[Sca-cooks] Mustard powder

[Johnna Holloway]

In addition to Bear's excellent comments below, You might take a look at 
Making Medieval-Style Mustards

a class in the Society for Creative Anachronism by Mistress Jadwiga Zajaczkowa

http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/Mustards.html

Johnnae

On Sep 16, 2015, at 2:11 PM, Terry Decker <t.d.decker at att.net> wrote:

> It's not quite that simple.  Within a seed type, most mustard powders are very similar although there are some variations depending on where they are grown (although, I'm still trying to figure out how Coleman's produced that tongue blasting yellow I once tried).
> 
> Are you trying to prepare mustard condiment or are you using the powder as a spice for other dishes?  I'm going to assume condiment at this point.  And it would be nice to know the recipe(s) you are using.
> 
> There are basically three types of mustard seed available, yellow (white) (Sinapis alba), brown (Brassica juncea) and black (Brassica nigra) and they tend to be classed in pungency in that order.  Flavor and bite of the mustard powder is produced by enzymes in the seed.
> 
> In preparation, applying heat or increasing acidity of the liquid will reduce the pungency.  In other words, if you want a hot mustard use cold water, if you want milder mustard try hot vinegar or wine.  Different vinegars will produce different tastes.  Remember that most of the mild commercial mustards replace mustard powder with tumeric to reduce the pungency  Also, most commercial mustards add "spices" to modify the flavor. To cut bitterness, you might wish to try adding a little sugar.
> 
> My experience, admittedly limited to three period recipes, has been that period mustards are generally more pungent than commercial mustards and that all freshly made mustards have a harsh edge to them that requires aging for two or three months.
> 
> You might check Stefan's Florilegium for other thoughts on your problem: http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-CONDIMENTS/mustard-msg.html .
> 
> Bear
> 
> 
> I am looking for a mustard powder that doesn't have the harsh aftertaste and
> bitterness. I have used Penzeys and Atlantic Spice.
> 
> 
> 
> Gwyneth
> 
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