Medieval Mustards
Project by lady Admiranda Howard Tourney of Love 2017
Mustard is a delicious condiment, enjoyed throughout history. These two mustards are from England and Germany. While they are both very similar in their construction, they are both different in their flavors. Both these mustards would historically be served with meat. (Bread, in this case, is the less messy and more economical option).
Recipes:
Original: “Lumbard Mustard: Take mustard seed and waisshe it, and drye it in an ovene. Grynde it drye; sarse it thurgh a sarse. Clarifie hony with wyne and vyneger, and stere it wel togedre and make it thikke ynowʒ; and whan þou wilt spende þerof make it thynne with wyne.”1
Redaction:
2 oz mustard seed (brown and/or yellow) 1⁄4 C honey
1 tsp vinegar (red wine or apple cider)
3 T dry or semi-sweet red wine
Grind the mustard. In a saucepan, combine honey, wine, and vinegar over medium heat until well mixed. Skim foam off the top (if you like; this isn’t actually necessary). Add mustard. Mix well. Refrigerate in a bowl or mustard crock for 2-3 days, checking daily. Add more wine if needed to thin the mustard (it will dry out as the seeds absorb the wine). Makes approximately 1 Cup.
Original: “To make the mustard for dried cod: Take mustard powder, stir into it good wine and pear preserves and put sugar into it, as much as you feel is good, and make it as thick as you prefer to eat it, then it is a good mustard.”2
Redaction:
2 oz. mustard seed (brown or yellow)
1⁄4 C sweet or semi-sweet white wine
2 T sugar
1⁄4 C pear sauce (you could use apple sauce as well—if so, add another tablespoon of sugar)
1 Constance B. Hieatt et al. Pleyn Delit. #53. Original Source Forme of Curye 2 Welserin, Sabina. Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin. #34
Grind the mustard. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the wine and sugar until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the mustard and pear sauce and mix well. Refrigerate in a bowl or mustard crock for 2-3 days, checking daily. Add more wine if needed to thin the mustard (it will dry out as the seeds absorb the wine). Makes approximately 1 Cup.
Ingredients:
The washing and toasting of the mustard seeds would be a necessary step in medieval times. Washing food was extremely important, especially in places where fertilizer was questionable. Commercially procured mustard seeds can skip this step. The same can be said about clarifying the honey. By bringing it to a boil, you could skim off any impurities that may have gotten into your honey crock, whereas honey bought at the grocery store is already (usually) as clear and clean as you can get.
The rest of the process is the same for both recipes. Grind the mustard with a mortar and pestle, then use a sieve to sort out pieces that need more grinding. The wine used is completely up to the person making the recipe. I chose red and white to make a visual distinction between the two, but whatever wine is chosen will directly affect the flavor of the mustard being made.
Bibliography:
Hieatt, Constance B., Brenda Hosington, and Sharon Butler. Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996
Welserin, Sabina. Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin. 1553. Trans. Valoise Armstrong.
http://daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Sabrina_Welserin .html
Project by lady Admiranda Howard Tourney of Love 2017
Mustard is a delicious condiment, enjoyed throughout history. These two mustards are from England and Germany. While they are both very similar in their construction, they are both different in their flavors. Both these mustards would historically be served with meat. (Bread, in this case, is the less messy and more economical option).
Recipes:
Original: “Lumbard Mustard: Take mustard seed and waisshe it, and drye it in an ovene. Grynde it drye; sarse it thurgh a sarse. Clarifie hony with wyne and vyneger, and stere it wel togedre and make it thikke ynowʒ; and whan þou wilt spende þerof make it thynne with wyne.”1
Redaction:
2 oz mustard seed (brown and/or yellow) 1⁄4 C honey
1 tsp vinegar (red wine or apple cider)
3 T dry or semi-sweet red wine
Grind the mustard. In a saucepan, combine honey, wine, and vinegar over medium heat until well mixed. Skim foam off the top (if you like; this isn’t actually necessary). Add mustard. Mix well. Refrigerate in a bowl or mustard crock for 2-3 days, checking daily. Add more wine if needed to thin the mustard (it will dry out as the seeds absorb the wine). Makes approximately 1 Cup.
Original: “To make the mustard for dried cod: Take mustard powder, stir into it good wine and pear preserves and put sugar into it, as much as you feel is good, and make it as thick as you prefer to eat it, then it is a good mustard.”2
Redaction:
2 oz. mustard seed (brown or yellow)
1⁄4 C sweet or semi-sweet white wine
2 T sugar
1⁄4 C pear sauce (you could use apple sauce as well—if so, add another tablespoon of sugar)
1 Constance B. Hieatt et al. Pleyn Delit. #53. Original Source Forme of Curye 2 Welserin, Sabina. Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin. #34
Grind the mustard. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the wine and sugar until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the mustard and pear sauce and mix well. Refrigerate in a bowl or mustard crock for 2-3 days, checking daily. Add more wine if needed to thin the mustard (it will dry out as the seeds absorb the wine). Makes approximately 1 Cup.
Ingredients:
The washing and toasting of the mustard seeds would be a necessary step in medieval times. Washing food was extremely important, especially in places where fertilizer was questionable. Commercially procured mustard seeds can skip this step. The same can be said about clarifying the honey. By bringing it to a boil, you could skim off any impurities that may have gotten into your honey crock, whereas honey bought at the grocery store is already (usually) as clear and clean as you can get.
The rest of the process is the same for both recipes. Grind the mustard with a mortar and pestle, then use a sieve to sort out pieces that need more grinding. The wine used is completely up to the person making the recipe. I chose red and white to make a visual distinction between the two, but whatever wine is chosen will directly affect the flavor of the mustard being made.
Bibliography:
Hieatt, Constance B., Brenda Hosington, and Sharon Butler. Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996
Welserin, Sabina. Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin. 1553. Trans. Valoise Armstrong.
http://daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Sabrina_Welserin .html