Making your own yellow mustard, to use as the popular condiment. The seed came originally from my years-ago trip to Yunnan, and weve kept the strain alive (through thick and thin) ever since then. I took great care in growing mustard this year, as it has proven to be surprisingly popular, and I wanted a good crop. This can be a challenging grow at times, as insects tent to eat the tender young plants in spring. Around here at least you have to jack the plants up with plenty of organic compost to outgrow the pressure. When seeds start to come ready (indicated by the chattering of the dried tops in a vagrant wind) you have to harvest them before you can once again overhead water, otherwise quality will deteriorate. I ended up making my first pick a little early and some green seeds got into the sample. However, they will dry down yellow, and on the whole Im happy with this first pick--the seed is so round and robust! Am hurrying off to make some mustard. Its expensive to buy this in the store, not very hot, and what to do with the empty plastic squeeze bottle? Ill mix the fermented mustard powder with some fresh ground horseradish, which will produce a product that is positively medicinal! Curative barbecue, anyone? White Mustard (Sinapis alba) Family: Mustard (Brassicaceae) Hardiness: to -10 degrees F Annual or overwintering annual herb maturing in 90 days, native to China. Source of white mustard seed that is made into the popular condiment, being milder than black mustard seed. Pungency develops when the seed is ground up and wetted with cold water. Adding salt or vinegar interrupts this enzymatic process. To make your own mustard, grind the seeds and wet with water. Cover and allow to ferment for a few minutes, then add vinegar and salt until the paste loosens to the consistency of yellow mustard. This will be an excellent condiment, and quite hot, as we have found.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 14:00:01 +0000
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