The Generic Mustard Recipe

Here's a really good and useful generic mustard recipe, along with four flavors I've made with it. For the past couple of years, I've made these mustards for my church bell choir's annual bake sale and they are always very popular. It's also easy to make new recipes by following the template of the other recipes.

(One of my church friends said she made deviled eggs with my beer mustard for a St. Patrick's Day party and they were a big hit!)

Generic recipe instructions:

COMBINE First Liquid and Mustard Seeds in a large saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand at room temperature until seeds have absorbed most of the moisture, about 2 hours.

After about 1.5 hours of soaking time, HEAT jars in simmering water until ready for use. Wash lids and bands in warm soapy water and set aside.

TRANSFER approx half of each batch of seeds to blender. Add half to two-thirds of Second Liquid as needed for ease of blending. Process until smooth or at least only slightly grainy. Return mixture to pot. (note: if you want a smooth mustard rather than grainy, blend the entire batch of seeds, rather than just half!)

ADD the rest of Second Liquid and the Remaining Ingredients to pot. Stir to mix. Bring to a boil.

LADLE hot mustard into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is finger tight. Place jar in water bath or steam canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.

PROCESS in water bath or steam canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

For all the following variations, one batch = five 4-oz jars

Plain Mustard

First Liquid: 1.5 cups water

Mustard Seeds: 1 cup (100g)

Second Liquid: 1 cup water

Remaining Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup malt or cider vinegar

* 1 tsp lightly packed brown sugar (or 1/2 tsp honey)

* 1/4 cup dry yellow mustard powder

Beer Mustard

First Liquid: 1.5 cups dark beer (12 fl oz)

Mustard Seeds: 1 cup (100g)

Second Liquid: 1 cup water

Remaining Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup malt or cider vinegar

* 1 tsp lightly packed brown sugar (or 1/2 tsp honey)

* 1/4 cup dry yellow mustard powder

Lemon Curry Mustard

First Liquid: 1.5 cups puréed lemons (approx 3 lemons with tips & seeds removed)

Mustard Seeds: 1 cup (100g)

Second Liquid: 1 cup water

Remaining Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup white vinegar

* 1 tsp lightly packed brown sugar (or 1/2 tsp honey)

* 1/4 cup dry yellow mustard powder

* 3/4 cup curry powder

Sriracha Honey Dijon Mustard

First Liquid: 1.5 cups dry white wine

Mustard Seeds: 1 cup (100g)

Second Liquid: 1 cup water

Remaining Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup white vinegar

* 1 tsp lightly packed brown sugar (or 1/2 tsp honey)

* 1/4 cup dry yellow mustard powder

* 2 tablespoons (1 oz) minced fresh garlic

* 1/4 cup sriracha