My fermented mustard recipe

Posting this here so I don't lose or forget it!

My fermented mustard recipe

In each of 2 pint jars, put:

1/2 cup of black mustard seeds
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp of real maple syrup
1 Tbsp of finished water kefir
enough water to cover the seeds (approx 2/3 cup)

-- Weight the seeds under the liquid (I use a 4 oz regular mouth jar which fits perfectly in a wide-mouth pint jar) and cover with a water lock or other fermentation lid. Allow to ferment until bubbling slows or stops. I let my last batch bubble away for almost 2 weeks.
-- Dump one jar into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, then transfer to another bowl. Mix in the contents of the other non-blended jar with the pureed mustard. Pour into jars for use or gift-giving. Keep refrigerated.

NOTE: if you want a smooth mustard rather than partially whole-grain, then you only need to use one quart jar rather than 2 pint jars.

possible substitutions:
-- could use a combination of different mustard seeds. some types of seeds are spicier or milder than others.
-- honey (or even raw honey) instead of real maple syrup.
-- could use brine from a finished ferment instead of the water, in which case you probably don't need the Tbsp of finished water kefir.

optional other additions to jars pre-ferment:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar for some of the water
1/4 cup flavored kombucha for some of the water
horseradish, minced (or 1 tsp powdered)
jalapeño peppers (or red chile peppers, or any kind of chile peppers)
juniper berries (soak for 1-2 days first to soften, then remove the hard inner seed before adding to only ONE jar of mustard seeds - the one you're going to blend)
chopped meyer lemons, or blood oranges, or any kind of citrus fruit

other additions to finished mustard:
sherry
vermouth
flavored vinegar (raspberry, etc)

My last batch had horseradish, jalapeños, and juniper berries in it and was finished with a splash of vermouth. Everybody said it was deliciously spicy!