[Sca-cooks] Grinding mustard seed

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach jenne at fiedlerfamily.net:
>I have hand ground mustard in quantity, at Pennsic for my mustard class--
>if you are using a mortar and pestle of the normal modern size, it takes
>quite a long time.
>
>Now, I find that grinding mustard dry works best, though I have ground
>soaked mustard seeds (for the white mustard in Platina). If you are doing
>a large quantity of these, you might try one of the Japanese mortar and
>pestles (for a small quantity, this is not a good idea as all the mustard
>gets stuck in the ridges).

I've used the large soapstone mortars (~$25-$30 at various Asian
grocers') that hold about a pint or slightly more. I think the best
approach is to actually grind the seeds, rather than simply pounding
them. The object is not to just bash them until they're obliterated,
but to use the sides of the mortar, with the pestle, as two halves of
a millstone, moving the pestle in a circular motion against the
sides. Eventually you get to the point where you can feel for
unground seeds with the pestle, and nail them. It's still a lot of
work, mind you, but low-impact and a fairly mindless, repetitive
motion once you get the rhythm and feel for it.

I can probably grind a half-cup of mustard seed at a time this way,
with the process taking just over a minute, I would guess.

>I think most of the other recipes call for grinding the mustard dry.
>
>The best method I have found for large quantities is the simplest kind of
>electric coffee-mill, which you must fill over the top of the blades.

What she said. Of course, you probably _do_ want to get one dedicated
to spices. Mustard coffee in the morning is not all it is cracked up
to be.

Adamantius