Mustard is the unsung hero of the kitchen cupboard, adding a lick of heat and a depth of flavour to a huge range of dishes. The sauces we think of as mustard are made from mustard seeds. Mustard’s fieriness is dependent on the addition of water: whole mustard seeds that are added to a stock, made into a wholegrain sauce, or fried at the early stages of preparing a curry are much mellower than a paste made from ground seeds and water.
Store in a glass jar in the fridge. Mustard that has been stored for a long time is prone to separation so should be shaken prior to opening.
Fantastic served with cold meats such as ham or with sizzling sausages or to add extra tang to a sandwich.
Mustard is also often combined with [olive] oil and vinegar to make a salad dressing.
When you type mosterd [Dutch for mustard] in at Google you get a huge amount of hits. Next to salt, pepper and vinegar, it’s one of the oldest condiments in the Dutch kitchen. In this small country you can find over 10 big producers of mustard and many small ones.
My father used to tell me that it would “eat my stomach out” because I ate so much of it when I was young. I’m still here after all these years and I definitely still have all my stomach!