Can you really make mustard from a packet of seed?
Two kinds of seed, some vinegar and a week of patience. The first mouthful nearly took my head off, and then it mellowed into something lovely.
Years ago we drove through Dijon purely because of the mustard, which tells you the sort of people we are. It stuck with me, so this autumn I tried to make my own from seed.
What I did
- Soaked a mix of yellow and brown mustard seed overnight in cider vinegar and a splash of water, enough to cover.
- Left it two days for the seeds to plump and soften.
- Blitzed about half of it and left the rest whole, for that grainy texture, with a good pinch of salt and a little honey.
- Jarred it and put it at the back of the fridge to settle.
What happened
The first mouthful, on day one, nearly took my head off. Freshly made mustard is ferocious — the heat comes from crushing the seed with a cold liquid, and it needs time to calm down. A week later it had mellowed into something genuinely lovely, sharp and grainy and much better than it had any right to be.
Verdict: it works, but be patient. Taste it the day you make it and you will swear off mustard for life.
Next time I will hold back some of the vinegar and add it at the end, so I have more control over how fierce it stays.
Would you want one?
A little jar of the finished mustard, once I get the heat right
Nothing’s for sale. I only make things people want, so a tap helps me decide.
