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Monday, October 29, 2012

Spicy Mustard

Lately my favourite way to eat Kielbasa has been cooking it on the stove top and then braising it in the oven with a good heap of sauerkraut, and then topping it with some nice mustard.

Well I'm all out of nice mustard, and while I've found that adding some chilli garlic paste to store bought mustard helps add a little kick, its still missing that part of mustard that climbs up your nose, and then punches you in it.

The sensation mentioned above comes from a chemical created by enzymes within the seeds. While enabling this chemical release is not a super delicate process, laziness during preparation and too much heat (temperature, not spice) really deters the enzymes from doing their thang. I'm guessing the combination of trying to appeal to a wider audience, and using mass production methods with little hands on care, has resulted in most store bought mustards in North America evolving into a rather bland blend.

So I'm making my own:

Ingredients             

- Brown mustard seeds x 1/4 cup
- Yellow mustard seeds x 1/4 cup
- Cold water x 1/2 cup
- Apple cider vinegar x 1 - 2 tablespoons
- salt x 1/2 - 1 teaspoon

Directions

Grind the seeds in a spice grinder if you have one. I don't so I smashed them up in my mortar and pestle.

Mix the seeds with the cold water and let it rest for ~ 10 minutes.

Add the salt, apple cider vinegar and mix thoroughly. This would also be the step to add anything else you are planning on using to flavour your mustard. I'm keeping it simple this time around to focus that punch to the nose.

Pour the contents in a jar and store in the fridge overnight for the seeds to absorbe some of the liquid.

At this point its essentially ready to eat, but according to my research, it will be pretty bitter for a day or so. Like most things, time adds more depth to the flavour, and in this case mellows out that bitterness.

Result

Kielbasa braised with sauerkraut and toped with the mustard
I sure felt it up my nose however, it was otherwise a little boring, and it wasn't as complex as I was hoping it would be. I also don't think I would use this in salad dressings, and its probably a little too dominating for any delicate flavours.

It cut through the rich fattiness of the kielbasa I ate it with tonight nicely so I'm going with mission accomplished, or at least that I'm on the right track in terms of making a mustard with some kick.

I'm looking forward to tweaking the recipe a little bit. I'm thinking using wine instead of water, adding some yellow mustard powder and adding some chillies of some type.

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