Small-Batch Whole-Grain Mustard

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A jar of proper coarse mustard — popping whole seeds suspended in a tangy, faintly sweet paste — made from nothing but seeds, vinegar and time. Soaking does most of the work; a short blitz in the food processor cracks just enough seeds to bind everything into a spoonable condiment. It starts sharp and slightly bitter on day one, then mellows in the fridge into something far better than the supermarket jar, with the clean heat and snap you normally only get alongside a steakhouse charcuterie board.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup yellow mustard seeds
• 1/4 cup brown mustard seeds
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup cool water

• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon cold water, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, for adjusting

Instructions

1. Put both kinds of mustard seeds in a clean 1-quart glass jar or nonreactive bowl. Rinse briefly under cool water in a fine strainer if the seeds look dusty, then drain well and return to the jar.
2. Add the white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup cool water. Stir; the liquid should sit about 1/2 inch above the seeds. Cover loosely and leave at cool room temperature (65–72°F) for 24 to 48 hours, stirring once or twice a day. The seeds will swell, soften and absorb most of the liquid.
3. After soaking, bite a seed: it should be plump and tender with a slight pop, not hard in the center. If it still feels hard, add 2 tablespoons water and soak another 8 to 12 hours.
4. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, brown sugar, salt, turmeric, allspice and black pepper with 2 tablespoons of the soaking liquid drained from the jar. Warm over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, just until the sugar and salt dissolve — do not simmer. Let cool for 5 minutes. Keeping the heat low protects the volatile compounds that give mustard its bite.
5. Scrape the soaked seeds and all their remaining liquid into a food processor, add the warm honey mixture, and pulse in 3-second bursts for 45 to 75 seconds total, scraping the bowl twice. Stop while roughly two-thirds of the seeds are still whole — you want a loose, grainy paste, not a smooth purée. For a coarser mustard, pulse only 20 to 30 seconds.
6. Check the texture. It should mound softly on a spoon and slowly relax; if it is stiff or pasty, blend in cold water 1 tablespoon at a time. If it tastes flat, pulse in the extra teaspoon of vinegar. Taste for salt and add a pinch more if needed, remembering the flavor will change as it rests.
7. Spoon into a clean 12-ounce jar (or two half-pint jars), pressing out air pockets and leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Seal and refrigerate.
8. Rest the mustard at least 3 days before serving, and ideally 1 to 2 weeks — freshly made mustard is aggressively bitter and hot, and that harshness fades into balanced sharpness as it ages. Stir before each use.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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