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Do you like hot foods? You can make your own spicy, sweet, and/or hot mustard as a condiment or ingredient. Here are general instructions for making mustard, followed by a few recipes and a video.
Ingredients
- Mustard Seeds (Dark Seeds Are Hotter)
- Dry Mustard
- Light Brown Sugar
- Salt
- Turmeric
- Garlic Powder
- Water(strong orange pekoe tea adds a nice depth)
- Cider Vinegar
For more specific ingredients and amounts, see the Recipes section below.
Steps
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1Use utensils and mixing vessels that are glass, or ceramic -- anything but aluminum, which can be dissolved by the vinegar.[1]
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2Purchase some mustard seed, or ground mustard powder. Whole seeds come in 'white' (yellow), brown, and black varieties. The darker the seed, the stronger the mustard.Advertisement
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3Soak the seed for two hours before grinding. Do not try to hurry the process by boiling, as the heat will activate an enzyme that takes away the flavor of mustard.[1]
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4Grind the mustard seed if it is not already ground. You can use a mortar and pestle if you have one, or a cleaned-out coffee grinder, or even a blender. The sound of the grinding will change when the mustard reaches an evenly ground consistency.
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5Pour the mustard into a dish and mix with liquid until it is about the consistency of a thick ketchup. For a quick, hot mustard that you will use right away, use water; otherwise use wine/beer/mead, vinegar, or grape juice. Feel free to combine liquids.
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6Add any desired sweeteners, such as honey, sugar, artificial sweetener, ground dates or raisins, to taste.
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7Add ground spices. To make it sweeter, try anise or cinnamon; to make it hotter, try ginger, cloves, horseradish (as is the norm in Europe), or one of the black peppers. Taste and adjust seasoning.
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8Mix together, cover, and leave on the counter until the hotness is at your desired strength. Heat and bitterness will reach a peak in 5-15 minutes; water-based mustard should be served then. For other kinds of mustard, wait between 2 hours and a day for flavors to blend.
- Aging for a day is typically needed for the flavors to mellow, however some find that the best flavor arises after aging for several weeks.
- Aging mustard in the refrigerator will cause it to stay hotter longer.
- Aging mustard in a closed container in a cupboard or on the counter is generally considered safe, as mustard has anti-bacterial properties.
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9Adjust consistency as necessary with juice, vinegar, or other liquids; mustard will thicken over time.
Alternative Method
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1Take the dry ingredients. Grind in a spice grinder until relatively fine. This way you won't have to do any soaking.
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2Add the liquid ingredients to a glass bowl.
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3Add the dry to the liquid and mix well with a fork.
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4Microwave on high for 1 minute.
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5Mix well with a stick blender until creamy.
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6Let the mixture rest. It will thicken as it cools.
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7Finished.
Community Q&A
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QuestionIf the mustard is too hot, what will calm it down?
Community AnswerHeat it and that will make it less hot. If you added vinegar, add a bit more after it's cooled again. -
QuestionHow long will homemade mustard last?
Community AnswerIf it is salted and made with vinegar, perhaps a year in the fridge. If you add ground nuts, 6 months. -
QuestionFor the alternative method, how many watts does the microwave have?
Community AnswerIt depends on the age of your microwave. The newer ones are usually 1200 watts. Your microwave should have its wattage listed on the side panel.
Recipes
-
Dijon Mustard
- 1 cup of onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 4 oz of dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 4 drops of Tabasco sauce
- 2 cups of dry white wine
- Beer-Thyme Mustard
- 1/4 cup brown mustard seeds
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
- 3/4 cup flat amber beer (or beer of your choice)
- 1 Tablespoon mustard flour
- 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Basic table/dipping mustard
- 1/4 cup mustard seeds (Dark seeds are hotter)
- 1/4 cup dry mustard
- 2 tsp. light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. Non-Iodized Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Turmeric.
- 1/4 tsp. Paprika for color.
- 1/4 tsp. Garlic powder
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup sweet pickle juice.
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar.
Warnings
- Do not get mustard powder in your eyes.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- When first mixed, mustard has a very hot and bitter taste. This will fade over time. Most people who like spicy mustards will be happy with a one day old mustard; but in other cases you may have to age the mustard for months.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Waiting too late to add the vinegar will create a form of dangerous and caustic mustard gas.⧼thumbs_response⧽
Things You'll Need
- Spice grinder
- Stick blender
References
About This Article
To make mustard from scratch, start by soaking the mustard seed for two hours before grinding it evenly with a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. Next, pour the ground mustard into a dish and mix it with water or wine until it has the consistency of thick ketchup. Then, stir in your favorite ground spices, like anise, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, horseradish, or black pepper. Finally, cover the mustard and store it in the refrigerator. To learn more about an alternative technique, read on!
