yeah, I luckily found a bottle in the fridge when I was cleaning it out the other day .... still good.

love the pop in the mouth.

no paprika or powdered horseradish in the mix?

Annie, those are very pretty! Did you grow them?

That looks good! I must try it. Did you use apple cider vinegar or white? Do you just simmer it all together for a couple hours?

I just made up a jar of pickled watermelon radish... never had it before and, for every recipe I checked, the reviewer comments are hilarious. :)

You just reminded me of the mustard seed I bought a while back for this purpose. Today would be a good day, but I only have seasoned rice vinegar. Would that be a mistake to use? I’ve also got ACV, white, white wine, white balsamic... and stores close but don’t really feel like going out.

Forget my questions -- I found an earlier post about it and I'm already making a batch....

FOAS, it seems to be a very forgiving 'recipe' if you read the comments at this earlier thread. ETA, I chose ACV because the combo is similar to an old bread-and-butter pickle recipe that my parents used to make and it was loaded with sliced onions and mustard seed.

Thanks PM, I found that thread and came to the same conclusion. I’ve subsequently realized I can’t avoid shopping today, so I’ll pick up RV after all. I prefer trying recipes close to original to start, as a base line. Really looking forward to this one!

Good to post the link to the original thread. I made two big batches over the holidays...one before Thanksgiving and another before xmas. I use maple syrup or coconut palm sugar, and most often ACVinegar. I did find a good unseasoned rice wine vinegar at TJ's...bought 4 bottles.

The only confusion I see is me soaking and taking off the heat. When I'm weekend condiment making I often have 3-4 going at one time. (and most likely laundry) multi-tasking. It needs a bit of babysitting so taking off the heat is just letting me tend to other things.

Soaking overnight is just another way to get ahead like soaking dry beans.

And I cut back the sugar...2-3 tBsp. Coconut palm is very nutty and rich like a brown sugar.

It does season nicely with so many other ingredients like miso, ginger, etc. One batch can be divided into 3rd's or seasoned a-la-carte later from the fresh plain batch.

I have a half container left so will be making another batch soon. Made a spice blend Sunday and a Korean chili oil....we go through that just as quickly.

I do have a couple big horseradish roots still in storage. After a few dozen batches we have enjoyed just our basic recipe. As is. Then another separate sauce or condiment that suits the dish. Often 3-4 condiments brought to the table. That seems the most fair to add as one likes.

Annie, I've seen plenty of wild mustard but haven't closely inspected it for seed. With you, I always think is it more or less bother than raising a turkey. :) For all I knew, it was just a bang on a bucket and run through a sieve thing. So I looked it up. Close (mind you I don't know how hard reaping the pods is, though probably not too terrible for home use. I'd rather cut mustard stalks than tend to a turkey!):

"Cut the stalk from the plant below the seed pods and gather them in a paper bag. Set the bag aside for a couple of weeks in a warm place. Once the stalks have dried and the pods begin to split open, the copious seeds can be extracted and are ready for use."

https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/garden-to-table/how-to-make-mustard-from-mustard-greens

So I’m about 3 hours into this, the seeds have softened some but not grown any. The liquid is pretty bitter and doesn’t show any signs of going anywhere. Just keep going?

Yeah... that didn’t turn into anything edible. Guess I’ll have to source different ingredients.

FOAS, the seeds I had didn't really "grow" a lot, although they did expand a bit. Mine was definitely not bitter, it was more like pickles in flavor than mustard, and the seeds got just soft enough to "pop" between the teeth when eaten.

I know sleevendog mentioned once that she had some seeds that she had to soak before using so they wouldn't be bitter, but I've always gotten the light seeds and not had a problem with bitterness.

Sorry about that fail, though, these things are really good, and mine took only a couple of hours of simmering to thicken.

Annie

beware ... cookies and mustard seed Wednesday is coming

It's pancake day...with maple pickled mustard

Surprised about any bitterness. Are your seeds white/yellow? The other two choices are brown and black. Of course many sources and suppliers. Or maybe old seed?

I've purchased from about 8 different suppliers over the years. These two are ButcherPacker on the left and MRHerb on the right...ordered both about this time last year...(I have full carts in both at the minute) just need to check my spice freezer supply before ordering since I only need to order once a year.

It is the brown/black seed that is bitter. That is the one I soaked/heated/rinsed repeat 5-6 times. Starting with COLD water might set the bitterness. From what I've read.

Might want to test your seed, maybe a 1/4 cup, and see if it expands.

It isn't necessary to soak first. But I have some beans, grains, dried wild mushrooms soaking today so all cooktop burners will be busy tonight. (and Alexa, lol)

On closer inspection I see that they did expand a bit. Here’s before and after about six hours of intermittent simmering and then just sitting on the stove overnight:

Yellow seeds. I used the best tasting ones in town:

Bought in December at an Indian grocery, best by July 2022 so age shouldn’t have been a factor.

I’ll try one of those sources. I think I remember (other) Annie saying BP’s are larger? Sounds nice for the purpose.

Wondering if I should also be looking for better vinegar. Used what seems to be the supermarket standard, Marukan.

If the seeds are the issue, I’ll be happy to sort that out sooner rather than later. Still need to tackle that small mustard book someone here recommended, that I spent a small fortune on.

Best in town, lol. They should be fine. Do the 1/4 cup seed/warm water soak test. Curious why they turned out so dark. Maybe bitter from so much heat and time?

This is how we start most blender mustards. Warm water or cold water soak.

I've recommended this book in the past. But it is under 5 bucks for a amazon used copy...a classic 'ye-olde-semi-hippie-from-the-70's'.

ButcherPacker has great prices. They keep it simple. Only one pound packages. MountainRoseHerb is organic and has the massive variety at also great prices on one pound packages and discounts when ordering by the pound.

BP has everything needed for 'everything bagel'. I think I'm out of poppy seed and garlic flake. I've given it as gifts and use it on popcorn after a quick zip in my spice grinder, (not to a powder), then add to nutritional yeast. Also an ingredient in my crackers.

I've given my crackers as a gift, and included a 'kit' to make their own with instructions...I think 2018.

I keep my 'kits' in the freezer and can make quick-zip without starting from scratch having so many ingredients involved. Got a text from a recipient friend this past holiday...lost the recipe and has been spending 6-7$ for a small package of a similar cracker but not as good. She is ready to buy bulk seed/spice and make her own...

85° water, about 3 hours:

Heated gently to 210, stirring constantly. Let sit. Reheated the same way. Slight bitterness. Repeated a couple times. Increasing bitterness each time. About 45 minutes now, bitter as pith. Tossing.

At some point will order from one of the sources named above and try again.

FOAS, I used yellow seed, did a short hot soak (read conflicting advice on that), simmered 45 min, then turned off, and eventually simmered some more to thicken. Mine also tastes bitter to me. :(

Bummer! There must be something finicky about it somehow. I see from another thread that compumom had mixed results, best batch with toasting. I’ve got to believe it’s more the seeds than the method. But who knows.

Darn, I was hoping the next batch would turn out well. I got my seeds from ButcherPacker, if it makes any difference, because it's here in Michigan so shipping isn't so much for me. I'm glad sleevendog popped in on this, she's the expert here, I've made half a dozen batches and all were good, so I'm not much of a troubleshooter for this.

I'm on to my next project: Beef bacon. Yeah, I know, I never made bacon from a cow either, but I took that trip to pick up the processed pig and the place was giving samples of "beef bacon", made from brisket and short ribs. It was pretty good and I had a whole brisket, so it's curing now, will be smoked over the weekend and we'll see how THAT turns out.

Probably good with pickled mustard seed, LOL.

Annie

I'm not convinced it is the seed quality. Maybe just overcooked. Taste after soaking. Or blanch and taste. When making many standard mustard recipes they often just require soaking overnight in the brine ingredients. No heat required. Heat is used to dissolve sugars.

Since I've been making this many recipes have popped up on-line. Here is one from SeriousEats. Seems they had some white/yellow seed bitterness so not un-common. (they blanched) Recipe link, HERE

Google search finds tons of variations. Some just simmer low heat 20 minutes and set aside to continue plumping overnight.

In my case I’d find it difficult to think overcooked, since I cooked it significantly less than prescribed in the Momofuku recipe.

Can you describe the texture? The recipe says cook until plump and tender. Neither batch achieved that, as I’d describe it. Certainly nothing caviar-like. Softened a bit from dry seed, but not tender. Still took a concerted effort to break seeds, not something that would pop through the natural course of chewing.

I hope I’m not getting annoying here but I’m afraid I am. I just really love mustard - and pickled stuff - and want this one to work for me!

Mine didn't swell as much as some of the others, but it's thick, almost like jam, and the seeds are tender and pop without too much pressure. I did use white seeds, and I brought mine to a boil, removed from heat, let it sit an hour, brought it back to a boil, removed from heat, let it sit an hour, then simmered until thick, although my simmer burner keeps things are a pretty steady low boil. It took about an hour to thicken.

Annie

Not annoying at all. My batch last night made is briney, slightly sweet, mild mustard tones, (I added a tBsp Korean chili flake) but not spicy being such a big batch. We are good for a couple months now.

Going back 10 years when I was gifted 35 pounds of yellow mustard seed in a jute sack...I had free seed to experiment with. I went through that sack in 6 months. (don't trust millennial bloggers). Click-bait.

I'm guessing you still have seed from the pound bag. Still testing, though frustrating?, I get that. Try soaking in your brine, 6-12 hours. simmer 10 minutes, off heat and rest. Or soak, rinse, soak rinse.

Just not sure our success, and Annie. Not sure why some seed is bitter but seed is grown all over the globe.

my seed was already soaked, ...heated the brine, added seed, 10-20 minutes simmer, off heat...good this morning. For lunch salads.