Honey Mustard

 

One of the things that I love to make that most people either don’t know how or just don’t care to do is to make mustard.  It’s one of the simplest things that takes all of 10 minutes to create.  And when you eat it, wow!

I make this about once a year, and it lasts us throughout the summer.  The flavor is a kind of spicy brown mustard with a sweet wisp of honey.

How good your mustard will taste depends on the quality of ingredients.  If using store bought spices, it might be blander than the one I make.  I use a regular yellow mustard powder that is made from the most traditional cooking/pickling mustard seed used today.  Make sure to use glass, ceramic, or stainless steel bowls and utensils.  This makes just over one 4 ounce mason jelly jar, or just over a half of an 8 ounce jelly jar; I prefer to use the larger 8 ounce jar so that it’s all in one container.

One thing about making mustard:  When stored at room temperature, the mustard will mellow (lose its spiciness).  Once refrigerated, the mustard will end the mellowing process and will stay at the same level of spiciness that it was when it was put into the refrigerator.  Mustard is usually too hot for people when it is first made and will not usually taste very good because the flavors have not had time to blend together.  In the recipe are guidelines for the time that you will want to store your mustard at room temperature. 

Oh, and if you want it for summer grilling season, make it now!  It takes a couple of months to mellow out before you will like to eat it.

Honey Mustard

½ cup mustard powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp paprika

½ Tbsp honey

1.5 oz white vinegar

1.5 oz water

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients, except for the water, together.  Make sure it is blended very well and is a smooth consistency.  Add water until the desired consistency is reached.

Spoon into mason jar of choice.  Label jar with name, date of making, and date of refrigeration.  Store at room temperature until mustard has mellowed to your taste (see guidelines below).  Then store in refrigerator for several months.

Guidelines for spiciness of mustard: hot is about 4 weeks at room temperature and 10 weeks for a more mild spiciness (it will still have a little kick to it).  You can pick any number of weeks between those to move it to the refrigerator based on your personal tastes.  And don’t worry if you forget about it for a few weeks past the 10 weeks; the mustard should still be fine, maybe just a little milder than you wanted.

Also, you could turn this into a honey mustard salad dressing or sauce/marinade for grilling meats by thinning it to the consistency you want with either olive oil or just plain water depending on the flavor you are looking for.

Note: 1.5 oz equals 3 Tbsp.

Helpful Tip: If your honey has crystallized, spoon the honey first into a small bowl with the vinegar.  Heat in the microwave for about 10 seconds and stir until dissolved, then mix into the rest of the ingredients as the recipe calls for.

Enjoy!  And if you have any questions, let me know!

through His grace alone!

Sarah