SC - mustard sauce

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/20/99 5:05:34 PM Eastern Standard Time, stefan at texas.net
writes:

<< Take the mustard seed, and grind one and a half pints of it with honey, and
 > Spanish oil, and make it into a liquid with vinegar......
 > 
 > To make mustard for the pot, slice some horse-radish, and lay it to soak in
 > vinegar, squeezing it well, and add a lump of sugar and an onion chopt. Use
 > vinegar from this mixture to mix the mustard.
 > 
 > Mel >>

I was speaking tongue in cheek but since you brought up the subject. The first
recipe sounds pretty straightforward to me as does the second. There were many
ways to make mustard. Al-Andalus contains a recipe with almonds added to the
ground mustard seed that has been soaked in water to remove the bitterness.
al-Baghdadi has a similar recipe where the mustard seed is soaked, drained,
crushed and mixed with vinegar and sweetener. 

Barring the French's garbage all of the mustrad making experiments I have done
turned out to be almost indistinguishable from certaimodern products available
in the supermarket. Look for coarse ground mustards and brown mustards as well
as honey mustards. The difference is so minimal that it is really not worth
the bother of making your own.

Not all so-called modern foods differ in any significant way from it's
medieval counterpart. For instance modern canned tunafish packed in oil is
almost virtually the same as the Roman recipe for the fish which was cooked
and packed in oil. Anchovies are another example.

Admittedly the addition of ale to thin it down may or may not have been period
but it certainly was the best alternative considering I didn't bring any
vinegar with me. :-)

I never said it was a period sauce. I merely indicated that it was close in my
estimation to something that could have been period.. BTW, if you're looking
for actual redacted recipes from me at small affairs like our Shire 12th Night
which is exclusively held for shire members and their guests or our shire
picnic you will be sorely disappointed as I use those get togethers to
practice BEING a  pewriod -like cook rather than parroting other cooks
recipes. They are a time for playing in the kitchen. :-)

Ras

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