Happy to have found this thread. Hope it stays alive! I'm also looking to duplicate a french mustard, but NOT grey poupon. I have grape vines, and in my quest to find a Sicilian recipe for "Moo-stard-a" (more like Mustarda) which is a treat made from the must of grapes, I stumbled across Violet Mustard aka Moutarde Violette. This is made in France and is a closely guarded secret! WHAT!! Don't tell ME it's a secret!! I will post what I found about it. It came from a recipe in the 13th century. Well, in my quest, I found many Medieval recipes which I will post the one's I think are what I'm looking for here. I won't be able to test the recipe I will use until fall when the black wine grapes are sweetly ripe, and I get my hands on some freshly squeezed must. I'm thinking either the Cabernet or the Mouvedre will work. I use it for wine, but I can spare a quart to reduce down for a base for some delish mustard. SOME BACKGROUND on Violet Mustard..copied from discoveries on the web: And we had to ask him about his most famous product, moutarde violette. For those who don't know this product (shame -- go buy in the store now...) it is a mustard made with 50% concentrated grape juice, which gives it a distinct sweetness which balances the sharp acidity of the mustard paste. The story goes that many hundred years ago, there was a Pope (one of them) in Avignon , France , who had come from Brive in the South-West. He had missed this mustard which was traditionally made there, and asked his nephew to go there to find the recipe and reproduce the mustard. He did, and the nephew became the first official Papal Mustardier. Mr. Denoix had started development on this mustard many years ago as a part of Maison Denoix, to reproduce this historic recipe. Later when he stared Elie-Arnaud Denoix (or Domaine des Terres Rouges as the mustard is branded today), he reformulated it, and to my mind, improved its mustardyness and spiciness. He had then written a letter to the Vatican asking about the authenticity of the legend of the Papal Mustard, and got a reply stating that the Pope knew absolutely nothing about this. So much for stories. The mustard is good anyway, and we do know it was used long ago because some cookbooks have survived with recipes using it in local cooking. Violet mustard is made from red grape must (this is the freshly squeezed juice separated from the skins and stems) ground with mustard seeds (some say brown mustard seeds, some say black). It is a very pretty dark violet color, with its own distinctive flavor. It is not intended to be a cooking ingredient, but is meant to be served as a condiment with the finished dish. Violet Mustard: In the region called the Corrieze, I tasted a wonderful whole-grain black mustard, which looked like caviar. This particular mustard was an old recipe from the 14th century that somehow got lost in time, but in the past 30 years the Denoix family, who produce great walnut products, brought it back into the marketplace. The condiment is made from black grapes cooked, strained, and left to form a crust that is then mixed with mustard powder. A dollop of this heady mustard is splendid on grilled duck breast, veal chops, or black sausage. Another great use of moutarde violette is as an accompaniment to pot-au-feu and charcuterie. It also makes an extraordinary vinaigrette. Keep an opened jar in the refrigerator, and don't heat this mustard for too long because it loses its taste. Moutarde violette is a rare French mustard that uses grape must to create a purple paste. The best grain mustards should be sharp and give an immediate bite, sometimes like little jumping beans on the tongue. Ingrients : Mout de raisin rouge (50%), graines de moutarde, eau vinaigre dÂalcool, sel, épices. Translated: Must of grape red (black/purple) (50%), black mustard seeds, water spirit vinegar (distilled malt vinegar), salt, spices AND THE MEDIEVAL Recipes I think are the closest: Ancient Medieval Mustards 153. Mustard (124) MOSTAZA You must take mustard seed, and clean it of the dust and the soil and the stones, and grind it well in a mortar; and when it is ground, strain it through a cloth strainer; and then take the mustard powder and put it in a mortar with a crustless piece of bread soaked in meat broth, and grind it all together; and when it is well-ground, blend it with a little bit of lean broth without fat which is well-salted; and when it is blended in a good manner so that it is not too thin, take honey which is good, and melted on the fire, and cast it in the mortar and stir it well until it is well-mixed, and prepare dishes. Some cast a little vinegar in the broth; you can add peeled, toasted almonds, ground-up with the mustard. 154. French Mustard-- MOSTAZA FRANCESA You must take a cantaro (125) of the must of wine, either red or white, and grind a dishful of mustard that is select and very good; and after straining it through a sieve or a sifter, grind with it, if you wish: a little cinnamon, and cloves, and ginger, and cast it all, very well-mixed in the mortar, into the cantaro or jar of wine; and with a cane stir it around a long while, so that it mixes with the must; and each day you must stir it with the cane seven or eight times; and you will boil the wine with this mustard; and when the wine has finished boiling, you can eat this mustard. And when you want to take it out to cast it in the dish to eat, first stir it with the cane a little; and this is very good mustard and it will keep all year. 155. Another Very Good French Mustard Which Lasts All Year-- OTRA MOSTAZA FRANCESA MUY BUENA Y DURA TODO EL AÃO Take a caldron which will hold two cantaros, and fill it with red grapes and set it to cook upon the fire until it is reduced by half and there remains half a caldron which is one cantaro; and when the grapes are cooked, remove the scum with a wooden spoon; and stir it now and then with a stick; and strain this must through a clean cloth and cast it into a cantaro; and then cast in the mustard, which should be up to a dishful well-ground, little by little, stirring it with the stick. And each day you should stir with it, four or five times a day; and if you wish, you can grind with the mustard three parts cinnamon, two parts cloves, and one part ginger. This French mustard is very good and lasts all year and is mulberry-colored. Credit http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MANUSCRIPTS/Guisados1-art.html Le Menagier De Paris: MUSTARD. If you wish to provide for keeping mustard a long time do it at wine-harvest in sweet must. And some say that the must should be boiled. Item, if you want to make mustard hastily in a village, grind some mustard-seed in a mortar and soak in vinegar, and strain; and if you want to make it ready the sooner, put it in a pot in front of the fire. Item, and if you wish to make it properly and at leisure, put the mustard-seed to soak overnight in good vinegar, then have it ground fine in a mill, and then little by little moisten it with vinegar: and if you have some spices left over from making jelly, broth, hypocras or sauces, they may be ground up with it, and then leave it until it is ready. From what I have learned, I think they use some mustard powder and leave some of those black seeds whole. I plan to toast black mustard seeds to get a nice nutty flavor, but if this stuff looks like caviar, the seeds must be whole. I am assuming the spices are cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Possibly some pepper. I may also grind some of the mustard seeds with spices in the coffee grinder to get my powder. Hmmmmmmmmm Here is a link that might be useful: Medieval Mustard Recipes and Histories

I grow for personal use and to sell a few extra. My main cherries are the two Suns and Sweet Baby Girl (stocked up on its seed for the future). Variety is added by Black Cherry, Snow White, Coyote, and Mexico Midget. The currents have very few fruit per bract, and have to be cut off, stem and all, to avoid splitting, sometimes I cut the whole bract. MM is probably the best OP cherry I ever tasted, very comparable to Sun Gold. A few tiny MM on top of a basket makes it appealing. Coyote does not add appeal because it looks like a weaked Snow White. May stop it. Although I detest its bad taste, may add a Yellow Pear next year based on discussions in this thread. I found this thread while researching hybrid alternatives to Black Cherry and Snow White. Based on information here, I will try Esterina. However, have any of you tried Black Pearl or Italian Ice? Would you grow one of them instead of the OPs? I hate the long DTM of Black Cherry and Snow White. You lose a month of production at the beginning of the season, then they are absolutely loaded with unripe cherries when frost comes (Ohio-6a). Also considering Orange Zinger. Ball advertises that it produces more "usable" fruit than Sun Gold because it resists cracking. Don't know if adds a new color to a basket. Is it more orange than gold? No reviews available on Internet. When I posted a question about it, one person responded to its taste negatively. Also planning to test Sun Green (by Takita) for taste, possibly to add a green to a basket.

Clare, I have but only when it was a light sourdough, not one with a strong sour dough flavour. That wouldn't appeal to me. Annie1971, this is the recipe I used for the Chocolate Bread. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Chocolate Cherry Bread ====================== Posted by Carol: Chocolate-Cherry Bread Recipe from: Chocolate! Good Housekeeping Favorite Recipes by The Editors of Good Housekeeping Cookbook Heaven A not-too-sweet bread studded with bits of bittersweet chocolate and (tried tart cherries. We use Dutch-process cocoa instead of the more usual natural cocoa to give the bread a richer brown color. Prep: 20 minutes plus rising Bake: 20 minutes Makes 2 loaves, 12 slices each 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F) 1 package active dry yeast 3 teaspoons granulated sugar about 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 3/4 teaspoons salt 1 cup freshly brewed coffee, cooled until warm (105 to 115 degrees F) * 4 tablespoons butter or margarine,softened 1 large egg, separated 3/4 cup dried tart cherries * 3 squares (3 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped * 1 teaspoon water In cup, combine warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, cocoa, brown sugar, and salt. With wooden spoon, stir warm coffee, butter, egg yolk (cover egg white and set aside in refrigerator), and yeast mixture into flour mixture. In bowl, with floured hands, knead several times to combine well. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, working in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour just to keep dough from sticking. Knead in cherries and chocolate. Shape dough into ball; place in greased large bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees F) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Punch down dough.Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and cut in half; cover dough and let rest 15 minutes for easier shaping. Shape each dough half into 5-inch ball. Using the sides of your hands, tuck sides of dough under to meet in center. Rotate and repeat to form taut ball. Place balls, 3-inches apart, in opposite corners of ungreased large cookie sheet. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In cup, beat reserved egg white with water; use to brush tops of loaves. Sprinkle loaves with remaining 2 teaspoons granulated sugar. With serrated knife or single-edge razor blade, cut shallow X in top of each loaf. Bake until loaves are crusty, about 20 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Okay, here's the quote from William Alexander, on pages 80-81 in his book, 52 Loaves. He's quoting an answer he got from a neighbor, named Heloise Ledbedder. "Refrigerating bread actually hastens staling. To see why this is, let's back up to examine what happens when bread bakes. As the dough warms, starch granules absorb moisture from the gluten, swelling and giving bread its structure. This is what keeps the loaf from deflating after it comes out of the oven. After the bread cools, the action begins to reverse: water gradually moves from the starchy walls back into the gluten, leaving the crumb dry and crumbly. This process is highly temperature-dependent, occurring much faster at 34 degrees F. than at 70 degrees, so keep bread out of the fridge! and out of plastic. "The best way to store fresh bread is on a breadboard, cut side down. A whole loaf can be stored in a paper or cloth bag, or frozen in a plastic bag and thawed in the oven, or on the breadboard. And remember that stale peasant bread makes great french toast." Anyway, I thought that was interesting, since I've always allowed my bread to cool, then put it into a plastic bag, just like store-bought bread. If I freeze it, I wrap it in foil, then plastic, and freeze it. Sally