On Sunday I shared a little about the "Faith of a Mustard Seed". I wanted to kick off Herb and Spice Week with a sweet tutorial! What do you think? Should we make mustard for the Easter Ham?
First, let's talk about the medicinal benefits of this common culinary spice. Remember a spice is a seed or bark of an edible plant. Not only does it make your hot dog taste good, but mustard has been revered for many thousands of years as a healer and purifier in natural medicine. I remember my grandmother talking about mustard poultices they would use to put on the chest of a very congested and sick person, only to see the sickness soon leave. Mustard has been used for years as a dietary aid to ease digestion and metabolize fat. Yeah...I should eat a lot more mustard dude. Give it to me straight. Do you think if I poultice it on my thighs it will help? Maybe? I imagine it will just make them look more bumpy.
I read here that the Greek physician, Dioscorides, used Mustard as an emetic, and Pliny the Elder (23-79) noted in his Historia Naturalis that Mustard grew everywhere in Italy and was not only a great boon to cuisine, but he also listed forty medical remedies with Mustard as the chief ingredient. At one time in history mustard seed was believed to have strong aphrodisiac powers.
I don't know about that...but Ace nearly fell over dead with amorous when he found out I knew how to make homemade mustard.
Chef Tess Homemade Mustard
1/4 cup brown mustard seed
1/2 cup dry mustard power (1/4 cup if you don't want your mustard as hot)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 clove pressed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed dill seed (optional)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Braggs Organic Apple cider Vinegar
4 droppers of liquid Stevia (or 10 packets of Splenda brand sweetener)
1T fresh minced tarragon (optional)
1/2 tsp dry tarragon (optional)
Place mustard seeds (and dill seed if you use it) in a spice mill or coffee grinder and mill until a fine powder.
I found this cool organic yellow mustard seed powder for 8$ a pound! That's a smokin' deal eh? It so happens that a pound of mustard powder is 4 cups.
It fit perfectly into a quart size mason jar.
You need to combine the dry ingredients. So...ya know. I don't want to get to tech-no-rocket-chef here, but the two mustards, the salt, the turmeric, the paprika and Ultra gel....
In a separate container combine the vinegar, water, stevia and minced garlic.
I used a fancy jar.
Whisk the dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients and mix well.
Add herbs if desired or enjoy plain. Keep in a glass jar or non-metal container in the fridge up to one month.
Do you prefer whole grain mustard?
Here's my recipe for that too.
Chef Tess' Homemade Whole Grain Mustard
1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
2 Tablespoons brown mustard seeds
1/3 cup grape juice (or wine if you use wine in your cooking)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar or high grade balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 tsp dill seed
Directions
In a non-reactive bowl, combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight, covered.
Transfer the mustard mixture to a food food processor and process until mustard has obtained the desired texture and thickness. Store in an airtight, non-reactive container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
I first read about homemade mustard with Alton Brown and severely adapted it for sugar free organic uses--obviously if you use Splenda it would not be organic. However, if you don't need all that...Get Alton Brown's Recipe from Food Network's blog and the printable pdf here.
