SC - Poppa's mustard (recipe #1 - Platina red)

[Jenne Heise]

> If you soak the mustard seed first, it would be easier to grind.  

Um, er... I've tried it both ways, using wet mustard seed and dry mustard
seed, and in my experience, the dry is easier to grind in a mortar &
pestle, because when it is wet, the friction is reduced. I also find that
grinding seeds, etc. is much easier in a mortar with a rough inner
surface. (Somehow I ended up with FIVE mortar & pestle sets: 

One regular pottery with a not-completely-smooth glaze and a shaped wooden
pestle (which has been demoted to pomander making since I can't get the
frankincense completely off the pestle)
One white ceramic with a roughened surface inside and on the pestle
(excellent for everything but lavender and roses) 
One brass, smooth inside, with a smooth brass pestle (seems to work for
dried herb leaves but not seeds) 
One marble set which I can't find! 
One semi-conical mortar with a ridged interior (and cylindrical wooden
pestle) which is good on lavender flowers, roses, etc.-- I think this came
from a Japanese grocery)
I also have a cheap electric coffee grinder for large amounts of seeds...

(What's an herbalist without a M&P anyway?)

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise	      jenne at tulgey.browser.net
disclaimer: i speak for no-one and no-one speaks for me.
   "My hands are small I know, but they're not yours, they are my own"