Homemade Mustard

This post has been a long work in progress!  I definitely encourage all of you readers to try this at home.  If you have never tried making mustard yourself, this process might just be mind-blowing. Spicy mustard, honey mustard, rosemary mustard, apricot mustard, you can use just about anything.  Below is a basic recipe outline and a specific combination that I have enjoyed.  I suggest experimenting in small batches, until you find the combinations that you like the best.  The most important thing for this recipe/project is to take notes as you do things so that if you find the best mustard ever, you can make more.  

Homemade brown mustard served on an egg salad sandwich

I have read that Indian grocery stores have mustard seeds at low prices - I haven't found one near me yet but keep an eye out for them!  If you are lucky enough to have more than one option of color, the darker the color, the spicier the seeds. Growing mustard yourself is do-able but a heck of a lot of work.  The dried stalks with seed pods have very sharp tiny spines so get the heaviest garden gloves you can find (yes that's personal experience).  If you want to grow your own, you can plant the ones from the spice tin, but be warned that it's an invasive weed in many places so it might not go over well with the neighbors.

It is well worth it to keep an extra coffee grinder on hand for spices such as this, as the seeds in a mortar and pestle get very excited and like to jump all over the kitchen without an awkward hand-covering style of pounding, but it can be done either way, especially if you have ambitious kids with too much energy.

Everyone who tries this, please share your recipe variations below, I look forward to reading about your adventures!  



Homemade Brown Mustard: Basic Recipe

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Spice grinder or mortar and pestle

INGREDIENTS
6 Tablespoons whole yellow mustard seeds (or any color)
1/2 cup mustard powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup water (Cold for more spicy, Hot for less spicy - beer or wine can be substituted)
3 Tablespoons cider vinegar (or any vinegar)

DIRECTIONS
1) Grind mustard seeds for just a few seconds in an electric grinder or until desired consistency with a mortar and pestle.  This gives your mustard its texture.
2) In a glass container, mix together mustard seeds, mustard powder, and salt.
3) Add water and stir well.  Let sit for between ten minutes and overnight (cover loosely if desired but not airtight).  The shorter the sitting time, the spicer the mustard will be.  Adding vinegar (the acid) freezes the chemical reaction between the seeds and water.
4)  Add vinegar and stir well.
5) This is the most important step!  Let your mustard sit for at least 12 hours.  It does not need to be in the fridge.  It's likely to be terrible until it has cured properly so if the smell is bad, don't despair, some take a day or two before they are really good.

Serve with sliced meats, cheeses, eggs, in potato salad, on sandwiches, etc.  Enjoy!


Brown Cider Mustard
This is not very spicy and has a nice apple cidery flavor to it. The ingredients are half of the main recipe above, which is a good taste-test amount. 

INGREDIENTS
3 Tbsp whole yellow mustard seeds
1/4 cup mustard powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp Cider Vinegar

DIRECTIONS
1) Grind mustard seeds for just a few seconds in an electric grinder or until desired consistency with a mortar and pestle.
2) In a glass container, mix together mustard seeds, mustard powder, and salt.
3) Add water and stir well.  Let sit for 24 hours, loosely covered, not refrigerated. 
4) Add vinegar and stir well.  Let sit for an additional 12 hours before using it, and refrigerate leftovers in a covered glass container.