Serious DIY Series – Three Varieties of Homemade Mustard

It’s the middle of May one of the most beautiful months of the year.   The sky is blue.  Birds are singing.   Temperatures are moderate, and there’s a nice breeze blowing through your backyard.  The smell of grilled hot dogs wafting off your barbecue is tantalizing.  You reach for a bun, use a fork to plop a down a plump hot dog.  You pile it high with relish and onions.  The only thing missing is………mustard.

So if ketchup is the king of condiments, mustard is the queen.  Just like ketchup, it is super simple to make.  With mustard though, there are so many varieties that experimenting with it could be endless!

What is Mustard?

Mustard is a combination of an acid, water, spices, ground mustard seeds, and optionally sweeteners all combined in appropriate ratios.  It can be tangy, sweet, or spicy.  There is a lot of interesting information on the history of mustard here if you’re interested.

There are three different types of mustard seeds that all produce different flavors.  Let’s start white/yellow seeds.  This is the type of seed used to make generic ‘hot dog’ style mustard.  Brown seeds are a little spicier than white seeds.  This is generally the type of seed used in “spicy brown” style.  Then there is a black seed.  This one is the spiciest of the seeds, but it can easily be tamed by using a sweetener.

Art As Much As “Science”

As with most of my articles, I spent a good deal of time researching this before I wrote it.  What?  You thought I was naturally this brilliant?  Ha!  Just ask my children how ‘brilliant’ I am.  But in all seriousness, I went out looking at a TON of recipes for mustard.  None of them was the same as the other, or honestly, even close.

I think you could easily design your own depending on what you’re looking for.  Looking for a “Plain Jane” hotdog style?  Or maybe you’re in the mood for a nice dipping sauce for some chicken tenders, honey mustard fits the bill!  I personally love spicy brown on my ham and cheese sandwiches!  Y-U-M!

So let’s take a look at some different recipes.

Yellow mustard

Hot dog style mustard is made with white or yellow seeds.  It’s yellow color actually comes from the spice turmeric.  It’s tangy-ness, if that’s even a word, comes partially from the vinegar that most yellow mustards use.  The rest of the zip that it has comes from – of all the things – the TEMPERATURE of the water you use!

If you want a bit of a spicier mustard, then use very COLD water.  If you want it a little tamer, then use room temperature water.  I don’t like too grainy of a mustard, so I double ground my seeds.  The seeds on the right are double ground.  You can see how it doesn’t look quite so grainy.

Yellow – Hot Dog Style

1/2 C ground white/yellow seeds

1/3 C vinegar

2/3 C room temp water

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

Directions:

1.)  Grind your seeds in a spice grinder or in a (well cleaned) coffee grinder.

2.)  Add your ground seeds to a saucepan.  To this, add room temperature water and vinegar and cook over a medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken.  Mine took me less than 2 minutes.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes.

3.)  Add the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate overnight.   Do NOT taste it until it has sat for 24 hours.  It will start out bitter but will mellow out over the course of a day.

Honey Mustard

This is a wonderful blend of just a smidge of spice and the sweetness of honey.  What’s more, you can make it using your yellow mustard from above and just a couple extra ingredients!

2/3 C Mayo

1/3 C yellow mustard

1/3 C Honey

Directions:

1.) Mix all the ingredients together and store in the fridge.

Spicy Brown

Need a little bit of kick for that deli sandwich?  Want a great condiment to dip your pretzels in?  Need something with a little kick to put on a kielbasa?  How about some zing in your deviled eggs?  Spicy Brown is what you’re looking for.

I personally do NOT like chunky condiments, so I grind my seeds before making the mustard.  Some people do not grind theirs because they prefer theirs more gritty.

3T ground brown seeds

3 T ground yellow seeds

4 T apple cider vinegar

1 T COLD water

1/2 T honey

1 T Salt – I use pink Himalayan salt

Directions:

1.) Grind your seeds.  This one I didn’t double grind.

2.)  Mix all your ingredients.

3.) Let sit out overnight for the ingredient’s flavors to combine and for the bitterness to go away.

4.)  Don’t taste for 24 hours.  After that enjoy!

What About You?

Have you ever made your own condiments?  If so, which ones?  I’d love to hear.  Leave a comment and let me know.

Reading the recipe is good.  Making the recipe is better!  Remember, knowledge isn’t just knowing something.  It’s living it!