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Grainy Mustard

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Makes 1 1/2 cups 1x

Time 15 minutes, plus a day or two to soak the seeds

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds (about 1 1/2 ounces)
  • 1/4 cup brown or black mustard seeds (about 1 1/2 ounces)
  • 1/2 cup red wine or water
  • 1/2 cup sherry vinegar or malt vinegar, or any vinegar with at least 5 percent acidity
  • Pinch salt

Instructions

  1. Put all the ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid or other sealed glass or ceramic container. (Don’t use metal; it will corrode.) Shake or stir, then let soak for a day or 2.
  2. Put the mixture in a blender and purée for several minutes to grind, adding a little extra water as needed to keep the machine running. Stop and scrape the sides down once or twice and repeat. You’ll never get the mustard as smooth as Dijon, but you can control the coarseness by how long you blend. Taste and add more salt if you like.
  3. Return the mustard to the container and cover tightly. Store in a cool, dark place or refrigerate for up to several months. The mustard will be quite sharp at first, but it will thicken and mellow with time.

14 Ways to Flavor Grainy Mustard

Start with 1/2 cup mustard and stir in the following ingredients. Note that using fresh herbs, fruit, or vegetables will reduce the mustard’s storage time to a week.

  1. Mustard Relish: Add 1/2 cup chopped sweet pickle and 1/4 cup each chopped red onion and red bell pepper.
  2. Tarragon Mustard: Add 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon.
  3. Rosemary Mustard: Add 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary.
  4. Tomato Mustard: Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste.
  5. Honey Mustard: Add 2 tablespoons honey.
  6. Horseradish Mustard: Add 1 teaspoon freshly grated or prepared horseradish, or more to taste.
  7. Molasses Mustard: Add 1 tablespoon molasses.
  8. Balsamic Mustard: Add 1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, to taste.
  9. Creole Mustard: Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste.
  10. Roasted Garlic Mustard: Add 2 or 3 cloves Roasted Garlic, mashed with a fork.
  11. Peach Mustard: Add 1/4 cup fresh peach purée (1 medium peach, peeled, pitted, sliced, and puréed or mashed with a fork).
  12. Mango Mustard: Add 1/4 cup fresh mango purée (1/2 medium mango, peeled, pitted, cubed, and puréed or mashed with a fork).

— Recipe from How to Cook Everything: Completely Revised Twentieth Anniversary Edition 

Recipe variations

Pickled Mustard Seeds
A surprising garnish that accomplishes the same heat: Use white wine or water in place of the red wine. Do not purée the mixture in Step 2; instead use as is, adding the whole seeds to dishes before, during, or after cooking.