Home Made Mustard

I have always dabbled with preserves in one form or another making lots of different preserves primarily for Christmas but also for use throughout the year making chutneys, pickles, fridge preserves like pickled peppers and goats cheese in oil. 

Every year I primarily cook up to and including Christmas lunch but then it is mainly cold cuts for a few days after and that's when the pickles and preserves really come into their own.   

When I make preserves of any kind I often make a few extra jars of a particular preserve then give them as a pressie for a friend.  

Surprisingly I  had never really thought about mustard, until I came across this article on the Jam Jar Shop website.  There have been other articles, but I have forgotten where they are or they have been removed from the web.

Wholegrain Mustard With Beer – “How To Make” Recipe From The Jam Jar S – Jam Jar Shop

And yet I always cook a gammon joint and give the joint a glaze, orange and ginger is a firm favourite but I also use others, so I thought mustard could well fit in nicely with everything else I prepare, especially as as well as ham we often have beef  (not forgetting the Turkey) and Pork Pie and Pate!.Mustard is not just a side it can be used in sauces especially a cheese sauce to help accentuate the flavour of the cheese.

Since then I have made it on an off.  On one of my recipes, I use The Bumble Bee honey beer as my basic beer and I predominantly leave the seed mixture whole  I source my mustard seed from Asian food shops; they predominantly stock brown seed which is stronger but on occasions I have found the white seed in large bags for not very much at all; as many of you will know I hate paying through the nose for something.

I have found that this mustard keeps for quite a period of time in any event but it may be one of those recipes where you make a batch or several different flavoured batches using different beers and herbs or wine and then give away to family members to help pep up their cooking.  I use the small jars (the tiny shaped ones that you can get from Lakeland) as a little mustard goes a long way.

You also have the option of whether you leave the seed whole, or grind it down to a smooth paste, use herbs, use beer or wine, add onion or garlic or both.  Its a basic recipe but with so many variations.  Happy Playing

Pattypan

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