Mustard Brown, Yellow, Stone-Ground – Mustard By Any Other Name
What’s a hot dog without mustard? Certainly not as tasty. What’s a hot dog “with” a spicy brown mustard? Super delicious. There may be a lot of other condiments one can add to hot dogs. It’s just that hot dogs and mustard are a marriage made in heaven. Nothing brings out the flavor of hot dogs like mustard. It doesn’t even matter if it’s the dark brown type or golden yellow. That long slim line that gives off a spicy scent and blends with the familiar aroma of frankfurters is unmistakably mustard.
The Mustard Seed Family And Mustard’s Humble Beginnings
Mustard is a member of the Brassica family that also gives us cauliflower, turnips and cabbage. You were probably linking mustard to the more spicy horseradish, right? Actually, some of Brassica’s family members are in fact related to radishes.
The mustard flower, depending upon genus, may be bright golden yellow or a pale yellow color. Mustard can be grown on a windowsill from seed. There are also white mustard flowers and black mustard seeds. Most people are familiar with the golden yellow mustard seed as recorded in the Bible. Mustard seeds became a popular piece of jewelry as a result of the Biblical reference as a symbol of prosperity. Mustard plants flourish from a single seed. The leaves provide food. The seed is used in cooking as a spice. The roots have been used in ancient healing traditions to cure aches and pains. It may be said there is more to mustard than its association with hot dogs.
In the USA in the deep south, mustard greens are cooked until they are tender and served as a vegetable. The leaves of mustard plants are somewhat prickly. Mustard plants contain a lot of oil and are presently being considered for use as a biofuel.
The Mustard We All Know And Love
To create the creamy condiment we are familiar with, seeds are crushed to a powder. Vinegar, water and other spices are added to it to create a type of golden sauce. Mustard does have a bit of heat to its flavor and can be very much spicier in some varieties. Often, mustard’s bite is tempered with a dash of honey to sweeten its flavor. Molasses is added to give mustard a darker color. Depending upon seed color, mustard can also be pale yellow as in Dijon mustard types. German mustard tend to be heavier in texture and dark in color. Another type of French mustard is made from black mustard seeds.
Mustard can be smooth as silk as Dijon mustard is, or it can be very coarse as in stone ground mustard where parts of the seeds are allowed to remain intact. Irish mustard recipes call for a dash of whiskey spirits along with other whole grains.
Cut The Mustard
When mustard is added with other ingredients such as mayonnaise, beer, fruit vinaigrette’s or with dessicated vegetables added, it’s often used as a flavoring for meats like brisket, beef, pork or fish. It’s fairly easy to make mustard grown from windowsill plants or from dried seeds.