This months canning challenge ingredient was herbs and I found what sounded like a great recipe for Herb Mustard. I'm not sure if I can truly describe how disgusting this was. Ever put a regular dry aspirin in your mouth and let it melt? Bitter doesn't even begin to tell how god awful this tasted. I've never personally ingested poison, but I think this is what it would taste like. And I didn't just taste it once! (and I'm not the only one who tasted it!) I tried adding honey, I tried letting it cool - nothing is going to make this palatable. It's going in the trash. I guess the good news is I made a small batch and tasted it before bothering to can it. Yikes - can you imagine, I go through the trouble of canning it, wait a couple months, then break it out for a grilled sausage dinner with friends - oh try my homemade herb mustard - isn't it good?! Who would have thought this recipe would be so disgusting. I'm posting the recipe because I don't want anyone else to ever try it - just in case you read it somewhere and consider giving it a whirl. I've made mustard before - Peach mustard - and it was delicious. Guess I'll stick with that. I know the sorrel tasted good as I tried it before adding to the mixture as I've never cooked with it before. It was really tasty - lemony with a little bite. Not the rabid bite I got from the mustard. Bad Herb Mustard makes enough to fill a ziploc for the trash
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 cups water
1 cup dry mustard powder- this much dry mustard cost me $8
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs - I used sorrel, some chives and a little parsley
Do you need instructions on how not to make this? Combine everything but the herbs it in a non-reactive pan and simmer over low heat until thick, about an hour. Add the herbs. Serve to someone you are really pissed off at.
Feel free to give me your comments on how/why this went so wrong... maybe way too much mustard powder?
Nobody is perfect.
ReplyDeleteAt least you were smart enough not to pour it down the sink!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ziploc bag tip. :)
Abby
Yeah, now I've heard that boiling mustard makes it bitter... I think I'll just stick with Maille and add my own herbs as needed!
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious. I'm so glad you posted it even though I'm sorry it didn't turn out well.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! So funny! Is it a gallon or quart size ziploc? LOL!
ReplyDeleteAhh the agony of defeat! It was a good try anyway. I love mustard and made it for the first time a couple of months ago, but there was no mention of cooking, just marinating. Perhaps that was what your peach mustard was like too?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the amusing read! (my mustard's here if you're ever interested http://vegedible.blogspot.com/2010/03/condiment-for-what-ales-you.html)
I agree, I know I shouldn't be laughing, because it's not funny, but it is.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
Sometimes I think the mistakes are much more interesting than the successes... maybe that will be my cookbook idea. Thanks for everyones support - and I'm glad I made you all laugh!
ReplyDeleteI've been dying to try mustard, now I'm scared!
ReplyDeleteHa ha har har!!! This post is too funny...I'm not laughing at you, but with you! :-) Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.
ReplyDeleteCanning mustard is tricky. Some recipes are truly nasty, but to give them some credit, they do take a long time to "age" and soften.
But really, how much mustard can one eat anyway??
A friend of mine made a whoe-grain mustard with stout beer back in October. Her initial reaction was also that it tasted horrible. However, she discovered that the flavors mellowed and blended once it had been left to sit in her pantry for about 6-8 weeks. So aging the mustard once it's been canned might be the "missing ingredient" for mustard recipes.
ReplyDelete(Mind you this is just a guess on my part. I haven't tried experimenting with mustard yet.)
too much dry mustard? maybe.
ReplyDeleteBut the thing is, all of my mustard recipes (based on, of all people, a Martha Stewart recipe - but they work, so I am sticking to 'em!) do AGE the mustard. First you put mustard seeds into the liquor/vinegar of your choice, then you drain off and discard the liquid after 24-48 hrs, grind up the now soft mustard seeds, and proceed. And once you finish it off, you can can it - but the jar I always set aside for the 'fridge does need to stand at least a week, and then just tastes better and better.
I hope this helps.
We learn as we go...
I hate when I make something that doesn't work out: but I am glad to know I'm not the only one! I made a great stout mustard recently and wanted to can it but it seemed like it wasn't acidic enough: i wonder if cannable recipes are generally just a somewhat different proportion of ingredients.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a good laugh. I had a similar experience not long ago with garlic green chile jelly. No thank you! Glad to find another great local blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for everyones comments! It's too late to let my mustard "age" at this point (see ziploc in the trash) and I have to say after my multiple tastes - even the next morning - I just couldn't face canning it and then waiting to see if it still tasted like poison. I do think it was too much mustard powder...
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I took a tour of Hangar One spirits, over in Alameda. Every year they try some new and experimental flavor; that year it was chipotle, which was pure firewater (in a good way). Previously, they had done wasabi, which is a member of the mustard family. They discovered that when you distill alcohol with mustards you get ... mustard gas! So, yeah, I can see how cooking it might have brought out, shall we say, unsavory notes. I find that dry mustard is a pretty powerful thickener if just left to stand.
ReplyDeleteIf you have an eCommerce store (or stores), there's actually a decent "trick" you can use to potentially grow your earnings. blockchain news
ReplyDelete