Sweet hot mustard that stores well

This mustard is for you who like it hot and mellow. It stores in the fridge for a long time since it contains no eggs or cream. The consistency is not at all too runny but more on the thicker side.

You will love this because

• Very quick to make ⏲️
• One pot recipe🥣
• Simple pantry ingredients🧾
• Perfect as a condiment for many foods🌭🍔🥩🥪
• Great to flavor sauces with-for salad sauces, marinades, dips🥗

Scandinavian inspiration

One of my favorite mustards is the Finnish *strong kotisinappi. It is sweet and hot and is not at all runny in consistency like most other mustards. It is a traditional one at Christmas and midsummer.

Another inspiration for this is the Swedish most popular sweet mustard-Johnny´s. It has some cinnamon as a side note in the flavor profile. In Swedish sweet mustards they also use ground ginger and coriander in some recipes.

In Scandinavia, we use something called spirit vinegar with a 12% acidity concentration in mustard recipes. Since I know this is hard to find in the US, for example, the recipe is customized so that you can use 5% white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar. All of these will come out as a great spicy mustard.

Ingredients

Colman´s mustard powder is something you will get a definite success with. This is also easy to find in most grocery stores-like walmart. Instead of powdered sugar you can use caster sugar.

Starch is what makes the perfect thicker consistency in the mustard. Instead of cornstarch, you can use tapioca. Any 5% acidity vinegar is great. Even if you use apple cider vinegar you won't taste it, since the mustard powder in itself is so strong.

Adding a pinch of cinnamon, ground ginger or even ground coriander gives some additional sidenotes to the flavor profile. Oil adds some smoothness and shine.

Instructions

1. Combine the mustard powder, water and vinegar in a saucepan and let sit for 5 minutes.

2. Mix in the starch and spices with the sugar. Add this in the saucepan.

Pungeant mustard

Interesting fact: Mustard seeds are not at all spicy before they are ground and mixed with water. The heat in the mustard is formed by an enzymatic reaction. Adding vinegar to the reaction mixture preserves the hotness of the mustard. Boiling the mustard prevents this reaction from continuing.

In short, if you want less heat in your mustard, do not let the mustard powder sit with the water for too long. Let the mustard powder rest in the water-vinegar mixture for longer, for example, 30 minutes to make it more pungent.

The "hotness" in mustard is not at all like chili, so that it would be left burning for a long time in your mouth, but more like the "hotness" from wasabi. Mustard, of course tastes very different to wasabi, but is in the same family of plants.

Yellow mustard is actually the least pungent, so if you are up for a death to the tongue, look for black mustard seeds that are the pungest and hottest. Read more on different types of mustard seeds.

💭Tips and notes

The flavor is very strong and hot directly after making. When you let the mustard sit in the fridge for 1-2 days, the taste mellows, and the heat is not as pungent but as a nice afterkick you taste after the sweetness.

This base recipe is very easy to customize- in Sweden and Finland, we often add honey to the recipe as well. Another popular customization is to have cognac or whiskey as an addition.

Remember that mustard can be irritating to the eyes and skin, especially when it comes to contact with the water-vinegar mixture.

This mustard makes a very personalized gift. Label your homemade mustard jars with nice labels. It is also good to label the date of preparation so you can track how long it stores.

Serving suggestions

You can use this mustard as a base for the Swedish mustard dill sauce called hovmästarsås. It is perfect with Christmas ham or turkey, and great for dipping meatballs in.

This sauce is also a must for hotdogs and hamburgers when you want some gentle heat in them.

For everyday use, we love this on sandwiches, it goes well with cold cuts like turkey and pork. Another great sandwich is to combine it with smoked tofu slices on rye bread.

This mustard is also very flavorful in different salad dressings and as a marinade ingredient. A simple salad dressing is made by mixing this hot mustard with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and some herbs.

Another recipe you might want to try out is the Finnish kotisinappi with heavy cream, that is very similar but has a more round and creamy flavor.

Storing

Mustard can be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for several months, but keeping it away from light and heat is essential. Sterilizing the jars helps with longer preservation. Take mustard from the jar with a clean spoon to avoid mold forming.