[Ansteorra] More on "period"(mustard)

[Stefan li Rous]

On Sep 16, 2006, at 8:43 AM, gail young wrote:
>
>     On Sep 15, 2006, at 2:43 PM, Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace wrote:
>> I've
>> never mixed my own mustard. Grey Poupon works quite well in my
>> sauces, so
>> why put in the extra time to work out the proportions and whip out
>> the lumps when what I want is right there on the shelf?
>
> I make period mustard as Christmas presents.  If you use already  
> ground mustard seed (which works just fine), it isn't hard to do  
> but it takes a few weeks to set up correctly and you have to find  
> an appropriate way to store it.
>   No matter how hard I try, I can't make it "mild"...spicy is the  
> best I can get and HOT is usually the outcome, something like  
> chinese mustard.
>   Now back to our regularly scheduled conversation...
>   gwyneth

Mustard will mellow over time. If you are tasting it right after you  
make it, then you are getting an incorrect impression of what it will  
taste like after it ages some. The spiciness will also differ  
depending upon which type of mustard seed you use, and what other  
ingredients you are adding to your mustard.  Adding honey for  
instance should make your mustard less "hot" but also make it  
sweeter. If you are using vinegar, the type of vinegar you use will  
have an effect on the taste.

For a bunch more info on period mustards and a number of period  
recipes, see these files in the FOOD-CONDIMENTS section of the  
Florilegium.
Mustard-art        (5K)  9/14/00    "Mustard" by Ld. Daniel le Vascon  
du Navarre
Mustard-Making-art (36K) 12/ 7/03    "Making Medieval-Style Mustards"  
by Pani
                                        Jadwiga Zajaczkowa.
mustard-msg      (134K)  6/11/06    Mustard seed in period. sauces.  
recipes.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****