[Sca-cooks] mustard help

[jenne at fiedlerfamily.net]

> I've found that apple cider vinegar works better with crushed brown mustard
> seeds.  White vine vinegar with brown mustard seeds is too acidic for most
> palates - unless you are accustomed to it.  YMMV.

Hm... where are you getting your brown mustard seeds, milord? Also,
what brand of white wine vinegar were you using? Maybe the  ones I'm using
aren't sharp enough.

On the other hand, it may be a regional thing-- while I have had many
people rave about the fresh mustard, there are certainly others who
consider it too sharp.

> I also found that it is best to make the mustard and then let it sit and age
> for a few weeks.  The longer, the better - sort of mellowing the
> ingredients. You can then serve it as tick mustard - suitable to spreading
> on pretzels or on other foods.

About a week seems to work to age many mustards, but I have made mustards
that needed aging for months. Aging mustard is certainly documentable, but
I _think_ there are a number of indications in the recipes that fresh
mustard was also sometimes served.

We aged a lombard mustard for month and it went all dull and fruity and we
had to pep it up with mustard flour at the last moment. However, I believe
it had been heated in order to add more vinegar after about 2 weeks, and
that might have disspated the oils.

The lombard mustard and the german mustard I made for 12th night were
still quite sharp 4 months later when I re-used them for Death of an
Apothecary, and they hadn't been refrigerated.

However, the smaller the quantity and the less acid liquids are involved,
it seems the sooner the sauce goes 'flat' and looses its sharpness.

-- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net
 "in verbis et in herbis, et in lapidibus sunt virtutes"
(In words, and in plants, and in stones, there is power.)