More Mustard Recipes circa 1900

MUSTARD.

The mustard seed contains two different oils, a fixed and
fat oil, which is in the pit itself, the other volatile and essen-
tial, contained in the envelope of the seed. The fixed oil is
sweet and can be compared to cotton seed oil; it is without
taste and can be used for all purposes. However, absorbed
alone at the dose of two ounces it is purgative and acts as
castor oil. It freezes only at very low temperature and keeps
great length of time before turning rancid; it is therefore suit-
able for oiling delicate machinery, clocks and watches.

The essential oil evaporates spontaneously at a temper-
ature of 123° Fahrenheit; its odor is as strong and power-
ful as that of ammoniac gas, one drop on the tongue produces
a great pain such as a burn and it is felt through the throat
and the stomach, in the same time producing great inflamma-
tion of the eyes. It dissolves easily in water, vinegar, and
burns with a large bright flame.

It is this volatile oil that gives the mustard its peculiar
flavor and strength.

FRENCH AND ENGLISH PROCESS.

There are two ways of preparing the mustard flour,
which, mixed with vinegar is the condiment of interest here.

By the "French process" the seeds slightly moistened by
addition of a little water and finely ground in a mill, the flour
obtained is directly used to prepare the mustard.

By the "English process" the seeds are first pressed and the
greater part of its fixed oil (sweet oil) extracted, the dry pulp
that is left contains all the essential oil ; this pulp is ground and
constitutes the English powdered mustard. The English mus-
tard is therefore much stronger than the French, but the latter,
containing all the sweet oil, is much softer and has a more deli-
cate taste.

ENGLISH PREPARED MUSTARD.
English prepared mustard is merely English process mustard flour mixed with light vinegar and a little salt; the addition of wheat flour is an adulteration.

GERMAN PREPARED MUSTARD.

Mustard flour, 10 lbs.
Strong vinegar, 10 qts.
Salted cucumbers, 5
Ground pepper, 5 oz. 

Cloves, 1/2 oz.
Cinnamon, 1/2 oz.
Nutmeg, 1/2 oz.

Use "French process" mustard flour.

Boil the vinegar, add the mustard and spices, then add ihe
cucumbers. Crush into liquid paste.

FRENCH PREPARED MUSTARD.

Mustard flour, 10 lbs.
Parsley, 5 oz.
Celery, 5 oz.
Taragon, 5 oz.
Chervil, 5 oz.
Salt, 2 oz.
Sugar, 2 oz.
Citric acid, 1/4 oz.
Salted anchovies, 4
Garlic, 2 cloves

Add sufficient quantity of strong vinegar.


FANCY FRENCH MUSTARD.

Parsley, 4 oz.
Water cress, 4 oz.
Shalotts, 3 oz.
Celery seeds, 3 oz.
Cinnamon, 1/2 oz.
Nutmeg, 1/2 oz.
Cloves, 1/4 oz.
Pepper, 1/4 oz.
Thyme, 1/4 oz.

Crush and infuse two weeks in one gallon of strong vinegar
then add

Mustard flour, 10 lbs.
Salt, 4 oz.
Olive oil, 3 oz.

Make heavy paste, then add vinegar to reduce to proper thickness.

IMPERIAL MUSTARD.

Celery,    8 oz.
Parsley,  6 oz.
Chervil,  6 oz.
Scallion, or shalotte, 6 oz.
Nutmeg, 1/2 oz.
Pepper,  1 oz.
Cloves,  1/2 oz.
Cinnamon, 1 oz.
Thyme,  1/2 oz.
Taragon, 1/2. oz.

Crush and infuse two weeks in one gallon vinegar, then add:

Mustard flour, 10 lbs.
Salt, 2 oz.
Olive oil, 4 ozs.

Add necessary quantity of vinegar.


ANCHOVY MUSTARD.

Mustard, 10 lbs.
Parsley, 10 oz.
Pepper, 1 oz.
Sugar, 2 oz.
Citric acid, 3 oz.
Nutmeg, 1/4 oz.
Garlic, 2 cloves
Salted anchovies, 1 lb.
Vinegar, quantity req'red.


TOMATO MUSTARD.

Use English process mustard flour.

Mustard flour, 10 lbs.
Tomato pulp, 18 lbs.
Salt, 6 oz.
Cayenne pepper, 1/8 oz.
Citric acid, 1/2 oz.
Vinegar, quantity req'red

The tomato pulp must first be reduced by boiling to a very
thick paste.

HORSERADISH MUSTARD.

English process:
Mustard flour, 10 lbs.
Grated horseradish, 7 lbs.
Salt, 6 oz.
Pepper, 1 oz.
Vinegar, quantity req'red

Originally the French mustard was made in equal parts of
mustard, green grape juice and vinegar plus the tomatoes. In
modern days the citric acid has taken place of the green grape
juice, which was only obtainable during a short period of the
year.

GREEN MUSTARD.
Parsley, 12 oz.
Pepper, 1 oz.
Cloves, 1/2 oz.
Taragon, 6 oz.
Bay leaves, 1/2 oz.

Crush and infuse in one gallon vinegar two weeks, then add:

French process mustard flour, 6 lbs.
Dark green vinegar pickled cucumbers, 10 lbs.
Salt, 4 oz.

Crush to make fine paste and add necessary quantity of vinegar.

Harissa #2

 

My friend Jack, brought me 2 pounds of Super Cayenne chiles. They were kept overnight in the 'frig and the next morning, in my propane bbq, fire roasted, most for 10-12 minutes, a few that didn't get the flame first for another 4-5 minutes.

In total that was 

964 grams of Super Cayenne (raw weight before roasting)
950 grams -- after roasting

After removing the burnt skins, removing the stem they weighed: 476 grams.

That's quite a loss of product, but I'm not unhappy. The 2 pounds was but $10.00 (US dollars in September 2018).

Here are the remaining quantities of ingredients.

Salt 8 grams
Brown Mustard seeds 20 grams
Caraway seeds 25 grams
Cumin (powder) 15 grams
Garlic, fresh 8 grams (paper husk removed)
Garlic, granulated, 5 grams
Pickled Lemon 25 grams
Mint, leaves, fresh 10 grams
Rosewater 4 grams
Lemon juice with it's zest, 43 grams
Olive oil, as needed to make a paste.
Sodium Benzoate .7 grams (700 milligrams)

Sorry, I don't have these in ounces and 1/10 of ounces.

Wearing gloves, I peeled the skins and de-stemmed the chiles. Into the food processor bowl with metal blade went the chiles. Over that the mint leaves and fresh garlic, left whole.

In a spice grinder went the salt, caraway, mustard, and cumin. That was reduced to a fine powder and poured over the mint and garlic. Next the juice and zest of the lemon were tipped in.

About 30 pulses got the mass to a fine enough puree to allow the processor to run continuously until the ingredients blended and pulled into a mass. While the machine ran, extra virgin olive oil was added. I eyeball this. It's not hard to see how much olive oil is needed.

Next, the bowl with it's ingredients not fully blended was weighed and the sodium benzoate weighed on a scale that can resolve (weigh accurately) tenths of a gram. As only seven/tenths of a gram of benzoate salt is needed, it must be an accurate weight. After it was added, the processor bowl was replaced and the mass mixed a few more times.

Refrigerate after standing on the countertop a few hours to allow the flavors to meld.

Sweet Lime Chutney

Around 1995 I found a small cookbook titled: Curries of India by Harvey Day. Long out of print, this small book is a priceless collection of authentic Indian and Asia Minor recipes. I present just one here. The booklets were originally published separately but were combined into one binding. Each book kept it's original pagination.

CAVEAT: Dates burn easily. Do not leave the pot unattended. Stir like crazy. You are warned.

Curries of India
The Second Book of Curries (Book 2) by Harvey Day
Jaico Publishing House 125 Mahatma Gandhi Road
Bombay, 1
©1963
Fifth Impression 1978
India's Own Pocket Editions

Page 57

Sweet Lime Chutney

25 limes or lemons
2 oz salt
½ pint vinegar
¼ lb raisins
¼ lb dates
1 oz ginger, fresh
1 oz garlic - finely chopped
½ oz red chiles, dried
½ oz mustard seed
4 oz brown sugar

Divide the limes (or lemons) into quarters but do not separate the pieces. Rub the flesh with salt and expose the fruit to the sun for three days, turning daily, or put in a warm oven until dried off. Remove the seeds, grind the fruit in the vinegar and other ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for half an hour. Allow to cool and bottle. Can be used at any time.

My notes: Key Limes if available. I believe that the pint refers to the British Pint, hence that is 18 fluid ounces, not the U.S. 16 of white vinegar. The limes called for would be an Indian variety which in the West we call a Key or Mexican lime. These are much smaller than the typical supermarket lime, known in the trade as a Bearss Lime. They should be had as yellow as possible. Key limes will ripen if kept in vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. They ripen quite slowly. The dates are pitted. I would use a moist date for this recipe, ex. Medjool. If you cannot find moist ones, use dry dates, but soak them in water, overnight.

Mr. Day's use of "finely chopped" may be confusing to some. Does he mean a large dice, etc.? I would aim for pieces about 2mm on a side or 1/16". Red chiles. Ahem. Mr. Day uses the Indian-English spelling of Chilli. I would suggest jaggery as it's now an available ingredient. In Harvey Day's day, they equipment used would be a vegetable chopper, pictured below. You should use your food processor.

Helpful Hints: Put the salted limes in a glass casserole and place in the sun in mid-July. (Northern Hemisphere, January in the Southern Hemisphere) Bring the casserole in the house overnight and set on a dry countertop, un-covered. During the day, rotate the fruits once in the morning and a second time in the early afternoon. But in any event, twice a day. The fruits' skin must reach dryness to prevent spoilage. I am going to use .1% of sodium benzoate in mine. I will put the sodium benzoate in the vinegar and allow it to dissolve before proceeding with the making.

India Spices & Groceries 5994 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035

This is not an essay into Indian cuisine and culture. It's a blatant plug for this place. I'm hoping you, dear reader, upon seeing this, go there and buy some stuff and help keep the place open.
The spice aisle is extraordinary. They have gum acacia. It's in 3.5 ounce bags and called "Edible Gum". It's from Deep Foods (Indian importer in New Jersey). They have mustard oil. And best of all they carry black and brown mustard seed. Please drop everything you are doing and go and shop there, now.
5994 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035 Tel. 323-931-4871