I experimented and made mustard today - and it was like coarse ground gourmet mustard. And was so delicious!
There are so many recipes for mustard online, but they vary so greatly, and require all sorts of different ingredients, it was just so complicated. This recipe is for medium temperature mustard (a bit less hot than spicy brown).
Basic Mustard
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds (for more kick, you can use half black mustard seeds)
- 1/2 cup cold water (with 1 ice cube melted into it)
- 1 tsp turmeric (this gives it a nice yellow color, but it's optional)
- 1 tsp salt
- 3tbsp mustard powder (optional - for a bit spicier mustard)
Before we get into steps, let me explain a bit of chemistry...
Mustard seeds and powder release an enzyme when submersed in cold water. They stop releasing the enzyme after about 15 minutes. This enzyme is what makes mustard spicy. Putting the seeds/powder in a vinegar (white vinegar, wine, etc) will stop the release of enzymes as well.
Step 1: Grind the mustard seeds until they are broken (but not powdered). You can use a mortar and pestle, a blender, or similar.
Step 2: Mix the optional mustard powder with the seeds, salt, and turmeric, and pour in the water.
*Use one of those Pyrex measuring cups for this. You will need to add vinegar to equal one cup total in the next step.*
Let it sit for exactly 15 minutes. If you want very mild mustard, ten minutes should do it.
*Use one of those Pyrex measuring cups for this. You will need to add vinegar to equal one cup total in the next step.*
Let it sit for exactly 15 minutes. If you want very mild mustard, ten minutes should do it.
Step 3: Pour white vinegar (or vinegar of your choice - different vinegars will make different flavors!) over the mixture until the liquid level equals 1 cup total.
Step 4: Cover the mixture and let it sit overnight out on the counter.
Step 5: The next morning, pour the mixture in a pot and bring to a boil. Then, turn down to low and let simmer until most of the liquid had boiled out. It should have an almost jelly-like texture, with perhaps a little bit of water on the bottom. (It will thicken a little in the fridge.)
Step 6: Transfer to a tupperware container or some sort of storage bowl, etc., and cover and store in the fridge. Mustard is antibacterial, and pretty much won't go bad ever!
Yield: about 3/4 of a cup.
