As promised in the Egg Salad Post, I mixed up some spicy German mustard this weekend, using bulk mustard powder, bulk mustard seeds, and bulk brown sugar from Whole Foods. (Plus the last little bit of mustard powder in a plastic container, which will be included in this week’s tally.) Eventually, I’ll purchase all my spices in bulk once the pre-packaged herbs and spices are used up.

[01/28/2009: It’s come to my attention that there are different interpretations of the term “buying in bulk.” It could mean buying huge containers (plastic or otherwise) of a product. Think Costco. This is not what I mean. It also means bringing your own container to purchase non-packaged food from bulk bins. This IS what I mean. When you purchase this way, you not only save packaging waste, you’re also able to buy the exact amount you need.

We like our mustard with some heat, so I followed this recipe for Spicy German Mustard on About.com:Southern Food. Whole Foods only had one kind of mustard seed, so I just used equal parts mustard powder and mustard seed.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup yellow mustard seed
2 Tbsp. black or brown mustard seed, heaping
1/4 cup dry mustard powder
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 small onion chopped
2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 garlic gloves, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. dried tarragon leaves
1/8 tsp. turmeric

Preparation:

In a small bowl, combine mustard seed and dry mustard. In a 1- to 2-quart stainless steel or nonreactive saucepan, combine remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, on medium heat until reduced by half, 10-15 minutes. Pour the mixture into the mustard mixture. Let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature for 24 hours, adding additional vinegar if necessary in order to maintain enough liquid to cover seeds. Process the seeds and mixture in a blender or food processor until pureed to the texture you like –this can take at least 3 or 4 minutes. Some prefer whole seeds remaining, others a smooth paste. The mixture will continue to thicken. If it gets too thick after a few days, stir in additional vinegar. Scrape mustard into clean, dry jars; cover tightly and age at least 3 days in the refrigerator before using.
Makes about 1 1/2 -2 cups.

This mustard is super hot. I took a tiny taste of it this morning and could barely breath for a few minutes. I think aging it in the refrigerator will help to mellow out the flavors a bit. In fact, I Googled “Does mustard need to age?” and found this Gardenweb discussion answering that exact question. I particulary enjoyed the post by dgkritch who wrote, “And for some of us wimps, it gets better after it sits in the fridge for awhile. When I made mine, it just about singed the nose hairs. Weeks later, I really like it!” I wanted to use that expression myself but plagiarism is just not in me!

I’m enjoying preparing my own condiments! Thanks for all your great suggestions on the Egg Salad post.