Happy New Year Guys!
We were watching one of our new favorite shows on YouTube called “It’s Alive” with Brad Leone from Bon Appetit. He focuses on making foods that need to be fermented or aged. He was making Country Mustard and it looked ridiculously simple to do, so today I tried making my own mustard. The hardest part was finding the brown and yellow whole mustard seeds. We finally found them at our local food co-op. Brad used sauerkraut juice and verjus (grape must), but I elected to try it with simple beer as the liquid. I haven’t tasted the finished product yet because it has to mellow for at least 12 hours in the fridge. But it sure looked like it was going to be good. I will keep you posted.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds, about 25 grams
3 tablespoons brown mustard seeds, about 25 grams
1/2 cup mustard powder, about 50 grams
1/2 cup cold beer
3 tablespoons vinegar (cider white wine or sherry)
2 teaspoons salt, about 5 grams
1 teaspoon ground turmeric (optional)
2 tablespoons honey (optional)
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs (optional such as dill or tarragon)
Method:
1. Grind the whole mustard seeds for a few seconds in a spice or coffee grinder, or by hand with a mortar and pestle. You want them mostly whole because you are using mustard powder, too.
2. Pour the semi-ground seeds into a bowl and add the salt and mustard powder. If using, add one of the optional ingredients, too.
3. Pour in the cold beer, then stir well. When everything is incorporated, let this sit for up to 10 minutes. The longer you let it sit, the mellower the mustard will be. When you’re ready, pour in the vinegar.
4. Pour into a glass jar and store covered in the fridge. It will be runny at first. Don’t worry, it will thicken up overnight. Wait at least 12 hours before using. Mustard made this way will last a year in the fridge.
