Making Your Own Condiments

[radtek]

My experiences are with India Mustard (Brassica Juncea) as far as growing for myself.

 

Amazing what amount a few plants can produce too! As the leaves get to the size I like they are trimmed off and eaten- usually braised but the young tender home variety (vs fibrous store bought) can be eaten in salads. The stems are tough but I separate them, cut into inch sections and braise for 10-15 minutes before the leaves go in... depending on leaf toughness, etc...

 

They'll grow year round but prefer the cooler months where they'll flourish nearly to the size of an Elephant Ear plant if you let them. Need to remember to plant some this year.

[GlorifiedRice]

Hi,

 

What is the deal with mustard seeds/flour, not developing heat if theyve had vinegar added or whatever?

How do I get a very very hot mustard essence. Do I let the ground mustard seeds lay out in oxygen or add

Water or Everclear instead of acid?

 

What is the deal?

[jayt90]

Oxidation definitely reduces heat content in Dijon mustards.  

Keene's and Coleman recommend mixing their mustard flours with water, a little at a time, for heat. Origin of mustard makes quite a difference, too, as much of Dijon four originates in Saskatchewan.

What is Everclear?

[Lisa Shock]

I always thought the heat was related to the age of the seeds. I have made some mustard that was very hot, even after adding vinegar.

[Deryn]

Oxidation definitely reduces heat content in Dijon mustards.  

Keene's and Coleman recommend mixing their mustard flours with water, a little at a time, for heat. Origin of mustard makes quite a difference, too, as much of Dijon four originates in Saskatchewan.

What is Everclear?

Grain alcohol = Everclear (brand name) overproof 190% I think (or it used to be). When I was a teenager in the Yukon, friends of mine used to mix it with grape juice for a Purple Jesus. (disclaimer - I didn't drink at all till well into my 20s - just didn't like the taste - so I never partook of that concoction). At any rate, it was sold where I was but I think it may not be sold in all provinces.

[gdenby]

I suppose freshness is important. Seeds less than a year old, or flour less than that.

 

If you want heat, start w. whole seeds. Darker = hotter.  Grind or pulverize. Want really hot? Black nustard seeds, pulverized and mixed w. water. Wait 10 - 15 minutes. Should be about as hot as fresh horseradish. Little bits between the teeth will still scorch after hours.

 

Water based mustard only has the heat for 4 - 5 days, then fades rapidly. Vinegar in the mix won't give as much heat, but will stay hot for a couple of weeks.

[GlorifiedRice]

Hhhmm, How do I make a searingly hot concentrated tincture?

[gdenby]

I've never heard of mustard becoming hot as a tincture. Easiest way to find out, buy some Everclear, mix with fresh pounded mustard. Taste.

 

If I get the time, maybe I'll try making mustard gel.  Or just coat gel w. mustard itea.

[andiesenji]

I missed this topic earlier.  I don't know what you are doing or why your mustard is not hot enough but I've been making mustard for decades and I never had a problem with it being too mild.

 

Once the mustard has been prepared, it usually had a "raw, harsh heat" that has to be tempered with heat - that is acutally physical heating, carefully in small increments because too much heat can completely destroy the spicy heat.

 

Some mustard varieties are much, much hotter than others. 

The "white" mustard (yellow) which is finely ground for Coleman's dry mustard is a very hot variety.

I grew a lot of mustard for years, and my plants were a mixture of the yellow, brown and black - the latter seeds are smaller than the brown or yellow.

 

The heat of prepared mustard will diminish over time and one way to extend this is to add a bit of sugar - commercial preparers learned a long time ago that mustard mixed with HONEY will retain its flavor for very extended periods.

 

I think I have just about every book ever published on mustard.  The Incredible Secrets of Mustard by Antol is very good.  I have a couple of old ones, can't recall the titles right now, long out of print.

The Mustard Book by Jan Roberts-Dominguez, published in 1993 has quite a few recipes for making mustard from seeds but I like the Antol book better.

[gfweb]

So how does a bottled mustard eg dijon, keep its heat?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

So how does a bottled mustard eg dijon, keep its heat?

 

Poorly.  I've never tried a Dijon that I thought was hot.  And quite seriously I've always thought Dijon was supposed to be a mild and pleasant mustard.

 

What I think of as hot are recipes that instruct to add, say, a tablespoon of mustard -- which to me means a tablespoon of Coleman's -- and to the recipe writer apparently means a tablespoon prepared mustard.

[KennethT]

Wow this thread is old, but I didn't know where to put this. Just made a first attempt at chili oil, including copius garlic, ginger and fermented black beans.

 

[Dante]

I've made ketchup (I need to work on that to make it better), mustard, and mayonnaise, as well as several bbq sauces (red, black, yellow, white).

 

I've also used tofu as a sauce base before, primarily for doing Hollandaise simulations.  

[Toliver]

On 11/4/2018 at 10:22 AM, KennethT said:

Wow this thread is old, but I didn't know where to put this. Just made a first attempt at chili oil, including copius garlic, ginger and fermented black beans.

 

Is there any heat to it?

It looks like a chili oil a local Chinese buffet used to serve. I would dunk my egg rolls in it or anything else that was deep fried and crunchy.

Can you post the recipe? I'll put it on my list of things to make when i retire. 

[heidih]

It reminds me of Kenji's chili crisp recreation which I would probably eat with rice as a meal   https://www.seriouseats.com/2018/04/chili-crisp-spicy-salty-crunchy-tingly-and-good-on-everything.html

[KennethT]

13 hours ago, Toliver said:

Is there any heat to it?

It looks like a chili oil a local Chinese buffet used to serve. I would dunk my egg rolls in it or anything else that was deep fried and crunchy.

Can you post the recipe? I'll put it on my list of things to make when i retire. 

It's about 2 heads of garlic, and a 3" knob of ginger both minced finely, and a small handful of fermented black beans, roughly chopped.  These are slowly fried in 1-1/4 cup (maybe a splash or two more) of peanut oil.  You have to do this part slowly so the garlic doesn't burn - but after about 30 min. it gets nicely browned.  Then I added a cup of sichuan chili flakes, a hefty pinch of salt and a hefty pinch of sugar, let fry for maybe 5-10 minutes, then added a few splashes of soy sauce, then let cool.  I actually haven't tasted it yet (it's been in the refrigerator to let the flavors meld), but I'll send out an update after I do to give a verdict.  But it does look like many of the chili oils I had in China or in some down home places in Chinatown in NYC.

Edited November 6, 2018 by KennethT (log)

[KennethT]

OK - just had a chance to taste it.  By itself, it has a strong flavor of fried garlic, and then has a background heat that comes through over time.   Oddly enough, all the oil has been absorbed, and it basically just looks like a Chinese tapenade!

[Toliver]

4 hours ago, KennethT said:

OK - just had a chance to taste it.  By itself, it has a strong flavor of fried garlic, and then has a background heat that comes through over time.   Oddly enough, all the oil has been absorbed, and it basically just looks like a Chinese tapenade!

Will you leave it like that (drier than expected) or will you add more oil to loosen it up again? Dry, it can be used as a spread, as you suggested. But looser would make it more usable to dip stuff in. 

[KennethT]

8 hours ago, Toliver said:

Will you leave it like that (drier than expected) or will you add more oil to loosen it up again? Dry, it can be used as a spread, as you suggested. But looser would make it more usable to dip stuff in. 

For now I'm leaving as is - most of the time, I would add it as a component to other things - like a dollop to a noodle soup, or add to soy sauce/black vinegar for dipping sauce... so as of now, I don't see the need for extra oil... but that may change as I use it more.

[weedy]

Homemade mustards and mayos and hot sauces can be opportunities to make something just the way you like it, and to make useful variations for different uses and dishes.

 

OTOH, homemade ketchup is just a demonstration of how you can never make anything as good as Heinz. 😎

 

 

[MelissaH]

On 11/8/2018 at 12:13 AM, weedy said:

OTOH, homemade ketchup is just a demonstration of how you can never make anything as good as Heinz. 😎

 

You got that right, at least according to this former Pittsburgher. I canNOT abide anything but, and get really frustrated by the holier-than-thou restaurants that tout their "house-made" ketchup. I wish they'd put their energy elsewhere, into something worthwhile!

[Katie Meadow]

The only condiment I make from scratch IS ketchup. Home-made mayo is yummy, but for most things like chicken or tuna salad or a BLT I'm very happy with Duke's. As for mustard, my husband and I are dedicated fans of Edmund Fallot dijon mustard; nothing else tastes quite right any more. When my daughter was young she insisted on the standard yellow French's stuff which I grew up on but rarely find a need for any more. I admit it does have a certain...something.

 

But Heinz Ketchup to me is one of the worst products ever. Now that I make my own ketchup it shocks me when I taste it. I don't eat burgers out, and when I eat fries I prefer them with aioli. My ketchup is a bit less homogenous than Heinz, tastes more like tomatoes with a hint of smokiness and vinegar. I don't use it all that often, just on the rare times we grill burgers, and as a coating for my meatloaf (and it doesn't go into the meat mix at all.) 

 

It isn't as if I didn't eat my share of burgers and fries in my younger years, when Heinz was the only thing at hand, but it occurs to me that it wasn't what my parents went out of their way for on fast-food nights or weekend street grazing in NY. We ate a lot of pizza, dirty water dogs from a cart, and Chinese. We lived in an apartment and didn't "grill" things. Although we did keep Heinz in the fridge, I can't remember what we used it for. I must have eaten my share at camp, since I'm sure it was ubiquitous. My family always equated ketchup with Richard Nixon, frankly. If you are too young to know what I am talking about, it's just as well.

 

I think it's fascinating how many people still find the foods of their childhoods comforting. I would be very surprised to learn that anyone devoted to Heinz didn't eat it regularly as a child. My mother was a terrible cook! Her memorable meals were far and few between. There's only one thing she made that we still make "just the way she did,", and that's the fresh cranberry orange relish at Thanksgiving. She got the recipe off the cranberry bag, so a hand-written scripted recipe isn't among my cherished possessions. Okay, I'm pretty well off topic now. 

[Bernie]

With all the food the larger companies make, they have to listen and cater to the majority of their customers, old and young alike. They also have to produce continuously and to a price. Quite often that results in condiments/food that is tending towards bland. Unfortunately a lot of people remember their childhood foods when their taste buds tended towards sweet and non threatening tastes (like chilli, pepper, and subtle flavors).

As adults, if you never try new tastes you never actually realize that the sauce or food is actually bland, all you ever remember is how good it all was in childhood (the sugar hit).

Its funny also how we use generic terms when we refer to condiments. Mayo, Aoli, ketchup, lots of different types with different ingredients and tastes are all grouped together. An example "home made ketchup", "heinz ketchup" are both tomato flavored sauce (well sort of) but they are two completely different products with completely different (I would hope) tastes.

 

[gfweb]

5 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

My family always equated ketchup with Richard Nixon, frankly. If you are too young to know what I am talking about, it's just as well.

 

 

 

Lol

I'd say tricky Dick was more a sandwich with one slice of American cheese and one of bologna on white bread. 

[andiesenji]

I like homemade ketchup and I often make banana ketchup.  I first tasted it 30 years ago when I visited the Philippine market here in Lancaster soon after I moved up here from the "Valley."  

I was in the store to get a new bottle and I met a woman in the store who said she made it at home.  We chatted and I expressed interest in the recipe and she invited me to her home gave me the recipe and even gave me a little jar of her product so I would know the proper taste.