What Is Prepared mustard and How Can I Use It?

Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant (white or yellow mustard; brown or Indian mustard; or black mustard).

The whole, ground, cracked, or bruised mustard seeds are mixed with water, vinegar or other liquids, and sometimes other flavorings and spices, to create a thick paste ranging in colour from bright yellow to dark brown.

Mustard often has a sharp, pungent flavor, as mixing the ground seed with cold liquid causes the release of the enzymemyrosinase, responsible for mustard's characteristic heat. Homemade mustards are often far hotter and more intensely flavored than commercial preparations.

A strong mustard can cause the eyes to water, sting the palate and inflame the nasal passages and throat. Mustard is also a popular addition to sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs.

Mustard is one of the most popular and widely used spices and condiments in the world.

Mustard is often used at the table as a condiment on meat.

It is also used as an ingredient in mayonnaise, vinaigrette, marinades and barbecue sauces. It can also be used as a base for salad dressing when combined with vinegar and/or olive oil.

Mustard is a popular accompaniment to hot dogs, pretzels, and Bratwurst.

Mustard also acts as an emulsifier which can stabilize a mixture of two or more un-blendable liquids such as oil and water. Added to Hollandaise sauce, mustard can reduce the possibility of curdling.

Dry mustard, typically sold in cans, is used in cooking and can be mixed with water to become prepared mustard.

Because of its antibacterial properties, mustard does not require refrigeration; it will not grow mould, mildew or harmful bacteria.  It is still recommended to keep mustard refrigerated after opening in order to maintain quality and pungency.

Unrefrigerated mustard will lose pungency more quickly, and should be stored in a tightly sealed, sterilized container in a cool, dark place.

Mustard seeds may be colored from yellowish white to black.

They are important spices in many regional cuisines. The seeds can come from three different plants: black mustard, brown Indian mustard, and white mustard.

Mustard seeds generally take three to ten days to germinate if placed under the proper conditions, which include a cold atmosphere and relatively moist soil. Mature mustard plants grow into shrubs.

Mustard grows well in temperate regions. Major producers of mustard seeds include Canada (90%), Hungary, Great Britain, India, Pakistan and the United States.

Brown and black mustard seeds return higher yields than their yellow counterparts.

Black mustard seeds are the small, dark seeds that give South Indian cooking its signature pop and snap. They are tiny, about the size of a pinhead, and range from deep brown to near-black.

Botanically a lot of what gets sold as black is actually brown mustard, but in the kitchen the two behave the same way and the names get used loosely.

What sets them apart from the pale yellow seeds most Western kitchens know is heat. Black and brown seeds carry far more of the sharp, sinus-clearing pungency, which is exactly why Indian cooking reaches for them.

Whole-grain mustard is the coarse, seedy kind, where the mustard seeds are left mostly whole instead of ground smooth. Each spoonful is studded with little beads that pop between your teeth and release a bright, tangy bite.

It is sometimes sold as grainy mustard or moutarde à l'ancienne, the old-style French version. The flavor is mustardy and sharp but rounder than yellow mustard, with a slow warmth rather than a sinus-clearing punch.

That texture is the whole appeal. Use it where you want both the flavor of mustard and something to chew on.

Brown mustard is the spicy one in the condiment lineup, the deli mustard that bites back. It is made mostly from brown mustard seeds (Brassica juncea) rather than the milder yellow seeds, and those darker seeds are what give it its punch.

The bite is a horseradish-like sharpness that hits up in the nose rather than on the tongue. That heat is sharpest right after the mustard is mixed and softens as the jar ages.

So a fresh deli mustard clears your sinuses, while an old one has gone mellow.

It is the brown, coarse-flecked spread you find on a pastrami sandwich or a soft pretzel, a step up in flavor from the bright yellow squeeze bottle.

Creole mustard is a coarse, spicy brown mustard from Louisiana, made from brown mustard seeds that are soaked in vinegar and marinated before being ground. That marinating step softens the seeds and deepens the flavor.

The result is a grainy texture and a sharp, horseradish-like heat that hits the back of the nose. It is the workhorse mustard of Cajun and Creole cooking, the one New Orleans cooks reach for the way other kitchens reach for Dijon.

French mustard is a smooth, mild brown mustard in the Dijon style: made from brown or black mustard seeds blended with verjuice, wine or vinegar into a creamy paste. It is warm and tangy rather than searingly hot.

A word of caution on the name, because it crosses the Atlantic badly. In Britain, "French mustard" means exactly this gentle Dijon-style brown condiment. In the United States, French's is a brand of bright-yellow hot dog mustard, a completely different and milder thing colored with turmeric.

The recipes here use the British sense: a soft brown table mustard that melts into sauces and dressings.