Homemade Mustard – The French Alternative
Homemade mustard is delicious, especially if you’ve grown the seeds yourself. Mustard plants are hardy and tolerant of heat and drought, and the very young leaves of many varieties make a good, spicy addition to a salad or can be stir fried.
There are several varieties of mustard. The seeds of black mustard (Brassica nigra) are used to make French mustard. Seeds from white mustard (B. hirta) are used to make yellow mustards, such as English mustard. Jackie French was growing a variety of brown mustard (B. juncea) called ‘Red Giant’. This is used as a salad green but will also provide seeds for continental or seeded mustard. However, mustard plants only go to seed once a year after they have flowered, so instead of waiting to harvest the seeds you may prefer to buy a packet at the supermarket.
Jackie’s basic mustard recipe is simple to make. Once you’ve tried it you can experiment by substituting cider vinegar, or perhaps adding some black olives or some chillies. If you like a sweeter mustard add more honey.
Ingredients
- 35g mustard seeds
- 9 tablespoons virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or use a good white wine vinegar)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 bunch fresh herbs, chopped (such as Tarragon)
- Tabasco sauce (add a dash if you like a fiery mustard)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons honey
Method
Combine all the ingredients and blend together well. Add to vinaigrette dressing, pour over cooked fresh asparagus or spread on ham sandwiches.
(Tip: if storing mustard for more than a few days, it’s best to use garlic salt and dried herbs instead of fresh ingredients. Omit the extra salt if using garlic salt.)
Further reading
‘The Best of Jackie French: a practical guide to everything from aphids to zuchinni chocolate cake’ (Harper Collins, September 2000). Cost: $29.95.