Adding Spice to my Reduce our Waste Life

Did you know that most of the world’s mustard comes from Canada and that 80% of it is made in Saskatchewan?  Being Canadian, of course, we are sure not to brag about the quality of our mustard.  While the French and others have tried to grow mustard seed, our dry and sunny Prairie climate is best for growing top notch seed.  Our mustard seed is purchased by world famous mustard producers like Maille in France and French’s in the US.  Strangely, almost all of the mustard seed that we produce is exported and very little is manufactured into the finished condiment that we all know and love in Canada.  Mustard is truly loved by all, being the third most commonly used spice after salt and pepper.

The three most commonly used mustard seeds are yellow (Sinapsis alba), brown (Brassica juncea) and black (Brassica nigra).  Brown mustard seed is typically used to produce dijon and white mustard seed is used to produce the yellow hot dog mustard that we all know and love.

A quick scan of the grocery store shelves shows that while it is possible to buy dijon mustard in a glass container, yellow mustard is only available in plastic packaging.  For a reduce our waste (and recycling) lifestyle, making my own mustard is on the agenda.   In her book Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson writes that she also decided to make mustard and it was surprisingly “easy”.  I was skeptical but I found several good (and easy) recipes available on line.  I decided to try my hand at making both yellow and dijon mustard.  Both are surprisingly easy.  I started with the dijon mustard using the recipe from The Spruce Eats (see link Dijon Mustard Recipe) .  Then I prepared the ingredients, being sure to use cold water to ensure spiciness in the final mustard:

Using a mortar and pestle, I partially crushed 2 tablespoons of mustard seed:

The mustard seed is what gives Dijon its lovely texture and bite.  Then, I mixed up all the ingredients:

It was pretty soupy and liquid.  The recipe called for a 48 hour waiting period to allow the mustard to thicken and the bitterness to decrease.  I had to warn the family to avoid accidental, unpleasant tasting (and screaming):

While the dijon mustard is no cook, yellow mustard involves cooking on the stove top.  Heating it causes the mustard flavor to soften and be less strong.  I prepared all the ingredients for the recipe (see link for Yellow Mustard Recipe):

The yellow color of the mustard is from the turmeric in the recipe.  Who knew!  Then all the ingredients are mixed together and cooked on the stovetop for 7-8 minutes.   It goes from:

to

Very easy.  Like for the dijon, you have to wait for the yellow mustard before using it (minimum 24 hours).  It is too bitter immediately after cooking.

A few days later, the spicy dijon mustard was excellent on our sausages:

My only comment is that both mustards are thicker than those from the store.   I think I will increase the amount of liquid in the recipes the next time I make this.

My husband tells me that I have an unhealthy obsession with mustard.  Call me a proud Canadian!

Challenge for the Week:  Do you want to try to make your own mustard?  Give it a try and support our local Canadian farmers.