Condiments…I am not sure I have ever blogged about condiments before. Maybe just once. Whenever I think about condiments, I think about my grandfather. He was a very quiet man, his wife definitely carried the conversations in the family. We lived in the same town, so I didn’t talk to them on the phone very often, until I went to college. Then my grandmother would call me once a week, just to check in and see how I was doing. Every once in a while my grandfather would get on the phone to say hi, and his favorite topic to ask me about was the food. He would ask me what they were serving for dinner, and more often than not he would tell me not to forget the ketchup. I never really remember him eating ketchup, but it certainly seemed to be something that was always on his mind. Whenever I grab ketchup out of the refrigerator, I always think of him.
That leads me to mustard, my least favorite of the condiments. Over the years I have grown to love mustard when I cook – but I would never slather mustard on anything, even today. A few weeks ago my good friend and neighbor brought me a present from the farmer’s market – mustard seeds. He helps his friends at Nash’s set up their stash, and always comes home with some awesome stuff. I think I was even more excited than he was. I have never made mustard before, and really had no idea how incredibly easy it was. There was a recipe right on the back of the package, and I followed it exactly. I swear when I put the mixture in the blender, I was still skeptical – and then all of a sudden there it was. Mustard – real mustard, I couldn’t believe it. I was almost bouncing off the walls with excitement. I took a spoon and tasted it – and it was the best mustard I have ever had. Probably because I made it…funny how that works.
One bit of caution – this mustard is great to make and store in the refrigerator. I would not try and can this – it didn’t work so well. For some reason the mustard cooked, and had a bitter taste afterwards. So, if you are not obsessed with mustard like my grandfather was with ketchup – just find some friends and neighbors to share with, I know they will thank you…
Ingredients
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1 cup mustard seeds
- 1/2 cup beer
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
Preparation
Mix together the cider vinegar, mustard seeds and beer and let sit for at least 8 hours or overnight. Add the salt and brown sugar or honey, then mix in a blender or food processor until the desired consistency.
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Brown Mustard
First Look, Then Cook 