean Mr. Mustard." I would not have had the strength.

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"things like being careful with your coriander/ that's what makes the gravy grander" - Sondheim

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a honey-mustard recipe?

Regards,

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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