Storing Dijon Mustard

[liuzhou]

I am partial to a bit of Dijon mustard, both as an ingredient in sauces etc and also as a condiment, but I can only buy it locally in 830 gram jars intended for catering. Much as I like it, it isn't something I get through a lot of. That 830g jar lasted me five years the last time I bought one, before I threw it away still half full.

 

The problem was that, even though I keep it in the fridge, it developed this nasty looking dark brown, oxidised (?) ring of horribleness on top. The mustard itself is fine underneath, but one day I just thought no. Digging through crud didn't appeal any more.

 

I buy whole grain mustard in more sensibly sized 200g jars and they last me well over a year but never develop crud. I also occasionally buy Hot English Mustard in very sensible 20g jars. Even that small an amount will last months.

 

Now, I thought of covering the top of the mustard with some sort of sealant - oil? But don't want to change the flavour.

 

Any suggestions? I'm probably missing the stunningly obvious again.

 

[Blether]

Wash and save some of the 200g jars and portion out the dijon when it's new?  Then it can only oxidise as much as there's oxygen, until you next open the jar.  Or you could give away the extras to some of your favourite cosmopolitan friends.

[liuzhou]

 

Wash and save some of the 200g jars and portion out the dijon when it's new?

 

Given that the 200 g jars last me over a year, it's going to be around 4 to 5 years till that will work. And I'm not even sure it is oxidisation. Anyone seen a passing scientist? 

 

Cosmopolitan friends? I live in Hicksville, China. We don't do cosmopolitan. That's a racy magazine!

 

But thanks for the suggestion.

Edited July 12, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

You are going to throw out most of it eventually. Why not think outside the jar as it were and pitch it first? Saves you fridge space, energy from lifting that big jar, will extend your life span by reducing your level of frustration each time you open a big jar.....there may be no end to the benefits of this course of action. So take out 200 grams and bin the rest.

[weinoo]

Also, it probably loses its potency a few months after it's open.  Why not buy mustard seeds and make your own every few months?

[Smithy]

It probably is oxidation, aggravated by loss of moisture at the surface. Do you have a freezer? If so, perhaps you could portion some into smaller containers and freeze it, either in smaller, dedicated containers or else in chunks that then get consolidated into one container in the freezer. (I often freeze surplus lemon juice this way, using a spare ice cube tray; then I have small blocks of a tablespoon or so readily available.) It might separate after thawing again, but you should be able to stir it to remix. My other idea is to put a layer of plastic wrap over the surface in the jar, if the opening is wide enough to allow you to smooth it over the surface. I can't think of a liquid that you could use to cover it without affecting the flavor and consistency of the mustard.

[liuzhou]

 

You are going to throw out most of it eventually. 

 

I threw away the last jar unfinished, but what was left  wasn't most of it. Maybe 20% at most.

 

 

 

Also, it probably loses its potency a few months after it's open. 

 

Not in my experience.

 

 

Do you have a freezer? If so, perhaps you could portion some into smaller containers and freeze it

 

That sounds worth a try. Thanks.

[CatPoet]

I dont know which brand of Dijon  you are using but Grey poupon is only 1 year on the best before date. I dont like to use condiments out of date, but that is just me.

[Darienne]

We are just two usually and often buy large-sized jars of this and that at Costco to keep the cost down and save unnecessary shopping trips into the city.  I have found that the option of taking out a smaller portion and putting it in a smaller jar in our kitchen fridge while storing the larger amount in the garage fridge which is opened so much less frequently works very well.  I do it with oils, soaps and other items too.   I don't know...perhaps we aren't very sophisticated in our palates for one thing...

[liuzhou]

I dont know which brand of Dijon  you are using but Grey poupon is only 1 year on the best before date. I dont like to use condiments out of date, but that is just me.

 

I always ignore best before dates. They are nearly always a marketing ploy to get you to buy new stuff you don't need.

 

We are just two usually and often buy large-sized jars of this and that at Costco to keep the cost down and save unnecessary shopping trips into the city.  I have found that the option of taking out a smaller portion and putting it in a smaller jar in our kitchen fridge while storing the larger amount in the garage fridge which is opened so much less frequently works very well.  I do it with oils, soaps and other items too.   I don't know...perhaps we aren't very sophisticated in our palates for one thing...

 

Interesting, but two fridges just isn't an option for me. Thanks, though.

[Mjx]

Is storing it in something like a tightly-closed, non-reactive plastic or silicone pastry/piping-bag sort of thing an option? Not the prettiest solution, but it would mean that none of the mustard would be exposed to air/random spores and such, apart from what you dispensed.

[liuzhou]

Is storing it in something like a tightly-closed, non-reactive plastic or silicone pastry/piping-bag sort of thing an option? Not the prettiest solution, but it would mean that none of the mustard would be exposed to air/random spores and such, apart from what you dispensed.

 

That could work, too. I don't care about pretty - well not in this context. Thks.

[Anna N]

I threw away the last jar unfinished, but what was left  wasn't most of it. Maybe 20% at most.

 

But you did say you had been digging through the crud for what I understood was a fair amount of time and that such digging was unappealing.

 

 

Not in my experience.

 

 

That sounds worth a try. Thanks.

[cdh]

Ziploc bags?  Freeze the ones that you're not using.  Extract with a spoon from the bag in the fridge and squeeze the air out and reseal.

[cdh]

Actually, you're in China, the land where everything is made.  And you might have articulated a need for a new product that's not on the market that you could spec out and actually sell... What you need is a compressable container that minimizes oxygen exposure and facilitates serving ease... something like a 500ml syringe with a condiment serving cap on the needle end.  Press the plunger and condiment comes out, and air does not get in. Cap the serving end when you're done.  Now you need to find a factory that will work with you on the plastic molding and such.  Prototype one and see if it works... then retire on the proceeds if it works as expected.

[jayt90]

Ziploc bags?  Freeze the ones that you're not using.  Extract with a spoon from the bag in the fridge and squeeze the air out and reseal.

I was thinking the same thing: Ziploc medium freezer bag, but kept in the fridge since freezing may affect the texture.

[Anna N]

I was thinking the same thing: Ziploc medium freezer bag, but kept in the fridge since freezing may affect the texture.

How about a simple squeeze bottle turned upside down in a mug or other spill catcher in the refrigerator. I decant my condensed milk into one of these keep, it upside down and it keeps almost forever.

[MSRadell]

I always ignore best before dates. They are nearly always a marketing ploy to get you to buy new stuff you don't need.

 

 

 

I certainly agree!  There are a few products that change over time and the dates make sense but for the majority of items it seems that the dates are just there so you buy more!

[paulraphael]

I always ignore best before dates. They are nearly always a marketing ploy to get you to buy new stuff you don't need.

 

Have you noticed that rubbing alcohol now has an expiration date?

 

Ploy or not, I think mustard is something that loses potency as it ages. There's no magical date at which it's bad, but it will tend to better now than next month, no matter how old it is.

[weinoo]

I certainly agree!  There are a few products that change over time and the dates make sense but for the majority of items it seems that the dates are just there so you buy more!

Yeah, mustard is one of them.

[Lisa Shock]

Actually, you're in China, the land where everything is made.  And you might have articulated a need for a new product that's not on the market that you could spec out and actually sell... What you need is a compressable container that minimizes oxygen exposure and facilitates serving ease... something like a 500ml syringe with a condiment serving cap on the needle end.  Press the plunger and condiment comes out, and air does not get in. Cap the serving end when you're done.  Now you need to find a factory that will work with you on the plastic molding and such.  Prototype one and see if it works... then retire on the proceeds if it works as expected.

 

Actually, modifying the bag that is inside of boxes of wine would work, Just make a smaller version and add a spring operated pump to move the mustard along.

[Kerry Beal]

Camping supply companies sell refillable tubes like toothpaste tubes.  Don't know how hard they might be for you to get, but you just squeeze what you want out of the business end and it would keep the air away from the rest.  Picture here - hope you can access.  

 

The european grocery stores around here sell various mustards in tubes - but that would be even more of a challenge for you to get your hands on I suspect.  

[liuzhou]

 

The european grocery stores around here sell various mustards in tubes - but that would be even more of a challenge for you to get your hands on I suspect.  

 

Very much so. But things are improving in terms of non-Chinese stuff becoming available. Just three years ago, any type of mustard in a grocery shop would have surprised me. The original jar I had was from a friend's restaurant and he bought it in Hong Kong. I can buy more sensibly sized jars through internet shopping, but the delivery charges end up more than the mustard. I am thousands of miles from Beijing or Shanghai. So it gets a little silly.

[CatPoet]

Nogogo online  says to be good and not to expensive shipping, how ever if you just buy one jar of mustard then yeah, but maybe there is more  things in the shop you want or need?

[liuzhou]

 

Nogogo online says to be good and not to expensive shipping, how ever if you just buy one jar of mustard then yeah, but maybe there is more things in the shop you want or need?

 

Thank  you, but Nogogo is one of the most expensive in China. It is largely aimed at expats who don't know any better. I can buy the same mustard for 2 yuan (about €0.26) less at my local store. And Nogogo only quote deliver charges in a city 16 hours away from me by train. And they have a 200 yuan  minimum charge which no other Chinese shopping portal that I know of has.

 

No go.

Edited July 13, 2014 by liuzhou (log)