Mustard - Something else for the Pantry

I have posted before about making home made mustard but thought it worth an airing again here.  It is relatively easy to make and is another home made condiment that can be varied by the types of seed and flavourings to which you add to it; even by the choice of beer or cider, or addition of herbs, honey, vinegar  I tend to buy my mustard seeds in bulk and predominantly from Asian food shops (as it works out cheaper to buy them like this).  The darker the seed the stronger the flavour.

The best tutorial I have come across is from the Rosie Makes Jam recipe site which is here.

Rosie Makes Jam Wholegrain Mustard with Beer

It does keep for longer than you think it will but I tend to make it in small jars and keep in a cool place;  and then hand on the excess as a gift/present to friends but it is a very useful condiment for cooking especially when you need a little piquancy in a dish or want to devil a dish or a sauce.  

I pack it into tiny little shaped jars that I bought from Lakeland.

My seeds are soaking in the new beer I mentioned  (Butty Bach) which is  lovely beer, very hoppy certainly gets my seal of approval as a drinking beer as well. I think it will be ideal with toad in the hole or onions and sausages. I suspect it will go well with a Beef Wellington as well. 

Once everything is soaked I can add the rest of the ingredients and finish processing it;you can keep it is or partially whizzed in the food processor or fully whizzed before popping into the bottles. I tend to do mine half and half so that you get the contrast of the white and black seeds but it is a paste as well so you get the best of both worlds easily spreadable but with texture

Mustard can be used for so much more than the proverbial ham sandwiches.  This is how we were introduced to mustard as children (they used to put a thin smear on and hide it under the ham) and then with Roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding.  My mum always bought the bright yellow tins of Colemans mustard powder

And as children were were always given the job of mixing a couple of teaspoons full of the bright yellow powder with a little water and stirred in a little glass to combine and popped upon the dinner table for serving with roast beef, ham sandwiches, or slices of ham, sausages with onions.  I am a bit uncouth as I love mustard but also love horseradish as well and especially if we have a bit of beef I have been known to have both on the plate.

Although traditionally it would seem mustard was not the paste we know and love so well today but was formed into cakes or balls/cannon balls.  Please see article here for further information:

http://researchingfoodhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/mustard-balls.html

 and indeed the Tewksbury Mustard Company recreate that same presentation to this day as well as offering jars.

 http://www.tewkesburymustard.co.uk/product/mustard-ball/

Apparently selling the mustard in balls was one of the safest ways of transporting your mustard in medeival times and  very easily prepared from the ball for use.  Would certainly be a talking point at the table!  I might have a play with this at some point in the future but I might start with purchasing one from the Tewksbury Mustard Company to see what I am aiming to create first. 

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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Out of this quantity I ended up with 10 small jars. (Lakeland do little tiny jars in packs of six)  I think this is going to be ideal with sausages and onions with plenty of mashed potato and onion gravy.   This would be ideal to make for friends for a Christmas hamper or just a few different jars of something like cranberry sauce mustard and mint sauce.  I am going to get OH to get me some more horseradish so that I can make the Tewksbury Mustard recipe as well.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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