[Sca-cooks] Mustards Re: Sca-cooks

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach mwomack at ix.netcom.com:
>And my 'make your own mustard' class where people can choose to redact a
>period recipe or not:
>http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/Mustards.html
>
>-- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net
>
>
>
>Any recommendations for a mustard to accompany smoked salmon? 
>
>Ninon

While I can't vouch for its periodicity (and it seems a little 
unlikely, for some technical reasons, but my guess is it's 
seventeenth-eighteenth century at the earliest), a classic modern 
accompaniment to gravlax is a sweetened (honey or sugar), emulsified 
mustard vinaigrette with chopped dill. It's light enough for smoked 
salmon, and, although the effect would be different with smoked 
salmon as opposed to gravlax, I think it would go well.

A rough guess from memory would be something like 1/4 cup Dijon 
mustard (which is also the source of the vinegar), 1/2 to 3/4 cup 
olive oil, 2 Tbs sugar, or to taste, 2 Tbs chopped dill, and a pinch 
of salt. Some also add pepper. Basically you combine everything but 
the oil and the dill, beat in the oil in little dribbles, or a thin 
stream (I used to use a square bain-marie container; the corners were 
good for pouring in a very thin stream). The sauce will have a 
consistency like thin mayonnaise. Add the dill and you're ready to go.

If you're going for a period accompaniment (and I'm not sure how 
typical of period cold-smoked salmon of the type commonly eaten today 
is, anyway) maybe Lombard mustard (which is a coarse-ground honey 
mustard, IIRC) would be nice.

Adamantius