Making Your Own Condiments

[ChrisTaylor]

Well, so much for the fortnight. I tasted the pepper vin tonight and I'm really happy with it. Used it in collards, even. Well, with black cabbage ... seeing as collards don't exist here. But even if this doesn't develop any more over the next week or so I'll be mighty pleased. If fish and chip shops down here offered this instead of plain white vin with your chips every motherfucker would get vinegar-soaked chips.

[scubadoo97]

My first attempt at homemade mustard.

Brown and yellow seeds, red wine vinegar and bourbon as a flavoring agent

The bourbon didn't come through much at all.

[ChrisTaylor]

When did you make it? I'm under the impression it takes a couple of weeks, maybe even a month for a mustard's flavour to settle.

[andiesenji]

Did you "cook" it? 

 

"Tempering"  the mustard, either on stovetop - I now use the microwave and have for years - is the way to "adjust" the bite to the degree you like.

 

Otherwise it takes several weeks for it to "mellow" and even then will still have harsh notes. 

That is one of the reasons for using something sweet - even if only a small amount in mustards you don't want to be sweet.  It speeds up the process.

 

Whatever kind of mustard you are going for, try a small amount in a cup, heating it in the microwave, as I describe in my process, and see what happens, using short periods and stirring and tasting after each session.

[fatmat]

Hi Folks, I'm working on some homemade mustard recipes. It seems that it isn't as simple as it would appear. I've had some successes, but my results are a little hit and miss. I've had everything from bitter to flavourless to blow your head off.

 

From what I can work out, getting the right flavour out of the final mustard depends on a few things

• the type of mustard seed - black, brown or yellow
• time cooking 
• acidity
• ageing

What I can't work out is how all these things interplay to produce the final result. 

 

Can anyone offer any help or advice?

 

Many thanks in advance.

[Lisa Shock]

The age of the seeds themselves is a big factor. Try to find a shop like Penzey's that rotates stock and has fresh seeds, you'll get more consistent results. Seeds that someone had in a cupboard for two years won't be as hot or flavorful.

 

Acidity strips fats off your tongue, making hot things hit with full force. So balancing the vinegar or wine content is important.

 

Other than that, I just adjust things as I go. I've only made mustard for home use and one-shot catering, never had to make it consistently in a commercial setting.

[kayb]

I made some recently that was pretty decent; I like a spicy mustard, and this hit the spot. I used half black and half yellow seeds, about 2/3 cup each; I used about 1/2 cup vinegar and then added a 12-oz bottle of Green Flash Double Stout to my quart jar. I let it sit for about 10 days. The seeds swelled to take up almost all the liquid; I was prepared to add more if needed.  I blended it in a couple of batches, adding 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp black pepper to each batch, and left it fairly grainy. 

 

Since then, I've taken smaller portions and added things like horseradish, cayenne, honey, and coriander to it to experiment with flavors. If I wanted to flavor it, I'd change the proporitons to 3:1 yellow to black seeds..

 

I had some bourbon mustard on a burger recently. It was knockout good, and I want to try to make it.

[Smithy]

You may find some helpful information in the eGCI course on Basic Condiments. If you aren't interested in the first session on mayonnaise, then skip to Session II: Mustard and Catsup. 

[heidih]

I have found the info in this other topic very helpful in making my own  http://forums.egullet.org/topic/45451-making-your-own-condiments-mustard-others/?hl=%2Bcondiments

[fatmat]

Thanks Smithy. I did take a look, but it didn't really cover the technical side in much detail.

[fatmat]

I have found the info in this other topic very helpful in making my own http://forums.egullet.org/topic/45451-making-your-own-condiments-mustard-others/?hl=%2Bcondiments

Hi Heidi, thanks for posting the link to this thread. I've just read through ît. The main thing that I gathered was that heat is used to lessen the fieryness of the mustard. The method suggested that you heat the mustard carefully and keep tasting until until the strength of the mustard meets your liking.

[andiesenji]

Following is a link to the page on my blog where I go into more detail about how I make mustard.

This does have a sweet base but in my experience, it is much easier to temper the base sweetness to make it less so than it is to add sweet later.

 

MUSTARD – Home made, Easier than you might believe

[CatPoet]

I never boiled mustard, I check 5 cookbooks and no boiling, and yes I done mustard  with rolling a cannon ball in a bowl  until the mustard seeds are crushed and we added smoky whisky and malt vinegar .

[fatmat]

I never boiled mustard, I check 5 cookbooks and no boiling, and yes I done mustard  with rolling a cannon ball in a bowl  until the mustard seeds are crushed and we added smoky whisky and malt vinegar .

 

I think that heating softens the punch - it is used to make things like ball park mustard and other hot dog mustards amongst other things

[Lisa Shock]

Following is a link to the page on my blog where I go into more detail about how I make mustard.

This does have a sweet base but in my experience, it is much easier to temper the base sweetness to make it less so than it is to add sweet later.

 

MUSTARD – Home made, Easier than you might believe

 

Andi, your recipe blog is perfect, I am just curious to see a picture of your mustard plants growing.

[andiesenji]

This is what the young leaves look like - at this point I thin the plants and use the leaves of the "discarded" plants in salads.

This is what they look like when the stalks are producing flowers with a few very immature pods that look like fat green pine needles at this point.

This is a closeup of a stem with immature pods that are beginning to fill out.

I can't find a photo of the mature pods that are turning brown and drying, but when they begin to crack easily when pinched is the time to harvest.

[radtek]

For depth of flavor I like the half brown seed ground coarsely while the yellow is ground finely. Use some ice-water or even ice to keep it chilled while grinding and add the acid component at the end to fix the heat level.

 

A little unpasteurized beer or wine in the mustard and/or short fermentation improves the flavor profile. It can be left on the counter...

 

Best to make a week in advance to condition and lose the bitterness but lasts dang near forever in the fridge once ready.

 

Amazing I can make over a quart of custom-made top shelf mustard for $2 or less...

[andiesenji]

Andi, your recipe blog is perfect, I am just curious to see a picture of your mustard plants growing.

My "mustard patch" was 4' x 10' and produced plenty of seeds for me to use and for reseeding the following spring (early) and I could harvest one crop in June/July and other in October. (Lancaster, CA - high desert, long growing season).

[Norm Matthews]

It has been a long time since I have made mustard and I had to look this one up in my old handwritten cookbook, but this one was pretty good, if I recall correctly. 

 

1/4 C. dry mustard

1/4 C. white wine vinegar

1/3 C. dry white wine

1 Tbsp. Honey. 

 

Stir together and allow to stand 1 1/2 to 2 hours in the top of a double boiler.

 

Beat in 1/2 tsp. salt and 3 egg yolks.  Cook over hot water, stirring constantly until slightly thick (5 minutes)  Pour into 8oz jar, cool, refrigerate until ready to serve.

[fatmat]

It has been a long time since I have made mustard and I had to look this one up in my old handwritten cookbook, but this one was pretty good, if I recall correctly. 

 

1/4 C. dry mustard

1/4 C. white wine vinegar

1/3 C. dry white wine

1 Tbsp. Honey. 

 

Stir together and allow to stand 1 1/2 to 2 hours in the top of a double boiler.

 

Beat in 1/2 tsp. salt and 3 egg yolks.  Cook over hot water, stirring constantly until slightly thick (5 minutes)  Pour into 8oz jar, cool, refrigerate until ready to serve.

Hi Norm, many thanks for your recipe. With the cooking and the eggs, does this recoipe produce a mild, creamy mustard?

[fatmat]

My "mustard patch" was 4' x 10' and produced plenty of seeds for me to use and for reseeding the following spring (early) and I could harvest one crop in June/July and other in October. (Lancaster, CA - high desert, long growing season).

Hi Andi, can you make use of the mustard plant as a vegetable at all?

[fatmat]

... add the acid component at the end to fix the heat level.

 

 

Radtek... are you saying that the acid stops the heat level altering, once you've reached your desired strength? does this effect last over time?

[Norm Matthews]

As I recall it is a nice mild mustard sauce. 

[andiesenji]

Hi Andi, can you make use of the mustard plant as a vegetable at all?

Yes.  The young leaves can be eaten raw in  a salad or when they are a lttle bigger, cooked as "greens" although this type of mustard plant is not the kind usually grown for mustard greens as it produces a flowering stalk, on which the seed pods develop, earlier than the "slow-bolting" mustards, such as the "Southern Giant Curled" variety that produces large leaves and is grown primarly for them.

Another is the "Florida Giant"  and the Japanese "Tatsoi" and Tokyo Bekana, which are a bit milder and have stems that are not as tough and are often chopped and cooked in soups. 

"Giant Red" is another leafy variety that has a very strong flavor and "bite" that some people find too strong. 

 

Wild mustard can also be harvested when very young as the basal leaves are quite tender and mild BEFORE the stalk appears. 

 

I grew mostly brassica juncea - brown mustard,  brassica sinapis alba(aka hirta) - white or yellow mustard - but also had some plants that were brassica nigra or black mustard, which is stronger and more pungent than the other varieties, to "balance" the end product.  

Here the stuff grows like a weed, very rapid growth, especially the black variety when the temp is hot.  The other varieties do better in the spring and fall when the temps are cooler but as we usually have cool nights, they handle the daytime heat quite well. 

[radtek]

Radtek... are you saying that the acid stops the heat level altering, once you've reached your desired strength? does this effect last over time?

 

This my understanding. That the acid halts any further heat development. So it can be added early on for milder mustard or later for more kick. Depends on recipe though. If you have mild seeds then the mustard will only get as spicy as they are capable of producing. But you still want the acid.