Entirely self sufficient mustard

[British Red]

A good while ago I wrote a thread here about self sufficient mustard (https://bushcraftuk.com/community/i...ficiency-a-jar-of-mustard-the-hard-way.33457/).

We are still doing it, but now we produce all the ingredients ourselves, including vinegar.

We've made a two part video series on our efforts. This, the first covers how we grow, thresh, screen and winnow our own mustard seed. The second will cover three different mustard recipe traditions.

 

[Robson Valley]

Thank you. You have my attention. That must have been a tedious effort to build that video, too.

 

[santaman2000]

I have to admit when I saw the title I clicked on the thread thinking of the vegetable, mustard greens. Nonetheless I’ve saved that video to watch later.

 

[Woody girl]

I regularly grow mustard and cress as a windowsill salad. Maybe I'll have a go at not eating it at seedling stage and letting a few plants grow on in a pot to grow my own seed.
Now why did I not think of this years ago instead of keep buying packets of mustard seed and cress seed!
(Smacks forehead with palm of hand!)ouch!

 

[santaman2000]

Just had time to watch. Awesome as usual. Apparently though the plant itself is different from mustard greens.

 

[Robson Valley]

There are all sorts of mustards , Cruciferae to be precise, which are gown in huge quantities in Western Canada.
It pleases me no end to watch a home grown enterprise finish with such a clean result.
Such clear instructions for a bed of mustard seed.

 

[British Red]

Thank you. You have my attention. That must have been a tedious effort to build that video, too.

It did take 9 months! I'm interested to know if its an approach that people like, showing the whole lifecycle?

 

[British Red]

Just had time to watch. Awesome as usual. Apparently though the plant itself is different from mustard greens.

It is

There are all sorts of mustards , Cruciferae to be precise, which are gown in huge quantities in Western Canada.
It pleases me no end to watch a home grown enterprise finish with such a clean result.
Such clear instructions for a bed of mustard seed.

Thank you!

 

[British Red]

For those who would like to see what we do with the mustard seed, here are three recipes for

English mustard
Wholegrain mustard
American style hotdog mustard

 

[santaman2000]

It did take 9 months! I'm interested to know if its an approach that people like, showing the whole lifecycle?

I very much like your approach!

 

[Robson Valley]

Me too. From planting to harvest, from soil to plate.
I've been cooking with mustard seed for decades.
All the rest of this DIY has been a mystery. Not any more.

 

[Janne]

You should make an Austrian one called Kremser mustard.

Goes extremely well with home made Wiener sausages, or any sausages, even the british ones.

Mustard must be one of the most versatile condiments on this planet!

 

[Robson Valley]

Is there any archaeological evidence of mustard seed being a temperate zone, cultivated crop from antiquity?

 

[Janne]

The turnip ( same family) is from the western parts of Eurasia I think.
@Toddy can answer your question I think.

The Romans liked mustard. Unless they used horseradish seed.
I had a very large patch of feral horseradish in Sweden, and made ‘mustard’ from the seeds a couple of times.

 

[Robson Valley]

My thinking is to follow the lead from British Red for the mustard.
To buy the seed here, grown here, is very economical. Making the mustard paste will be fun.

I have Polish horseradish. Should never have been planted.
I got it dug out of the garden but some fool (not me) replanted some beyond the back fence in the alley.
Nearly poisonous stuff, it is.

 

[Janne]

What is Polish horseradish?

 

[santaman2000]

Is there any archaeological evidence of mustard seed being a temperate zone, cultivated crop from antiquity?

Written evidence might be taken from the Biblical references. That indicates it was common around the Mediterranean at least as far back as the 1st century AD.

 

[Robson Valley]

Polish horseradish is exactly that = horseradish from Poland.
Makes your eyes water and you have done nothing with it.
I have at least half a dozen mustards in the fridge. I know where my allegiance lies.

 

[Woody girl]

It took me 10 yrs to kill the horseradish that was in my garden when I moved in.! Think I've got it now.
I have a lovely bed of day lilly there at present. Decorates a salad beautifully. Edible flowers.
I hate.... no loath horseradish! And mine was so full on, your eyes were burning just digging the stuff up.
Partner tried to prepare it once... only once, as he professed to like it.
He had to give up, he could barely breath and had swollen eyes, tears running down his face!
He used to make it with the stuff from his dad's garden no problem.
Evil stuff!!!!

When do you start your mustard seedlings off British Red? I don't have a greenhouse so would appreciate a tip or two about growing this in the garden rather than as a windowsill salad crops. Did you say in your video? If you did sorry! Memory is not what it was!

 

[Tengu]

Keen as mustard, eh?

Thats very intersting and give you a whole new apprechiation of mustard