Ingredients
1/2 cup mustard seed, light or dark
3 tbsp dry mustard powder* - lightly packe, d
2/3 cup ; water
3/4 cup white wine vinegar or
3/4 cup oriental rice vinegar
3 tbsp mild-flavored honey or
2 tbsp white corn syrup plus
1 tbsp strongly flavored honey
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon** or
2 tsp dried tarragon, crumbled
Directions
*Preferably Colman's.
**Or more to taste of either the fresh or dried tarragon.
If using a spice mill, grind the mustard seed in it to the texture of
coarse meal. Stir the ground seed with the mustard powder and water
and set it aside, uncovered, for at least 2 hours or as long as
overnight, giving it a stir when you think of it.
If using a blender or food processor to do the grinding, combine the
seed, mustard powder and water in the container; process everything
to a coarse puree. Set the mixture aside as described.
Combine the mustard mixture with the vinegar, honey, salt and
tarragon. Process the mixture in a blender or food processor to the
texture that suits you, from slightly coarse to creamy.
Store in a clean, dry jar, tightly capped, at room temperature if you
would like it to mellow gradually, or refrigerate it at once to
retain maximum hotness. It can be used at once, but a few days' rest
in the jar will allow the flavor to develop. After the mustard has
rested for a day or two, taste it and decide whether to add more
tarragon, honey or vinegar. Good with summer picnic foods.
Yield: About 2 cups. Keeps indefinitely, either at room temperature
or in the refrigerator.
From _Fancy Pantry_ by Helen Witty. New York: Workman Publishing
Company, Inc., 1986. Pp. 183-184. ISBN 0-89480-037-X.
Servings: 1 batch
Coarse-Ground Mustard With Honey & Tarragon Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Sauce
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to prove the history of transcribed cooking instructions back into the distant past, in truth as far back into history as the early Egyptians, and maybe even further. Having said that, sadly, these early records were just very basic hieroglyphic instructions for preparing meals.
In fact, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to historians are some ancient tablets in Sumerian which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel exhilarated and blissful. Progressing into Roman times around 25BC a man called Apicius assembled a number of scripts which described recipes enjoyed by the Romans. In his publication, Apicius recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were divided into appetizers, main course and dessert, something that is very familiar to us today. This early Roman chef describes how the ancient cooks made use of many different herbs, including many that are still in use today like basil, mint and asafoetida. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years there were two recipe books from the 14th Century : a book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another named `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these two books are not about the curry that is served today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals eaten by the rich people of the period. In the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought us many foods, spices and herbs from Arab cooking, including coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. These new herbs and spices led to a torrent in manuscripts on food, the majority of which still exist in academic collections. Over the following few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of Wesstern Europe competed to serve up the best banquets, and as a consequence, the best cooks and their collection of recipes could command a high salary. Nevertheless, it was during the nineteenth century that formal cookery and cookery books became really popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collating, testing, and recording recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. By the arrival of the 20th century, cookery books were in great demand, due to more people being able to read, people having more leisure time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this Coarse Ground Mustard With Honey & Tarragon recipe.
