This thing that I'm about to tell you is probably going to knock your socks off, but trust me, it shouldn't.
I make mustard now.
It started about a month ago when I was taking inventory of my kitchen and found some mustard seeds (I believe we got them to make Indian food, not mustard). And then I recalled my name is yeh's blog post about mustard on Food52. And then I thought about how I'd been burned by mustard too many times. Do you know what I'm talking about? Store-bought mustards usually disappoint me. Some mustards are just too cloying and artificially sweet. Others promise big things, but then fail to deliver (I'm talking to you horseradish mustard and stout mustard). The only mustards that don't disappoint me are Trader Joe's whole grain dijon mustard and aioli garlic mustard sauce.
And so I decided to make mustard. It was a pragmatic decision, but I was also curious: Is homemade mustard superior to store-bought? The answer, like anything else, is absolutely.
Making mustard is super easy. It's so easy that I'm embarrassed to tell you about it because once you realize how easy it is, you won't be impressed that I make it. Basically, you soak mustard seeds and then add vinegar, salt, a sweetener, and any other seasonings you want and then blend it up (I use an immersion blender). That's all there is to it.
I told a friend about my mustard-making, and he was unnecessarily impressed. He said that making condiments is the real sign of being a foodie. I was like "Really? This is what impresses you? Not my homemade pasta, crackers, or pie, which are infinitely more complicated to make than mustard?"
Anyway, the recipe for my first mustard-making excursion came from the Homemade Pantry. I was hooked. The mustard was so good that I stopped putting it on sandwiches and just started eating it with a spoon.
This mustard was the gateway mustard, and I immediately made more. I was so excited about making mustard that I braved traffic and parking one evening and went to three different stores in search of mustard seeds (that's a big deal; I hate dealing with traffic and parking). And once I found a store that sold mustard seeds in bulk, I stocked up and bought not one, but two pounds, just in case (you know, so I don't have to deal with traffic and parking, and also because I didn't have any cash and I had to spend at least $10 so I could use my credit card).
The second mustard you see in the background in the picture is a spicy Guinness mustard. I used brown mustard seeds and added some maple syrup. It's super good, though I don't feel the inclination to eat it by the spoonful.
I told a friend about my mustard-making, and he was unnecessarily impressed. He said that making condiments is the real sign of being a foodie. I was like "Really? This is what impresses you? Not my homemade pasta, crackers, or pie, which are infinitely more complicated to make than mustard?"
Anyway, the recipe for my first mustard-making excursion came from the Homemade Pantry. I was hooked. The mustard was so good that I stopped putting it on sandwiches and just started eating it with a spoon.
This mustard was the gateway mustard, and I immediately made more. I was so excited about making mustard that I braved traffic and parking one evening and went to three different stores in search of mustard seeds (that's a big deal; I hate dealing with traffic and parking). And once I found a store that sold mustard seeds in bulk, I stocked up and bought not one, but two pounds, just in case (you know, so I don't have to deal with traffic and parking, and also because I didn't have any cash and I had to spend at least $10 so I could use my credit card).
The second mustard you see in the background in the picture is a spicy Guinness mustard. I used brown mustard seeds and added some maple syrup. It's super good, though I don't feel the inclination to eat it by the spoonful.
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