Making Revolution…Now, Mustard

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).

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.

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.

JoelF wrote: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.

(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.

David Hammond wrote:
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

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?

FrankP wrote: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.

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.

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.

JoelF wrote: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?

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.

Josephine wrote: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.

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

JoelF wrote: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.

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.

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

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.

JoelF wrote:You're right though: a small quantity in your fridge is probably fine. I'm a bit nervous, and might use pasteurized egg product.

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.

David Hammond wrote:
1/3 cup dry mustard

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?

Cynthia wrote:

David Hammond wrote:
1/3 cup dry mustard

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?

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=

Cynthia wrote:

David Hammond wrote:
1/3 cup dry mustard

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

After 200 Years, Has English Mustard Lost Its Bite?

I treasure a blue ceramic pot, the size of a pigeon’s egg, inscribed Colman’s. It has survived decades of kitchen clear-outs and is still used to mix and serve freshly mixed Original English Mustard.

The volcanic yellow paste is the capo of condiments. It has packed a blistering punch on British dining tables ever since the eponymous Mr. Jeremiah Colman went into business in Norwich 200 years ago.

The former flour-miller built his fortune with “the bit on the side of the plate,” invariably left once the meat and two veg of Sunday lunch have been eaten.

No one licks a plate clean of mustard.
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