Homemade Mustard - Using (Non)Native Plants

It took me a long time to figure out that mustard can taste good. I actually found out when my wife and I traveled to Germany. In Deutschland, they let you order your sausage by the meter and keep filling your glass till you surrender (or cover it with a coaster). It was there that I got adventurous and decided to give mustard another shot; I'm so glad I did. And then I started paying more attention to this condiment and realized the numerous amount of combinations. I relate this to the eye-awakening experience of finding out that more than fizzy yellow beer exists.




From that point forward, I tried all sorts of different mustard. And that eventually lead me to want to make my own. It didn't seem like it would be too difficult and has a lot of similarities to beer making. Here are the basics:

• Cold Liquid produces Hot Mustard, Hot Liquid produces Mild Mustard 
• Similar to Beer Mashing - your temperature will determine how much you denature compounds (myrosin (enzyme) mixes with sinigrin or sinalbin (glucosinolates) that produce the heat (mustard oil))
• Amount of heat will peak at 15 min, then start dropping
• Add acid to preserve your heat level
• Another way to denature compounds - lower pH
• White Mustard (mild), Brown Mustard (medium), Black Mustard (hot)
• Different amounts of sinigrin or sinalbin (glucosinolates)
• Must grind or crush the seeds to get access to the compounds
• Food Processor or Spice Grinder or Mortar and Pestle
• Make 24 hours in advance to allow bitterness to subside

Now you now the basics, so how about an easy recipe that you can easily adjust for your tastes

MUSTARD - 1 cup serving

• 6 tablespoons mustard seeds (Collect your own - see below)
• 1/2 cup mustard powder (Cheap at Ethnic Grocery Stores)
• 3 tablespoons vinegar (cider, wine or sherry) 
• 1/2 cup wine, beer or water 
• 2 teaspoons salt 

Optional ingredients that I really enjoyed:

• Chipotles in Adobo sauce with Black mustard (Super Hot)
• Honey  (Commercial versions are 1:1 ratios)
• Sour Beer (Great for lowering the pH to set the heat level)

Living in California we have a ton of Black Mustard growing thanks to those Spanish Missionaries. I decided late summer to try and gather my own. The gathering part was quite easy once I figured out a good system:

• Wear gloves
• Wear a big basket or bag around your neck
• With nice thick gloves just grab each stalk and strip the seeds right into your bag/basket

The sorting part is time consuming and I don't have it figured out perfectly (if anyone knows a better way, I'd appreciate knowing)

Start with a gross sort using a strainer or colander - keep sifting. Then I washed the seeds several times in big plastic bowls. And then into the spice grinder and followPublish Post the above directions.

EDIT 2/24/12 - I had to change the title so my environmental friend would not correct me. Black mustard is actually an invasive non-native species. So please collect the seeds.